Selling mistakes to avoid

Just as there are a plethora of things you should do in sales, there are some critical sales don’ts. Avoid these five mistakes in your sales presentations: 

• Not listening. A successful sale requires effective communication, and listening is crucial. Let your prospect speak so you can better understand their problems and how to solve them. Use open-ended questions to get your prospect talking, pay attention to what’s most important to them, and ask for clarity as needed. Listening carefully will also help you anticipate and address their objections. 
• Not focusing on the solution. People want their problems solved. If you aren’t focused on a solution, prospects won’t see the need for your product. People are not interested in a product’s bells and whistles unless those features directly address a problem they’re experiencing. Get hyper-focused on solutions to improve sales. 
• Making promises you can’t keep. This may sound like common sense, but it’s a typical problem for eager salespeople to overpromise on their solution’s capabilities. Be honest about what your product can and can’t do. Customers will appreciate it, and you’ll gain more credibility. 
• Not showing the intention to close the sale. You may be thinking, “Of course I have the intention to close the sale!” However, you may get so lost in the features and benefits you want to share that you come across as more of an educator than a salesperson. 
• Not being prepared for objections. It can be frustrating to get through a sales pitch with an interested prospect but get stuck on their objections. Most products and services have a set number of common objections. Practice how you overcome these as much as you practice the sales pitch. Remember that an objection isn’t a “no,” just a hurdle you must overcome to get to a “yes.”