Achieving sales targets requires a certain approach that all good salespeople should know about – or does it?
There are some dangerous sales myths out there that need debunking ASAP – they could be losing you clients. We have outlined the top ten ones and given you an alternative approach which should start helping you to convert.
- You must always be available to your clients.
That includes evenings and weekends, doesn’t it? Your client’s access to you is crucial to ensure their satisfaction.
No – accessibility does not mean that you have to sacrifice your employees’ private lives. Depending on the nature of your clients’ business activities, if they require out-of-hours support, then that should be systemised into your own business to ensure that an individual’s private time is not disturbed.
Otherwise, boundaries should be set, and expectations managed.
- Closing a sale is all about being pushy and aggressive.
Nobody likes to be pushed into a decision. Chances are, if you are being too pushy and aggressive, you’ll end up pushing the prospective customer further away rather than drawing them closer to you. Selling is all about giving solutions to problems, easing pain, and building relationships. If you have to be pushy, then you are not a good fit, and the client is going to feel uncomfortable. It is not the best start to what you want to be a long and mutually beneficial partnership.
- It’s best to focus on one type of client.
Within your business activities, chances are your offering will benefit similar needs across a number of different sectors. When building a prospective market, you are better advised to seek similar issues across a number of different market sectors to give you a much broader potential client base. However, to target them in the most effective manner, you would need to segment them down and approach each market sector separately, as they may need a different message. This is part of your long-term marketing strategy.
- You need to have extensive knowledge of your product or service.
Not necessarily – it is better to have the more technical and in-depth information about your offering presented by another team member, who will be able to discuss the product’s application in more detail.
- The more features you offer, the more likely you are to close a sale.
Or the more confused your prospective client may be! Sell on a handful of key features. Any additional features that you reveal further down the line will then only add to the wow factor of your overall product offering and come across as added value for your client.
- It’s necessary to have a large budget for sales and marketing activities.
It’s not the size of the budget; it’s what you do with it. Instead of looking at the budget itself, you need to be setting KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) and working towards an acceptable ROI (Return on Investment). If you spend £1000 on sales and marketing, and you can track a return of £5000, then that is an excellent ROI and can be replicated on a sliding scale. If you spend £100 on marketing and get absolutely nothing back, then that’s £100 lost.
- Cold calling is dead.
Random cold calling to unqualified leads is certainly dead but reaching out cold to carefully selected potential clients who might not have had a chance to ‘meet’ you yet could be the start of a long and beautiful relationship.
- Let your prospective clients come to you.
It’s about finding the right balance between push marketing and pull marketing. If a prospect comes to you of their own accord, then it tends to be an easier sell. However, there are actions you can put into place that encourage that client to come to you – you can open up the pathway and remove any obstructions. So that when they happen upon your path, you are waiting at the end of it with open arms.
- Customers always want the lowest price.
Customers always THINK they want the lowest price. Actually, though, customers want value for money and see a return on their investment (whether that is financial, emotional or physical).
- One pitch fits all.
No – the tone and delivery of a pitch need to match the audience you are talking to. The information might be the same, but the emphasis might be different according to the prospective client. While the overall structure might follow similar lines, make sure that you tweak it according to who you are speaking to – match their tone of voice and language. If possible, mirror their body language and way of presenting themselves. Just as importantly, though, don’t misrepresent yourself.
If you are looking to change direction in your career or are looking to build your sales team, contact us to get more insight into how we can help.
