Talk is Cheap ... Lost Sales are Not

Recent research uncovered nearly 80 reasons why customers dislike salespeople. Nevertheless, sales is an honorable profession. Stand out from your competition by avoiding these seven bad behaviors.

1. Failure to listen. Because salespeople neglect to listen to what their customers or prospects say, they fail to address the key issues for their customers. I remember a particular interaction with a couple of salespeople several years ago where one of them asked some great questions to learn more about my particular situation. However, his counterpart did not listen to my responses, and as a result, his solution did not address my business challenges and buying requirements. In fact, his presentation was so far off-base, I abruptly ended the meeting. Time is a precious commodity for people and when you don’t listen, you disrespect your prospect.

2. Talking too much. Many salespeople continue to think telling is selling. It’s not. Actually, a prospect or customer should do most of the talking in a sales conversation. Salespeople react to this idea by asking, “If they’re doing all the talking, how can I sell my product?” Let your customers do enough talking so you can properly present a solution to their problem or situation.