Ask a group of salespeople to identify the biggest challenge they face in selling and the odds are excellent that 'answering objections' will be near or at the top of the list.   However, when I talk with sales management, their comments confirm my observations since first beginning observing and training salespeople back in 1984.

For what it's worth, here are my

Four Most Common Mistakes Salespeople Make:

1. Too many statements - too few questions.  It happens in almost every industry, and it's usually the fault of management, sometimes because what passes for sales training is often little more than a product orientation session.   I remember my first exposure to the financial services industry.  I attended their training in New York for new stockbrokers.  I was amazed!  Here was a giant 'brand-name' company - one you would think is on the cutting-edge - still teaching tactics from the 1950s couched in little more that product indoctrination.  And, they thought they were conducting sales training!!!   They didn't know they weren't even close.  Other times the problem stems from a lack of commitment to real training.  The reason I say this is because I have NEVER seen a company with a true commitment to training - real training - have this problem.  It's unfortunate, too, because there are so many really good training resources available, today.  My favorite book on questioning skills for B2B sales is still Neil Rackham's SPIN Selling.  It's been around forever, but I've seen few I like better.
   
2. Pushing product too soon - This usually is a result of the things I just mentioned in #1.  When a rep receives product immersion classes, it's natural to want to dispense all this newly-acquired knowledge to prospects.  It's a 'spread the word' mentality that makes people feel good, but results in very few sales.   It's like the guy who just got out of furnace class when a little old lady walks in the store looking for a new furnace.  He's quoting BTUs and a thousand-and-one other data points when she finally interrupts him and asks, "Young man!  I just want to know if it will keep me warm!"   That's an oversimplified example in a simple sale situation; but, in a complex sale, spouting product info too soon spells disaster.   Product knowledge is critical - you must have it; but, as Joe Gandolfo once said, 'Selling is 2% product knowledge and 98% people skills."
   
3. Poor time management -  Most people could probably make a second living with the time they waste.  It happens at all levels of the organization.  Look at the greatest leaders and you'll see people who don't micromanage - they manage through people (delegation) rather than by managing over them.  The same is true with salespeople:  It's still a people skill.  First, salespeople need to manage themselves - then they can manage their accounts and prospects.  The keys are compartmentalization and prioritization.   Many years ago I read a book by Roger Staubach, a star quarterback for Navy that served his country, then went on to become a Hall of Fame quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys.  Several years before retiring from the NFL, he began learning commercial real estate development and after retirement became one of the largest developers in Texas.  He would classify all of his activities as (A) income-producing, (B) activities that aid income-producing activities, (C) white-collar maintenance - things you have to do that don't contribute to income, and (X) everything else.  He would sit down and block-out his calendar each month, designating which time slots would be A, B, C, or X.  Then, he would prioritize within each.  I loved the concept immediatley and have been using it for more than 25 years.
4. Selling at the wrong level - This is a biggie for those in B2B sales.  You can't tell the players without a scorecard.  It's important to find the one with the need and the one with the money.  The one with the need is important, because that's the person who will have to live with the decision after it's been made.   Generally, I always like to go in one or two-levels higher and get referred down; but, it's not always true.   There are a lot of tools available today to help you strategize the sale and you should take advantage of them.  One of my favorite books on this subject is still Miller and Heiman's Strategic Selling.  While the book can be a bit of 'overkill' for most B2B situations, I still regard it as essential reading and - like anything else you read - you're bound to find things you can learn, use, and adapt to your own situation.  All you need to learn is one or two things that can change your life.  Since publishing the original book, they've also come out with The New Strategic Selling.  

While this is my own list, you could probably bring up a few mistakes of your own.  The important thing, of course, is to recognize them and to take steps toward their elimination.

Until next-time...  Good Selling!

Jim

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