--- title: "5 Mistakes and 5 Failures of Salespeople" description: "This article outlines five common mistakes salespeople make unknowingly, which can cost them sales, and five counterproductive sales practices that can drive customers away. It emphasizes the importance of differentiation, setting commitment goals, asking proper questions, effective presentations, and closing techniques, as well as avoiding behaviors like being unprepared, overpromising, going around decision-makers, unannounced visits, and talking too much." author: "New Distribution" publisher: "New Distribution" email: "zhaobo258@gmail.com" telephone: "+8615854817671" published: "2014-09-23" language: "en" canonical: "https://xinjignxiao.com/en/articles/5-mistakes-and-5-failures-of-salespeople-c16ba70a/" markdown: "https://xinjignxiao.com/en/articles/5-mistakes-and-5-failures-of-salespeople-c16ba70a.md" original_source: "https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/GzEVhc4hTPLNljGNPTwPPw" translation: "https://xinjignxiao.com/zh/articles/%E9%94%80%E5%94%AE%E5%91%98%E7%9A%845%E4%B8%AA%E9%94%99%E8%AF%AF%E5%92%8C5%E7%A7%8D%E5%A4%B1%E8%B4%A5-c16ba70a.md" attribution: "New Distribution — https://xinjignxiao.com/en/articles/5-mistakes-and-5-failures-of-salespeople-c16ba70a/" usage_policy: "https://xinjignxiao.com/ai-policy.txt" --- # 5 Mistakes and 5 Failures of Salespeople > This article outlines five common mistakes salespeople make unknowingly, which can cost them sales, and five counterproductive sales practices that can drive customers away. It emphasizes the importance of differentiation, setting commitment goals, asking proper questions, effective presentations, and closing techniques, as well as avoiding behaviors like being unprepared, overpromising, going around decision-makers, unannounced visits, and talking too much. Warm reminder: Click the “↑” next to “FMCG Distributor Professional Consulting” to learn more about marketing and distributor internal management. 1. Five Mistakes Salespeople Often Make Unknowingly Sales—anyone can do it, right? Is that really so? There are plenty of smooth talkers, but how many are truly top salespeople? Worryingly, many salespeople think selling is an opportunistic activity, a pure art. In fact, selling is a science, with its own underlying principles and patterns. To achieve sustained success, replicate success, and become a top salesperson, we must grasp its essence and rules, and avoid common sales mistakes. Over the past decade, I have been researching and teaching sales skills. Using the model of the internationally renowned sales course, Action Selling, we have summarized the common mistakes salespeople make and their costs into five points, shared below. 1. When salespeople unknowingly make the following five mistakes, potential sales opportunities slip through their fingers: 1) 82% of salespeople fail to differentiate themselves. 2) 99% of salespeople do not set commitment goals. 3) 86% of salespeople ask poor questions. 4) 86% of salespeople give weak presentations. 5) 62% of salespeople fail to close effectively (they do not ask for commitment). 2. These mistakes can cause many potential losses to sales work: 1) Failure to differentiate: Most salespeople do not realize that true differentiation comes not from price, promises, or small favors, but from guiding customers through each purchasing decision. Today, the vast majority of salespeople still engage in product-oriented selling. 2) No commitment goals: Salespeople often do not set clear goals (which we call "commitment goals") and do not strive to achieve them, thereby artificially lengthening the sales cycle. 3) Poor questioning: Questioning is the number one tool for advancing a sale. If used improperly, the sale is likely to fail. 4) Weak presentation: Some salespeople talk too much and listen too little. Statistics show that those who talk too much have a low success rate. 5) Failure to close: Salespeople often miss or lose closing opportunities, being indecisive, and thus failing to effectively ask for commitment. The above five classic mistakes also reflect the five key skills salespeople must possess: differentiation (matching the sales process with the decision-making process); sales planning (the ability to set and achieve commitment goals); questioning; presentation; and gaining commitment. The Action Selling course integrates these five abilities into a scientific process—the Action Nine Steps—which we will not elaborate on here. Winners are those who can effectively avoid these five mistakes and cultivate the corresponding five skills. Only by effectively reducing or even eliminating these five mistakes can sales ultimately be elevated to an art. 2. Five Failed Sales Practices As a sales manager, you spend a lot of time teaching your sales representatives how to treat customers correctly. Next time you feel a bit out of control, show them the wrong way. Yes, teach them how to annoy customers. Michael Schell, CEO of The Approved Group, Inc., says that if your sales representatives do any of the following five things, they will definitely irritate your customers. Even a little of this behavior will cause sales to drop and customers to turn to your competitors. 1. Attending meetings unprepared. If you want to annoy potential customers, the best way is to go to a meeting without researching their company, without an agenda, and without all the necessary materials. You can further irritate them by asking basic questions that are already answered on the company's website. A purchasing professional told Schell: "It's really annoying when a sales rep hasn't researched our company. I also don't like it when they ask who our other supplier is. They should know who their competitors are in our area." Anne Stilwell, Director of Contract and Procurement Services at Fannie Mae, summarized: "When a sales rep comes to see me without researching our company, I have a poor impression. They spend half the time asking basic questions. If they were true professionals, they would have done that before meeting me. It's also irritating when they haven't planned the meeting and can't cover important content within the allotted time." 2. Overpromising and underdelivering. To really drive customers away, tell them you can get their order delivered by the weekend, no problem. Of course, you know it's impossible. But you'll cross that bridge when you come to it, because after all, your job is just to make the sale, right? Jason Wihnon, a buyer at IKON-IMS, said: "It's annoying when a sales rep breaks established procedures just to make a sale and then doesn't follow through. Be honest and promise only what you can deliver. Missing deadlines is serious. If you know you can't do it, don't say you can." 3. Going behind the scenes to sell. Every child knows this trick—if Mom says no, ask Dad. Similarly, if a sales rep hears no from a decision-maker and really wants to anger them, they just avoid them and try to get someone else to say yes. Here is a concise complaint: Kathi Wilson, Facilities Assistant at IDX Systems Corp, lamented: "After I've rejected a sales rep's proposal, he or she calls back later and tries to talk to another purchasing person. I find that frustrating. It's a bit unethical, a bit sneaky, and it harms business health." 4. Showing up without an appointment. Appointment? Who needs an appointment? Your potential customers are full of praise for your product or service, and they'll be happy to see you anytime. Right? If you think so, congratulations—you've scored full marks on the buyer-annoyance scale. Equally annoying is endless calling or leaving messages—it falls into this category. You hope that one day the buyer will call you back and tell you to stop leaving messages. But the reality is: "Constantly calling me just pushes me further away," said Lisa Perdue, a senior buyer. 5. Talking too much and listening too little. If a buyer carefully explains why their company doesn't need your services right now, and you insist on pushing forward and trying to make a sale anyway, then you are an expert in this category. What if the buyer actually needs your services? You can still charge ahead, giving them a long spiel about your solution and company, without stopping to ask about their needs, and annoy them. The key to successfully annoying a buyer is to ignore what the customer says and focus only on your own agenda—making the sale. That's the most important thing, right? -------------------------------------- Like this article? Feel free to click the top right corner to share it to your Moments. About us: WeChat Name: FMCG Distributor Professional Consulting Management Account Introduction: 20 years of experience in FMCG distributor operations and management, specializing in distributor internal affairs: We understand distributors better than manufacturers, and we understand internal management better than distributors. 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