Salespeople face unachieved sales targets every day, and they always have reasons and excuses to tell you why sales are poor, many of which are laughable:
18 Excuses Salespeople Make
- The product has no distinctive features.
- The product quality is poor.
- It's the off-season, so sales are slow.
- Our area is poor; people can't afford it.
- Competitors have better policies and stronger promotions.
- The boss says business is bad now, no money, will stock more next time.
- The weather is hot (cold), so fewer people go to the stores.
- Our area is different from other regions.
- The boss says the warehouse is tight, no plans to add new products.
- The boss says XX brand gives a lot of fees.
- We don't advertise.
- XX brand has high awareness, and they only sell this much.
- The product price is too high.
- The company invests too little.
- We've done everything we can, but sales still don't improve.
- The product has no brand awareness; customers don't accept it.
- I'm too busy, so I don't have time to do it.
- The company doesn't understand the market.
If you truly want to be an excellent salesperson, you should avoid making the following mistakes:
1. Lack of self-confidence, not believing in yourself You must have confidence in yourself. If you don't believe in yourself, how can you convince customers to believe in you?
2. Lack of confidence in the product you sell If you don't believe the product you sell is the best, you won't have enough confidence to pitch it to customers. Stuttering when introducing your product shows a lack of conviction, and customers won't buy it.
3. Not setting and achieving goals, not making detailed sales plans Without a plan and goals, you won't know your progress. You should use short-term, medium-term, and long-term plans to clarify "what you want" and "how to achieve it," so you can constantly push yourself closer to your goals.
4. Being lazy and underprepared for sales work As a salesperson, if you can't self-motivate and prepare adequately, you'll never surpass yourself. If you lack strong inner desire and don't do any preliminary preparation, you'll never succeed.
5. Not knowing how to handle rejection Often, people are not rejecting you but the product or service you're selling. Even if they reject you, it's normal; if they don't, that's abnormal. Why should customers accept you?
6. Not having sufficient knowledge about your product Mastering product knowledge is the foundation. You should be able to talk about your product fluently, so you can introduce it with confidence and focus on serving customers.
7. Not learning to follow basic sales rules In sales, you don't need to be an expert in everything, but you should be knowledgeable in many areas. Besides basic loan knowledge and product knowledge, you can spend time each day learning other things like finance, law, consumer psychology, etc. Read books, watch news, and understand current economic affairs so you can talk with different customers.
8. Not fully understanding consumers and failing to meet their needs Good salespeople ask questions. Through questioning, you can understand customers' true thoughts. Also, learn to listen; talking endlessly will annoy customers.
9. Not being adaptable Adaptability is essential in work. Product changes, market changes, technique changes, customer needs changes... Salespeople should be flexible in communication to better serve customers.
10. Not following principles The industry has principles to follow. Although sales is flexible, breaking certain rules will only bring trouble.
11. Lack of team spirit Sales is never a one-person battle but a team effort. You must first form a team with your colleagues to become partners with your customers.
12. Being too money-oriented We often say salespeople should be judged by performance, but this is based on legal and ethical principles. Never harm the company's or customers' interests for profit; beware of losing big for small gains.
13. Not keeping promises When serving customers, be customer-centric and sincere. Be honest and don't overpromise things you can't deliver, as this will only reduce customer trust.
14. Not building long-term relationships If you see money as the only motivation and focus on commissions, you'll become insincere, lazy in service, and eventually fail. Completing a deal doesn't mean you don't need to maintain the customer relationship. This is a common oversight. Customer maintenance is a long-term task. Even after a deal, you can send greetings during holidays, so customers will think of you first when they or their friends need something.
15. Not recognizing that diligence brings good luck There's a saying: "Luck is when opportunity meets preparation." Look at those you consider lucky; aren't they all successful because of diligence and hard work?
16. Shifting responsibility Many salespeople blame poor performance on the company's platform, low brand awareness, product features, or customer moods, but they don't reflect on themselves. Remember, taking responsibility is always the fulcrum of success. The standard is to be willing to take responsibility.
17. Lack of patience Few people can easily close a deal on the first visit. Most customers close after multiple visits. Don't give up after rejection; be patient and follow up. 80% of sales come from the 4th to 11th follow-ups. Ask yourself how many times you've followed up before giving up.
18. Not building and maintaining a positive attitude Your attitude determines your altitude. Maintain a positive attitude, and you'll have the courage to move forward even in difficulties.
The biggest enemy of sales is not competitors, not high prices, not rejecting customers, not company policies, not poor products. The biggest enemy is your complaints and excuses!
Performance is your dignity as a salesperson! I'm not being harsh; if you do well, you'll eventually thank yourself for your efforts now!
Source: Dealer's Home -END-