Whilst running training courses, it is always nice to have a series of anecdotes or stories to highlight key learning points.  For all the models and structures that surround a subject like sales, I often find an actual example of what a sales person has done, works really well.  It is by showing and highlighting what not to do that sales people start to see how techniques and skills can really help them.  Fortunately, sales people in all sorts of environments provide me with an endless stream of examples of “what not to do”.

Possibly one reason as to why these mistakes and errors creep in could be pressure.  As pressure grows on sales people, techniques get pushed aside and sales people start to use what I term “street sales” techniques.  These revolve around getting a sale as quickly as possible. The results can be catastrophic not only for short term business but for long term as well.  However much pressure a sales person feels that they under, they should always use solid techniques to achieve a sale.

It is not just pressure that leads to poor sales technique; over confidence can lead to some terrible mistakes.  Experienced sales people often get into routines and do not change their approach, “because it worked once”.  Poor training is a major factor as to why sales people start using random tactics.  If you are not pointed in the right direction how do you know what to use?

So what do sales people do, that in a training room one can laugh and say knowingly “I would never do that”.  All of these are true and some more disastrous than others but the common denominator being that each sales person had no idea of what they were doing in terms of damage!

• A sales person once phoned me and asked to speak to Mr. Osborne, I politely told them it was Mr. Osmond, he said Osbourne, I said again, no Osmond, O.S.M.O.N.D, to which he replied, “yea, whatever”. That was an obvious example of someone thinking I just want to sell to you, so his brain is moving quickly to where he wants to be. Unfortunately he has let the cat out of the bag and verbalised that feeling. Lesson: get the customers name right and take your time. He now has no chance of ever selling anything to me.
• I walked into a car showroom and told the guy I needed a bigger car because we had twins and needed more space. To cut a long story short, he showed me a Ford Galaxy and sat me in the front seat. He then proudly demonstrated the front and back parking sensors, returning to me, pronouncing that parking sensors are now standard on Galaxy’s. As a sales trainer, I felt like saying to him, “what in my conversation has led to think that I need help with my parking?” Lesson: don’t tell someone what you think is good about your product. Tell me what will help me. All I needed to know was whether my double buggy would fit in the car.
• I was buying a digital camera for my office recently and asked the assistant for a camera that was light weight and easy to use. He got me a camera off the shelf, which fitted the bill perfectly. As I was just about to say that all seemed fine and could I buy it, he told that “the other excellent thing about this camera was that it had sepia mode and sports mode”. Now I was starting to think that I was about to pay for things that I simply did not need. Lesson: do not over sell, tell the customer only features that can be of benefit to them.
• When I walked in a clothes shop, with two of my children, I was somewhat surprised by an assistant who greeted me with the phrase “Alright big fella” Quite an extreme example, but over-familiarity with a customer does not sell. I wanted to know where the jeans were. He thinks he’s getting on well with me. Lesson: earn the right to be familiar, by being solid and professional, you can develop a business relationship before you are their best mate.

Some are more extreme than others but these examples show how easy it is for sales people to slip into bad habits, thinking they are increasing the likelihood of making a sale.  Beware!