5 Sales Behaviors that are Driving Your Customer’s Crazy

Alright, so there are more than five, I get it. There are a lot of irritating behaviors that sales professionals exhibit.

Let’s call these five the most irritating and common behaviors of less-than-professional sales professionals.

1. Talking Too Much

How have we not figured this out? Salespeople influence decision-making when they deeply understand the customer’s issues and can identify a solution to their problems. You cannot talk and learn at the same time.

Talking too much during a sales conversation is often inspired by insecurity, bad strategy, or just a lack of curiosity. Whatever the root cause, yada, yada, yada loses sales more than anything else.

2. Using the “I” Word

This is the cousin of #1, above. Constantly using the words I, me, my, mine, we, our, us, myself, etc. exhausts and irritates your buyers.

Here is a common example: “I love my product…let me tell you why: I find that for the way I live my life, I can’t find anything else that gives me the sense of security I need.” While here it sounds semi ridiculous, this sentence is quite plausible in a sales presentation. And there were five – count ‘em – five first person references in that sentence.

Do yourself and your customers a favor: record your presentation and count up the number of times you refer to yourself. Then, edit! Personal testimony is a great sales technique to a degree. In the end, you are not the buyer, so be wise about how you express your opinions.

3. Lying

Oh, but they are just little sales lies, right? Do the following sentences sound familiar? “I’ve got someone else looking at this, and it’s the last one we have. My manager says I’m not supposed to deal, but I like you – let me see what I can do. We never get any complaints about this product… ever.”

Common? Yes. Socially acceptable? Kinda. Appropriate? Never.

4. Closing Someone Not Ready for Closing

There is a time and place for closing, for helping a customer make the right decision. But closing on a customer when they are not ready (or worse, when you know there is a better option out there) is worse than just bad manners. It’s mean. It also shows that the salesperson is in this for one person: the salesperson. Consider this: Do you see your customer as a partner or a target?

5. Losing Touch

You get a customer strongly considering your product…you ask for the sale…you promise them a better life…you treat them like you are all lifelong buds. And then…they never hear from you again.

Acting like you are your customer’s new BFF and then dropping off the planet only reinforces the sales person stereotype that we are all in it only for the sale. Your customer doesn’t need a new best friend, they need the best sales person. If you hit it off with a customer and genuinely become friends, great! But don’t fake it and then disappear as soon as you make the sale. That is just lazy sales technique and in the end, it will tell your buyer that the only thing you really care about is product, not people.

Please, salespeople everywhere, if you are guilty of the behaviors listed above, STOP THE CRAZY-MAKING!

Shut up, get over yourself, keep it real, don’t rush, be genuine…and you will change someone’s world!

About the Author: Jeff Shore

Jeff Shore is a highly sought-after sales expert, speaker, author and consultant whose innovative and real-world selling strategies help you to change your mindset and change your world. His latest book, "The Keys to Unstoppable Sales Success: 8 Mindsets of Elite High-Achievement Salespeople" is now available. Learn more at jeffshore.com and follow Jeff on Facebook and LinkedIn.