Don’t Mariah this New Year; Flee the Seven Sales Failings in ‘17

Happy New Year!

A lesson I hope 2017 has already taught salespeople is that you can’t “Mariah” a sale. Lip-synching your way through a sales call, no matter how seasoned, savvy or skilled you may be, is about as off-putting to customers as a diva unable to finish her hit song with a billion people watching.

Career-oriented New Year’s resolutions, which frequently center on attitudinal or motivational goals, are great. This year, though, to avoid self-inflicted, Mariah-esque mistakes, try directing your attention to the things NOT to do as much as the things TO do. Flee from these Seven Failings:

1) Failing to plan. I “Mariah-ed” a sales call recently. Shame on me! I thought I knew the direction I wanted to take the call before it began, but I forgot that earlier I had compiled an essential set of notes (questions and considerations) that needed to be reviewed with the prospect. By the time I remembered, our allotted time had expired and the opportunity to present salient points had to be deferred for another time. Lesson learned: plan and set aside 5-10 minutes before each appointment to review background, objectives, strategy and so forth.

2) Failing to follow up. The day after Christmas, a salesperson who helped me with a major transaction called to gauge my satisfaction. I was grateful and even more convinced I made the right decision. Thanks, Josh! Conversely, despite my multiple communications over the last three weeks to a salesperson who originally assured me he could solve a perplexing problem our firm was having, this salesman “Mariah-ed” our relationship by failing to be there for us.

3) Failing to see a diamond in the rough. A manager recently recounted to me how a group of his salespeople were standing around, talking about the great leads they had each uncovered that day. As they were swapping stories and predicting whose leads would produce the most fruitful customers, a fairly unkempt woman walked into the establishment. Only one salesperson – the least experienced – saw fit to approach her. Thirty minutes later that young salesperson completed what would be the largest purchase recorded by anyone in that group the entire month. Don’t “Mariah” prospects by assuming you can overlook the one in front of you because something better will come along later. Perform now! Otherwise, it might be your last show.

4) Failing to demonstrate appropriate humility. When you’re on top, it’s easy to become arrogant. (It’s crazy to exude arrogance when you’re at the bottom, but I’ve seen that, too.) While everyone wants to be associated with winners, customers may decide more service will be given by organizations that have to fight and claw to survive. Don’t “Mariah” your customers by suggesting you don’t really have to perform your best because they should consider it a privilege to be in your presence. Arrogance has no place in sales. After all, you may have the best product today, but clients will vengefully desert cocky organizations when others release competitive products or services.

5) Failing to remain entrepreneurial. Complacency tends to seep in when salespeople achieve a certain level of comfort due to recent or current success. True entrepreneurs are different. They never “Mariah” their fans customers by thinking they can phone it in. Keep trying to grow and improve your own skills and capabilities. Develop a knack for seeing your customers’ business as if it was your own.

6) Failing to give them their money’s worth. Within reason, do you try to give Premium Service to a Starter Pack customer? Or do you “Mariah” your customers, justifying less than a sterling performance because, hey, they didn’t pay premium prices? Getting a sale may be easy compared to earning and growing trust among today’s discriminating (fickle) consumer audience.

7) Failing to own up to your mistakes. While you need not assume the blame when it clearly was someone else’s lack of attention or performance, be the grown-up in the room and take responsibility when your actions – or lack thereof – were the cause of error or customer dissatisfaction. It hurts for a moment, but the respect it engenders lasts a lot longer.

In order to be incredible in 2017, start with being credible in all your business interactions. Watch for these seven sales failings that can block the achievement of otherwise very attainable New Year’s resolutions.

Rob Cornilles is the Founder & CEO of Game Face, Inc., the original “sales coach for sports.” Over two decades, Game Face’s sales training influence has grown with hundreds of corporations and sports franchises worldwide. For more information, contact him at [email protected].