How to Avoid Being a Needy Salesperson

At some point in your sales career, the bottom has fallen out of your rise to sales stardom. You're not certain you can sell the kids on going to bed!

This uncertainty can and will affect motivation, confidence, and competence. You find yourself needy, maybe pushy, and desperate to make a sale. There are steps you can take to avoid being a needy salesperson.

Every lion trainer knows that the lion is a predator animal but is trainable. The lion trainer also knows if he exhibits weakness or vulnerability, the lion will attack the trainer. Buyers can smell a needy and weak salesperson a mile away..just like a lion.

Neediness will be spotted by the skilled buyer in a variety of ways…even with something as simple as an introduction.

Buyer: “Hi, I’m Blake Andrews”

You: “Nice to meet you, Mr. Andrews”

When you refer to the buyer as “Mr. Andrews” or “Miss Andrews,” you might believe this is showing respect. Actually, what you're conveying is, ‘Mr. Andrews, you’re much more important than I am.” You place yourself in a subservient role instead of someone of equal value, which is two businesspeople coming together to engage in a discussion and reach an agreement. See the difference?

Consider the difference between these two exchanges.

Hi Julie,?This is Rachel Smythe with ABC Capital Investments and I want to see if I can get 10 minutes on your schedule so I can show you how we can work together in the future.

Vs.

Hi Julie, my name is Rachel Smythe with ABC Capital Investments. We specialize in small businesses like yours to increase revenue. Do you still handle the investments?

If you are the buyer, which one would you rather hear?

The first example is all about the salesperson. "I Want" and "So I can" are examples of neediness. The second example is about the prospect and the right approach when calling for the first time.

Avoid Proving Yourself

Talking more than listening is a sure signal to the buyer that you need the sale. Often times neediness shows up as talking in industry jargon or using an extensive vocabulary to impress while at the same time dominating the conversation.

Feeling the need to impress or feel important are signals that neediness has crept into your psyche.

Have you ever heard a voice message greeting where the person drones on and on about how and when to reach them because they are so busy and important? Or someone left you a voice message that droned on and on. Both scream NEEDINESS

Many bad deals have been made or lost because of neediness.

Avoid Feeling Needy

You don’t need the sale that compromises you or the price. Let’s face it, most of us don’t really need anything, but we sure want a bunch of stuff.

Contain the feeling of neediness by keeping it all in perspective. Do this by shifting the emphasis from "need" to "want."

It’s ok to want to close the deal because it’s a good option for the buyer. It’s something altogether different to need the deal, so you keep your job. The shift in the mindset is so subtle it may not be obvious to you, but it is certainly obvious to the buyer who is looking for subtle cues to secure discounts and price breaks.

The word “want” means to strive for, plan for, and develop a process to close the deal instead of unconsciously sabotaging the deal because you need it to survive another day. If you can feel the desperation, so can the buyer!

?Last Word on How to Avoid Being a Needy Salesperson

Have control and discipline over your feelings while developing the sale. When that happens, the buyer will perceive you as confident, which leads to trust.