Sales Call “Hall of Shame”

Sales calls are challenging as it is… (At least without solutions like conversation intelligence !) Aberrating from basic principles makes things even more difficult.

While there’s always room to make mistakes and learn from them, there are a few cardinal errs that threaten the bottom line and even business sustainability. These baseline gaffes are “must avoid” – even for beginners.?

Here are 10 such errs that qualify sales call for the “hall of shame” induction:

1) Calling without context

Cold calling ≠ clueless calling

No matter how good you are with words but when you’re calling prospects without having sufficient context on them, you’re setting yourself up for failure 99 out of 100 times.?

It’s essential to understand who the prospect is, their needs and exact concerns, and what kind of solutions they are looking for.?

The better you understand them, the better you can tailor your overall conversation and pitch, thereby increasing the chances of conversions.

2) Trying to rush through the sales cycle

Yes, you want to increase sales velocity. But that’s not a good reason to rush through the sales cycle, which eventually leads to pushing prospects into a purchase.

Every stage in the sales cycle has its distinct purpose – from prospecting and discovery call to lead qualification and nurturing.

Different prospects will take their own time at various stages, depending on where they are on the customer journey map.?

Pushing them down to a close will not only negatively impact their experience but also influence their decision against the purchase.

As a sales rep, it’s important to give prospects enough time at every stage. The idea is to help them in their decision-making process (by resolving their issues, discussing pain points, and validating solutions) and NOT push them for a purchase.

(As a side note, check out this video where Shyam Sunder shares strategies and frameworks on how sales teams can use effective sales acceleration strategies to increase pipeline velocity ??)

3) Over-relying on call scripts

Scripts are an important part of sales calls, yes. They are very handy, especially for new reps.

But if you’re over-relying on them, they can also render ineffective outcomes.

Sales reps should ideally be dynamic in approach, adapting in real-time per the context of the ongoing conversation.

Blindly following scripts adds rigidity to sales calls, often leaving prospects with unsatisfied answers and reps with undesired results.

4) Hard selling (being aggressive)

Hard selling is one of the most popular sales strategies.?

But does it work in 2022? Not really. Not at least in most cases.

It has two fundamental flaws:

One, when you force someone to buy from you (something that they might not really want), you’re making poor-quality sales. That customer’s lifetime value would be small with very little scope for retention.

Two, you’ll end up frustrating the prospect with nagging pitches. They will not only NOT buy from you but also leave with a negative brand impression.

Unless data validate otherwise, hard selling is a no-go today.

5) Overlooking the importance of tone

As Chaniqua (Nikki) Ivey says, there needs to be a reinforced emphasis on the tone.

The way you talk and respond to prospects over call can make or break the deal.

Even when you have the most fool-proof closing strategy, if prospects don’t like your approach and overall tone, they’re not going to buy.

So, while a lot of attention usually goes to what reps say, a lot more emphasis needs to be given to how reps say it.

The tone should be respectful and empathetic, clear and confident.

(This requires the sales leaders to look at their tech stack and update their training materials. Modern solutions like sentiment and moment analytics can reveal a lot about reps’ tone during sales calls.)

6) Trying to sell on price

Price is an important point of consideration for prospects – but it’s not the only factor they consider.

Building your entire sales conversation around the price of your products is a huge mistake.

Not only will it undercut your margin, but it will also leave you exposed to competitive vulnerabilities; any competitor would easily be able to steal away your customers by offering products at a cheaper rate.

The focus should always be on value prop and how it will solve the pain point of the prospects. You must highlight every small and big benefit of the product, which will thereby justify its higher price.

Story-selling can be helpful here. But it can also be tricky with many nuances that can lead the conversation on the wrong path. Robert M. Peterson, Ph.D. gives a key tip on this: Tell a story that relates to your potential customer and doesn't entirely revolve around your company. (Check out the video here )

Remember, people don’t exactly want cheap-priced products. They want better value.

7) Talking too much

This is a common mistake many new salespeople make.?

Especially when you're using sales strategies like consultative selling and SPIN selling, listening to prospects is very significant.?

It helps you understand their needs and preferences, thereby enabling you with data points to personalize the conversation.

A 60:40 ratio is often recommended wherein you speak 40% of the call and listen 60%. (Of course, this isn’t a “rule”. You can decide how much to speak and listen based on how the conversation is going. But do remember to let the prospects speak more.)

8) Exaggerating, over-promising

When you’re after short-term sales quotas, it’s ordinary to exaggerate the capabilities of the product and over-promise its value. You’re looking to close the deal after all.

While this may work in the short-term, it usually yields poor long-term results.

For one, the customer would be unlikely to make another purchase; the retention rate would be low.

Second, after a bad experience with the product, they may leave negative reviews online. This will hurt the brand's reputation, subsequently hurting its future growth.

Always stick to facts and claims that you can back up.?

9) Not spending time on objections

Some reps don’t spend enough time discussing the objections of the prospects.?

And then there are also those who while they do discuss the objections, their responses aren’t satisfactory.

Unless all the objections of prospects are addressed and they are confident about the product, the majority of them won’t make the purchase.

So, throughout the call, it’s a task for reps to identify the common objections the prospect is raising (or suggesting) and spend enough time proactively addressing them.

Ideally, reps should be prepared ahead with answers to common, recurring questions that prospects usually raise. Thorough preparedness will keep the conversation under their control, leading to the desired outcome.?

10) Asking very few and irrelevant questions

Asking probing questions will provide you with insights to nurture and qualify the prospects.

Unfortunately, many reps don’t ask enough questions. And those who do, they ask irrelevant or non-conversational questions.?

For example:

"On a scale of 1-10, 10 being "very much" and 1 being ”not at all”, how interested are you in buying this product?"

This is a more fitting question than “do you want to buy this product?”

The answer to this will provide you with insights into how much more effort you need to make to close this deal. It also prompts good follow-up questions.

For instance, if the prospect says “6”, you can follow up with “what’s the thing I can do to bump it up to 10” OR “is there any specific reason why just 6”.

Their answers can navigate the conversation in the right direction.

It’s not easy (but it doesn’t have to be very difficult)

Again, sales calls aren't easy. But there are some fundamental errors that reps can't commit no matter what.

To keep yourself on the right track, it's a good idea to define a few principles around what you can do during the call and what you must not.?

Beyond that, success in sales calls is all about building, testing, and optimizing your sales playbook. It's an ongoing process that demands a robust tech stack and constant training for reps.

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Continue learning: The Ben Franklin Close (And 6 More Sales Closing Techniques)