Stop Using These Outdated Selling Techniques

Sales is an ever-evolving industry. Many techniques that used to work simply don’t cut it today. If you want to make sure you’re not trapped in the past, you need to continually update your selling techniques. Buyers have changed, and you need to change with them to remain successful.

It can be tough to change the way you sell, but it’s worth the effort. Outdated selling techniques will sabotage you. If you’re still using old-school tactics, drop them now. While they may have worked when you first started out in sales, it doesn’t mean they’re still effective today. The internet has transformed sales and flipped the buyer-seller relationship. That means sales reps need to learn how to sell the way people buy.

You might think you’re using a modern sales approach, but are you sure? Ditch these six outdated selling techniques and don’t look back.

Cold Calling

First and foremost: If you’re currently still cold calling, you need to stop immediately. This technique simply doesn’t match the new way customers buy. Today’s buyers are more in control than ever. They don’t want to be interrupted by an impersonal sales pitch that’s irrelevant to their needs. And they won’t be pressured into buying something they don’t want. Approaching people this way starts your relationship off on the wrong foot, as most people don’t like receiving uninvited sales calls.

Calling up unqualified leads is simply a waste of time. The amount of effort involved in cold calling just doesn’t pay off.

Overselling

Being passionate about what you’re selling is great. But being overly enthusiastic, talking too much about the offer, and trying too hard to convince your prospects to buy will turn them off. Overselling seems suspicious, which can cause people to pull away from your brand. 

When dealing with a shorter sales cycle, you’ll be speaking with your prospects often. Since you’ll be in frequent communication, you can’t gloss over details and lie about the offer. Stretching the truth may have worked back in the day when the sales process was slower. But salespeople need to do better today. If you want to be considered a trusted salesperson, you need to be honest and professional.

Aggression

While being confident when selling is important, being overly aggressive with a prospect won’t get you the desired results. Salespeople are often stereotyped as pushy, and in the past, they did opt for aggressive techniques. Being overly persuasive today, however, will ruin your chances at making the sale.

Keep in mind that selling is about solving your customer’s problems—not about yourself. Pushing too hard to close deals can damage your reputation. In doing so, you’ll lose your customer’s trust and your credibility. Try to rush a deal, and your prospects will rush away from you.   

Scripted Sales Pitches

Your customers have already gone to your website and researched your products or services. When you lead a meeting with a sales pitch, you won’t impress anyone. Today, top salespeople will only elaborate on their products’ features at the end of the meeting or when the prospects ask. Want to close more deals? Don’t lead a meeting with a scripted sales pitch.

That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be prepared. You want to ask the right questions and tailor your presentation to the buyer’s context. But when you lead with a generic sales pitch, your prospects will likely stop listening. Instead, capture your prospects’ attention by asking the right questions and offering relevant information about how the product or service will benefit them.

Sales Speak

While you might think you sound impressive using buzzwords, you’re actually putting off your prospective customers. Today, selling is all about connecting. And you won’t be able to connect with prospects if you’re being disingenuous. Prospective customers want to trust you. If you’re using words that sound nice but don’t carry any weight, you aren’t making it easy for them to do so.

While it sounds cliché, it’s important to be yourself in order to connect with customers. This way, prospects will see you as an actual person, not just a salesperson looking to get something out of them.

Talking Too Much

Successful salespeople spend less time talking, and more time listening to their prospects and asking questions. As a salesperson, it’s your responsibility to help customers make successful buying decisions. But how can you do so if you don’t know anything about them?

In the old days, the salesperson held the power in the buyer-seller relationship. Customers relied on salespeople to make buying decisions in the pre-internet era. Now, the buyer has the power. Salespeople today need to realize they have a very different role than their predecessors.

You don’t tell your customers what they need—you ask questions to understand their unique situations and find appropriate solutions. Understanding where your prospects are coming from requires active listening. It might be tough to speak less, but your prospects will thank you.

What Should You Do Instead?

By ditching these outdated selling techniques, you’ve made one step in the right direction. But now what? You don’t just want to survive in today’s modern selling environment—you want to thrive and set yourself apart.

Enter the modern world of sales with inbound selling. Instead of chasing your prospects and overwhelming them, let them come to you. Think of yourself as a guide and build relationships with your prospects instead of harassing them. By putting your customer’s needs first, you’ll earn their trust. Offer helpful advice and recommendations and engage with prospects on their terms. Your knowledge, expertise, and experience will position you as a thought leader your customers can count on. And once you’ve established credibility, selling will become a lot easier.

Have any questions? Please share your questions, expertise, opinions, or tips in the comment section below!