5 Sales Killers you need to know

Every salesperson can tell you a story about the big deal that got away. Successful salespeople can tell you why it got away and what they have done to ensure future sales success. The key in sales is to learn from your mistakes. The tips that follow provide a guide to help you adjust your sales effort and be more effective when trying to close the deal.

Sales Killer 1 - Lack of Professionalism
If you want to be respected in business, you need to take the steps necessary to be professional. From marketing materials to personal presentation, everything needs to convey professionalism. If your prospect does not think you are a professional with expertise in your industry, you are not going to sell much. Remember that first impressions count and (as Einstein says) God is in the details.

At Importers.com, lack of professionalism is not just a deal killer, it is a deal non-starter. Companies with poor business profiles (anything less than 25 words) or poor product descriptions/images are just NOT going to be contacted. Suppliers that do not present their company nor products professionally do not get inquiries. Without an online inquiry, the deal never even gets off the ground.

Sales Killer  2 - Lack of Trust
In the offline world, 2 businessmen can shake hands, look each other in the eye and make a deal. Through the human connection, trust is built. But in the global economy with the Internet changing the way business is done, face-to-face meetings are increasingly rare. And without personal contact, companies need to take other steps to prove their company is trustworthy. If a buyer doesn't trust you, they certainly are not going to buy from you. So, what can you do?

The first step is to get your company internationally certified by a leading business credit reporting agency. Dun & Bradstreet, AsianCIS, Huaxia Credit are a few examples. By registering your company, you provide international businesses with access to business information that is verified by a third party. Companies can also become members of the Better Business Bureau, join their Chamber of Commerce, or become members of leading Trade Associations. Their are many ways a company can build trust and it is increasingly important to make this effort.

Sales Killer  3 - Lack of qualification
How often have you called someone or sent an email message to a prospect that goes absolutely no where? Or, have you given a sales presentation only to discover your products are not relevant to their needs? If you don't qualify your prospects then it quite likely that you are wasting your time (and theirs too!). A certain percentage of the people you talk with won't be good candidates for your product. Do you know who is who? How well do you know your potential customers?

The best salespeople go far beyond establishing rapport, they get to know prospects deeply. Through this process, they qualify prospects to discover customer priorities and potential sales return. By qualifying prospects, salespeople learn what is important to the prospect and how important the prospect is to them. Every product solves a problem. What business problem does a prospect have that matches your product benefits? By identifying customer priorities, salespeople can begin to prioritize their own sales efforts.

Sales Killer  4 - Lack of questions
This is the result of too much sales talk and not enough listening and it follows directly from lack of qualification. Too often salespeople jump into their pitch, throwing product features out, peppering their presentation with key benefits, but in fact, they have no clue about what their prospect really wants. Without learning what is important to your customer, it doesn't make much sense to overload them with information.

At Importers.com, this is especially true with email. Some suppliers send out pages and pages of product details to customers that have absolutely no interest. Or, the customer may be interested in a certain product, but because the info is buried in a pile of other content, the important details are lost. Suppliers would be well served to learn to ask questions as much as they present products. Knowledge is power and for the savvy salesperson, this is especially true.

Sales Killer  5 - Lack of follow up
In most sales scenarios, prospects do not buy immediately. So it's hard to understand why salespeople so often miss the boat and don't follow up with prospects. Last week, I sent a message to a company requesting pricing and details on about 30 of their products - about a $5000 order. To date, I have not had a reply and at this point, that supplier is dead to me. Whether by phone, email or in person, good salespeople know to keep their prospects close. A quick response during the sales process helps buyers to gain confidence. In sales, it is often said that people buy people, not products.