Getting in the door to make the sales call is a big deal these days.  The worst thing that can happen when you are there is that you sabotage yourself and end up losing the deal.  It’s easier to do than you think.  The more experience you have in sales, the more often you are apt to make what feel like rookie mistakes, that cost you the deal.  Problem is that these sure fire deal breakers are often the result of over confidence and reliance on your experience.  Don’t be the guy who shows up with a handful of color copies of 10% off coupons and a big goofy smile for his meeting with one of the Fortune 500. Be careful of the fatal five.

1. Don’t Do Your Homework

Winging it in a sales call is a huge mistake.  Customers expect you to have taken the time to know who they are, what they are about, and be prepared to ask clarifying questions.  Asking basics like, “What do you do?” are non recoverable errors.  They turn a potential customer off quickly.  The last thing you want to do is leave them with the impression that they were not important enough for you to do a quick bit of background work.  To quote my Uncle Dick, apply the Seven P’s:  Proper Prior Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance.  Tattoo it on your ass if you have to.

Do an internet search before your sales call.  Create a dossier on the potential client and refer to it before your sales meeting.

2. Act Inappropriately for the Setting

It is so easy to get caught up in the moment of a business dinner that turns into a karaoke event.  But, please remember you are the salesperson, not the client’s best friend.  What may seem like a good idea at 2 a.m. in the dark, smoke filled bar is probably not going to be a good thing in the light of day.  Jello shots off of the office assistant’s belly, letting the VP of international sales drink out of your shoe, singing anything by Meatloaf: not good ideas.  Trust me.

Have fun with your clients, but remember you are at a business function.  “What happens on at a sales event, stays at a sales event,” does not cut it out in the real world.

3. Assume you Know What the Customer Wants

If you have done your pre work, you have a pretty good idea of what the potential customer may need from you.  But do not assume you know exactly what they want.  Your job in a sales call is to ask good questions and listen.  When the client is done talking, then you can suggest your possible solutions for them.  In short, know when to shut up.

Be prepared with multiple solutions for any one client, and better yet be ready for the unknown.  Sometimes the client does not know what they want until they are in the sales call.

4. Don’t Follow Up

It’s a rare day that the sale is closed in one meeting.  If it is, great!  However, more often then not the client will tell you they want to think about it.  Your job is to give them the appropriate amount of space to ponder their options, but not enough that they go with a competitor or forget about you.  You have to follow up.  This is not your ex hounding you about picking up the dogs for the weekend.  Call back.

Make a schedule for your sales calls, that sets a follow time and day.  Put that on your calendar and remember to follow up.

5. Bad Mouth the Competition

No matter how tempting it is, never badmouth your competition.  It makes you look petty and it also makes the client wonder what you are saying about them to others.  Remember Thumper’s Mother’s sage advice: 

If you have nothing good to say, say nothing at all.

5 Things you Must Do to Avoid Losing the Deal

1. Do an internet search before your sales call.  Create a dossier on the potential client and refer to it before your sales meeting.

2. Have fun with your clients, but remember you are at a business function.  “What happens on at a sales event, stays at a sales event.”, does not cut it out in the real world.

3. Be prepared with multiple solutions for any one client, and better yet be ready for the unknown.  Sometimes the client does not know what they want until they are in the sales call.

4. Make a schedule for your sales calls, that sets a follow time and day.  Put that on your calendar and remember to follow up.

5. If you have nothing good to say, say nothing at all.