The 10 worst mistakes in sales

"Your fascinating sales and unique strategy start with a smile!"

We are all salespeople! We sell multiple times a day, not only in stores or online shops. We sell the idea of early bedtime to children, vacations to partners, and new cars to spouses. Selling means providing people with solutions to enhance their joy and quality of life. The goal of sales is to bring a sparkle to the eyes of our counterparts by first arousing their desire for the product and then satisfying it. Whether this happens in a physical store or online is irrelevant; what matters is the desire to have and buy: If the buyer falls in love with a product and with you, we have already won! The fascination emanating from such a product and from you makes buyers return – and that is our goal. But how do we achieve that? Many factors come into play, but the real and proper sales conversation in brick-and-mortar retail is crucial for the buying experience of customers. This article discusses what can go wrong – but also right – in the process! You will learn in this article:

• Why Selling is a Management Issue
• How Emotionally Charged Buying and Selling Are
• Which Mistakes You Absolutely Need to Avoid in Sales

Selling – the Boss as a Role Model As entrepreneurs, we carry a great responsibility – even for successful sales! It is our task to live the fascination for sales and pass it on to our employees. We must embody sales, so that our employees can learn from us. 4 questions you should ask yourself:

• When was the last time you had a fascinating sales conversation?
• When was the last time you inspired your employees?
• When was the last time you had a fascinating job interview?
• Have you ever felt a spark ignite and a fire start in people?
• When was the last time you got goosebumps from a positive sales conversation?

Your own self must exude fascination and enthusiasm for your business, products, and services. How else can the spark jump to your customers? If you view your company, customers, or products and services as a burden, a thing, a necessity, your customer will not fall in love with the product or with you. Discover the love for sales! Likewise, your employees may wonder why they should be engaged if even the boss does not show spirited effort, knowledge, enthusiasm, love for customers, fascination, and their own voice. A company is a fascinating organism that, with the right engine, socially and professionally competent and dedicated leadership, is capable of achieving top performance. Do you recognize these behavioral patterns in yourself? #sales #businesssuccess

It's All About Feelings

In sales, one thing is crucial: creating the right mood through your emotions. Without a doubt, salespeople need passion and enthusiasm. Selling with passion and enthusiasm means that the salesperson shows a certain emotional involvement in their task and follows the call for success. This is good in itself, but we not only need the employee's desire and drive; we also need the participating happiness of the customers. In a sale with passionate fascination, it is not just about the egocentric, numerical sense of achievement. A truly good salesperson convinces customers to make a purchase even before they look at the price tag! How? By sowing fascination and enthusiasm beforehand and dominating the customer's senses with thoughts of the product. The goal is to win over the customer's heart so that they see the price of the product as insignificant or simply don't care. The most important thing in sales are feelings. #sales #emotions #business #success

10 Sales No-Gos

Our goal is clear, yet there are some stumbling blocks on our way. You should be aware of these so you can quickly navigate around them. Here are the worst mistakes in sales:

1. Lack of Etiquette It may sound trivial, but do you greet your customers? If you know their name, use it. Look your customer in the eyes, be helpful, and bid farewell warmly?
2. One-Size-Fits-All Consultation Even if you had only one product in your store, every customer desires individual, tailored advice. Meet this expectation, or does the same spiel always come out? Whether it's cars, shoes, or spaghetti, fathers have different needs than retirees, who in turn have different needs than students. Recognize these needs and provide targeted advice! Listen and let your customers speak; you'll gain valuable information!
3. Information Tsunamis You are an expert in your field, naturally, you know everything about your product, but does that mean you should flood potential customers with information? Guide the information sharing purposefully and skillfully steer yourself and your customers through each basic detail by asking questions. Address your customer's needs and avoid opening new topics that you never conclude.
4. Forcing a Sale As mentioned earlier, sales should be a pleasure for both sides. Once one side becomes tense, success becomes distant. If you notice a potential customer is unsure, why not ask why instead of trying to persuade them? Asking questions breaks down barriers on both sides. And even if your customer doesn't bite immediately, maybe they'll return next week precisely because you listened and understood them. Be humane and open your heart. Your sales figures will show if you're on the right track!
5. Lack of Persistence Being too "soft" in sales is also not beneficial. It's not necessary to back off after your customer's first "Hmm, I'm not sure." Ask why! Give the person space to express their personal needs. However, you shouldn't be too "nice" either, because if you – in an exaggerated sense – give everything away, your business won't survive in the long run. Always remember, we sell emotions and enthusiasm that secure our success.
6. Selling Without a Plan It's not just important to know your own products; it's more crucial to know potential customers. Plan your sales conversations! What questions, objections, and issues come up repeatedly? You appear competent and prepared when you don't have to rethink these answers every time. Prepare. This way, you can also have alternatives and counterarguments ready for particularly "critical customers." Actively train yourself to handle objections with precise and revenue-generating responses to achieve a positive sales outcome with your customers.
7. Ignoring Buying Signals Despite thorough preparation, you should not rigidly stick to your plan if the customer is already sending clear buying signals. Nods, agreement, application questions – all indicate clear buying interest. Don't wait unnecessarily long; otherwise, the "perfect sales moment" will pass. Seize the opportunity and close the deal now!
8. Cliché Phrases We all know and hate them: That's not possible. Only what's there. I'm not responsible for that. You have to ask my colleague. We're closing soon. If you want to drive customers away, this is the right approach! Start thinking in solutions, and both you and your customers will be satisfied and happy. We humans love solutions, and your customers will love you even more for each solution. The most successful salesperson will not be the one who knows the most but the one who knows the right things!
9. No Grand Finale Buying is an emotional affair. Our goal is for our customers to feel like winners after the purchase. So, don't miss this last moment of success and stage the payment and product handover particularly warmly, beautifully, and emotionally, as if your customer is receiving a gift from you. Whether through impressive packaging or a particularly friendly farewell, seize the opportunity to leave a positive final impression. Tip: Use your perfectly managed and equipped customer database – your fascinating and unique CRM system!
10. You Don't Love It You must love sales. Customers can sense it when you don't. The "issue" that most people have with sales is feeling like they are imposing something on others. But that's not true! You offer opportunities, you open doors, you solve problems, you build relationships, you create happiness – THAT is fascinating sales! Regularly train for perfect sales, and your customers will love you – I guarantee it!