5 Most Common Sales Call Mistakes and Their Remedy

“Learn from the mistakes of others. 

You can’t live long enough to make them all yourself.”

• Eleanor Roosevelt

So, here are the a most common marketing and sales mistakes that a sales call person needs to stay away from at all costs. These mistakes affect the customer relationship adversely and devour the company’s long-term goodwill and revenues.

1. Making false commitments

A sales representative is the face of the company. Every word uttered by him holds value. So he should never make promises he is unsure of or is aware that they are hard to fulfill. Delivering on your words is the easiest and simplest way of earning customers’ long-term trust and loyalty. 

Asa sales representative, make sure that you are aware of all the ins and outs of the promises made to the customer. Make use of the CRM and IVR tools to log in the details so that every other sales representative is aware of the commitments made by you on behalf of the company. It’s better to under-promise and over-deliver rather than committing vice versa. Also, as a sales representative, you are there to offer value and not promise to the customer. 

2. Not making use of pre-recorded data

With all the advanced customer relationship management (CRM) and data management software tools available around, there is no excuse for the sales call going wrong because of data flaws. A sales representative creates a sales mistake if he does not check the customer logged data before having a word with the customer.

Asking the same information from the customer on every call, or talking to loyal customers like strangers, creates an emotional setback in the customers’ minds. Consumers prefer and expect personalized communication with the brand representative and rewards in return for their brand loyalty. When pitching to the customer for the first time, always ensure that you are handy with all the viable information about the customer—Pitch in the products that apply to the personal and professional life of the prospect.

3. Ignoring the emotional aspect

As per the study conducted in behavioral economics, emotional reasons back the individual’s purchase decision much more than the rational grounds. People make purchases because of their emotional triggers or other personal or even illogical factors. They prefer to purchase products or services which are endorsed by their family, friends, or acquaintances. Building trust with the prospect is a significant selling influencer. 

Therefore, don’t commit any marketing mistake or sales mistake by overlooking the sentimental values of the product or service being offered. Remember, nostalgia, sentimental attachments, and brand loyalty, apart from other intangible perks, hold more or equal value as compared to the technical attributes of the product or service.  

4. Talking more and listening less

One of the biggest sales mistakes a representative makes is when he talks a lot to push his product or service. Remember, a significant section of the buyer’s population is the generation of millennials, who are smart, tech-savvy people. So they don’t want or have time to listen to those long lists of perks and benefits glued to your product or service.

Do you know that top-end professionals in B2B sales speak only 43% of the time and listen 57% of the time? Therefore, talk a little. Instead, listen more and ask more open-ended questions to allow the customer to speak more. A general listen and pitch ratio should be 60:40. Listening more allows the seller to understand the needs and preferences of the consumer in a better way. As a result, he can tailor craft his sales pitch in a better and personalized manner.

5. Not following up

Not conducting a follow-up call is one of the major sales mistakes even a good salesperson can make. Eighty percent of sales calls require follow-ups to convert, but almost 44% of sales representatives do not conduct repeat calls after the first talk. The market is enormous. It is global. Therefore, every sales representative needs to make follow-up calls to mark the presence of his brand in the prospect’s mind. For example: If you have business in Canada but you are in India, then you can take the help of the take the help of the best virtual phone system to ensure healthy sales calls with regular follow-ups, with no risk. Make use of an effective CRM tool to have access to the auto follow-up modules. With the help of automation, the sales team can trigger regular follow-ups with the prospects.

Bottom line

A sales representative is the face of the company. When he is in direct contact with the prospect or customer, he is accountable for his mistakes and learning’s too.  

Therefore, once you realize you commit any of the above mistakes, you need to improve yourself. For this record, your calls and later on listen to it carefully to identify the improvement zones.