Beware: 5 sales call mistakes that you shouldn’t commit

History repeats itself. The same dissatisfying sales result again.

As per the sales reports, you’ve made many calls. However, the question is how many out of them were successful?

Sales call failures are the root causes of many lost deals. 

Sales call is one of the main communication channels used to interact with potential buyers. 

92% of all customer interactions take place over the phone – Salesmate 

Sales reps tend to make many mistakes while selling over the phone and give prospects a reason to explore the competitor’s products. 

If you too are one of them, then it is high time that you give those mistakes attention before dialing your prospect’s number. 

Sales call mistakes you must avoid 

So, what are those sales calls mistakes that are driving away the prospects and affecting your conversions?

To help you I’ve mentioned a few common ones below: 

Sales call mistake 1 – Reading from a script

You call the prospect, and after the opening statement, you commence reading from a sales script. 

Put yourself in the prospect’s shoes and think, what you would have done if someone sounded so robotic. 

Yawn or rather hang up?

Prospects prefer to speak to someone who understands their problem and provide a solution to it.

For that, you need to have a meaningful conversation with the prospect. I am not saying you shouldn’t have a sales script.

A sales script helps you in staying on the right track. But make sure it just has the essential points rather than the lengthy narrative.

Keep the sales script for your reference to ensure you don’t miss out on something important. But don’t read it word to word.

Sales call mistake 2 – Pitching before you build a rapport 

Yes, you are in a hurry to reach your sales targets. Your aim is to close the deals as soon as possible. However, that doesn’t mean you straightway start speaking about the strengths and benefits of your product. 

It will fall on deaf ears. The prospect might be polite enough to listen to you once, but there are chances they might not receive your call again.

You surely wouldn’t want to do that as it might put an end to the deal.

So, establish a relationship with your prospects before you start speaking all good things about your product.

Focus on the customers and try to make them comfortable. Research about them before making the discovery call so that you can speak about things that interest them. Then gradually know about their requirements as well as challenges and try to help them. Act as a consultant and guide them with the path they should be treading to fulfill the needs and overcome the issues.

Know what your customers want most and what your company does best. Focus on where those two meet. – Kevin Stirtz

Sales call mistake 3 – Scanty or not at all questioning

The more information you gather, the better you can help your prospects. For that, you need to ask relevant questions to your prospects.

Questions are a valuable tool to amass information that can help you during the closure.

Here are a few questions that you should be asking your prospects-

• What are your goals for this year?
• What’s holding you back from achieving those goals?
• Is overcoming this obstruction a priority at present?
• Tell me more about the problem?
• Do you have anything in mind to resolve this issue?
• What does a good solution look like to you?
• What budget is available for fixing this issue?

Sales call mistake 4- Pretending to know something you don’t

Well, there are many writing platforms on the Internet if you are good at storytelling. Do not use this skill negatively on a sales call when you don’t have the answer to the question a prospect has asked.

You may say something that your company doesn’t offer, and later while closing the deal the prospect might point that out in the contract. So, you might land up in trouble. Oh, let me rephrase it. You might probably lose the deal.

So do not make these sales call mistakes.

Be honest with your prospects. If you aren’t sure about something, then take some time and tell the prospect you will get back to them. But do not cook up stories, saying “we can do this” and “we can do that”.

Sales call mistake 5 – Inadequate preparation

Most of the sales calls fail because the sales reps aren’t prepared.

You just get a few minutes on a sales call to capture the prospect’s interest; if you fail to impress, there are fewer chances that the prospect might speak to you again.

So, ensure you prepare before you call your prospects.

If you’ve recorded your sales calls, then listen to them and identify the problem areas. Create a list of the major objections you are facing while selling over the phone. Find out ways to deal with those objections.

Focus on your tone and pace. Are you speaking too fast, or are you unclear to your prospects?

Find that out and work on it. Ensure you sound confident while speaking to the prospect.

Have a mock call session with a senior who is experienced in handling difficult sales situations. 

Ask him to put forth various sales objections and guide you when you get stuck at any point. This will help you in preparing for various sales situations while speaking to the prospect.

Wrapping up

We all commit mistakes. But these mistakes shouldn’t be overlooked. Give them attention at the right time. Analyze your sales calls for that. See where you are going wrong. Make amendments in real-time. Use technology that makes it easier to communicate over the phone, for instance, most of the best CRM software offers built-in calling feature. You can easily access your contacts and check their entire profile before even initiating the call to your prospects. Salesmate comes with a built-in virtual phone system. You can easily call from the system and add notes to it. Besides its warm call transfer features, you can even keep the prospect on hold and discuss important points with your colleagues. Boost your calling experience with this advanced CRM.