Here are the most common mistakes salespeople make during the sales conversation

"How are you doing things today"?

After an initial conversation, the needs analysis begins. Often the first question the salesperson asks is: "how are you doing things today?". The motive is clear: the seller wants to hear what the problems are to be solved. This question is perhaps the worst a salesperson can ask at the beginning of a customer conversation. It's boring to talk about - it doesn't give the customer any new information, doesn't contribute to solving anything. If it is the salesperson who booked the meeting, the question can create uncertainty for the customer: How much should I tell? If I tell the seller about the situation, what will happen to the answers? What if I appear in a bad way? Do I have to buy something?"Does it sound interesting?"

Asking YES oriented questions

The vast majority of salespeople have been taught to ask the customer for acceptance: "yes-oriented questions". These can be questions like "Do you have time?", "Does that sound interesting?", "Do you want to solve the problems you have?" The answer to the "yes-oriented questions" is a given - they should lead to an acceptance, a "Yes".

The problem is that it becomes difficult to be honest, it's hard to say no.

Another problem is that we all too often answer "yes" in the spur of the moment, it is not a well-thought-out answer. Many sellers have misinterpreted the customer's "yes" and believed that there was motivation to proceed with the deal. The customer makes appointments, does not respond to contact attempts and the business ends up in the sand.Another problem is when the customer asks several suppliers, to provide quotes in order to be able to compare and choose the best option. If the seller asks questions in the wrong way: "Does it look good?", "Did you like our quote?", "Do we have the best offer?" "Are we just a benchmark?" then the customer will give us the answer we want: that we are interesting and good. What the customer really thinks is difficult to find out with these "yes-oriented questions". The customer gives us the answer we want.

"Are you in charge?"

We ask the question to find out who we should ask about the deal, that we are talking to a person. But fail because the question focuses only on the decision-making. We don't ask who influences the decision or who the person listens to.In addition, it is easy to answer "yes" to the question without thinking. Many managers who cannot answer yes to the question do not want to reveal to the seller who and who really has the power over the money. The question forces them to answer "yes". The consequence is that the seller thinks they are talking to the right person. But miss out on connecting with the real decision makers and maybe lose the deal.

Mistakes you probably didn't notice

Missing the customer's assessment of the current situationMany salespeople ask open-ended questions to get the facts, but fail to capture the customer's opinions about the current situation: are they satisfied, are they dissatisfied, are the costs, working methods reasonable or unreasonable? Then the seller misses out on getting the facts about the current situation.

Failing to capture future plans

Another sales problem is that the needs questions only deal with the current situation, not the customer's wishes for the future. For some reason, the customer rarely asks about plans for the future, but stays with the current situation. Then the seller risks not finding out about strategic goals, investments and ambitions.

Failing to understand the manager's personal ambitions.

Many salespeople are afraid to ask what personal ambitions the person they are talking to has. The salespeople ask questions about the company and the department's situation. It is equally important to map out what the manager himself wants to prioritize and solve.

Failing to gain control over the competitive situation

Today's customers are always looking at several options, perhaps the very person you talk to is mostly out fishing for price information that they can use to bargain with their current supplier. If you ask questions like: "Do we have a chance at the deal?" and "Are we in a good position?" you make it difficult for the customer to tell you how things really are. The customer answers "yes" to all your questions but ultimately buys from another supplier.The customer is ashamed to tell the truth. It is vulnerable to tell why you have a certain opinion or that others in the customer's management group actually have another supplier as their favorite.

Missing out on the details of the customer's needs

Most salespeople are skilled at asking the right open-ended questions. But what does the seller make of the response? It is easy to too quickly move on to the next area or start finding solutions to the customer's problem.Too often, the salesperson starts talking about his product benefits too early, at the slightest sign that the customer has problems and needs. Asking more questions in the same area, asking the customer to tell more and staying with the need can provide insights and motivation to for solutions.

Holds too fast a pace

The sales meetings, especially the digital ones, are going faster and faster: in 30 minutes we must have time to introduce ourselves, do a needs analysis and propose a solution. This increases the pace, the questions come faster, the seller does not have time to listen to the answers. It is easy to get caught up in the customers' pace. After the meeting, one notices that much has been missed in the needs analysis. It is unclear how and if what will happen in the future.

The seller is too nice

"How has the weekend been?" A polite question, but the customer can float out and suddenly time is up without the seller having pushed the deal forward. A common mistake is to spend too much time on polite phrases. The salesperson believes that the customer will buy if a personal relationship is created. When you ask questions about how the weekend, the holiday, the dinner was, lets the customer's thoughts go to a relaxing place.Then changing the subject, the focus, to a sales call can be difficult – the customer will need a moment to catch the question. It is often the customer that the customer then needs more time to think - the business moves forward in time.

The seller is talking about the wrong things

Spending too much time on an area that the customer does not think is important is easily done. The needs are clear and you have good solutions. But is this what the customer wants to focus on?

All sellers make mistakes. It's OK to make mistakes. Discovering them can be painful and embarrassing. But it is only then that change can take place.