The Most Common Sales Traps That Scare Away Prospects

Have you ever met a sales person who was his own worst enemy?

Of course you have, but those are the extreme situations. However, many of us are also doing things that scare away prospects without even knowing about it. Here are the three most common sales traps that scare away prospects:

1. Pitching: When you are presenting your product or service to your prospect in the first half of a sales meeting, then you are pitching. This is totally self-destructive for one very important reason: it’s what every sales person does. When you are selling like all other sales people, the prospect’s wall goes up immediately. Instead of pitching right away, ask questions to understand the prospect’s issues.
2. Enthusiasm: For the past 80 years, sales trainers have told sales people to be really enthusiastic when with prospects—and the message got through. Every single sales person out there is trying to be incredibly enthusiastic with prospects. But, put yourself in the prospect’s shoes for a second. If I called you and began my call with, ”Hi, [Your Name]. How are you today?!?!?” would you want to talk to me? Of course not. You’d run for the hills. Instead, just be genuine and real when speaking to prospects.
3. Persuasion: Sales people have been trying to persuade prospects for as long as selling has been a profession. Prospects are so used to being persuaded. The second a prospect sees that you are trying to persuade, the defensive wall goes right up. Rather, seek to understand if the prospect is actually a fit for your product or service by asking questions about their challenges.

By avoiding these three traps, we get out of our own way in closing sales. What traps do you see sales people falling into all the time? Please share below.

Marc Wayshak is author of the book Game Plan Selling and a sales motivational speaker.