Common Interfering Patterns of Behavior
that Affect Sales Productivity
Just
as habit is the fabric of life, so is it the very fabric of selling. The
following are a few of the more destructive habits that inevitably lead to
reduced sales productivity:
Call Reluctance: The habit of avoiding certain sales calls usually
results from a salesperson’s discomfort with the possibility of rejection. The
antidote for this reluctance is a more realistic and logical assessment of the
benefits of earning increased commissions versus the brief discomfort of hearing
the word "no."
Lowering Expectations in Order to Ensure Success: Low quotas are, of
course, easier to reach than high quotas, but low quotas also tend to be
self-fulfilling. Savvy salespeople set goals that are demanding yet achievable
(and presumably higher than the expectations of the sales manager!).
Making Only "Safe" Calls: Safe calls, those made to the same,
old, friendly customers, provoke little or no discomfort. In contrast, cold
calls and calls to larger, unfamiliar accounts may stretch one’s comfort zone
to the breaking point. But those new, uncomfortable, bigger accounts should be
called upon — like it or not. New customers are the life-blood of any
business. And someday, thankfully, those cold-call prospects are destined to
become old, friendly, familiar customers.
Falling Victim to Customers’ Bad Moods: Customers are people too;
sometimes they wake up on the wrong side of the bed, and sometimes they have bad
hair days (or, for that matter, years). Experienced salespeople never allow the
negative emotions of a few customers to bring them down.
Not Paying Proper Respect to "The Numbers": Every sales
situation, every product and every salesperson operates within the laws of
probability. More sales calls, over the long run, equal more sales. Savvy
salespeople understand their ratio of calls to sales, and they make sufficient
calls to meet or exceed their sales goals.
Failing to Make the Most of Key Sales Times and Sales Opportunities: All
of us have outside obligations, distractions, and responsibilities. Oftentimes,
salespeople have the freedom to attend to these details whenever they choose.
But beware: customers are only available during certain periods of the day.
These "key sales times" must, at all cost, be preserved for selling.
Knowledgeable salespeople understand when and where they can meet their
customers, and during those times, they do exactly that.
Failing to Ask the Customer to Buy: The inability to close a sale often
results from a fear that the customer will say no. So instead of risking
rejection, the salesperson simply keeps selling, hoping that the customer will
buy without being asked. Sometimes, customers place orders as a result of a
sales presentation; sometimes they must be asked. So ask.
Inconsistent Selling: Professional selling requires consistency. Those who
fall prey to a start-and-stop mentality will find that they almost never catch
up with consistent, predictable, dependable salespeople. In selling, tortoise
beats hare. Consistently.
This page was written by
Criswell Freeman, Psy.D.
