It’s time to get control of the number one thing sales people do regularly to hurt themselves and their company.
I don’t believe it’s a lack of closing, prospecting or any other skill that most sales people would say is the number one way they are hurting themselves and their company.
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I believe the number one way sales people destroy profit is by not believing in their price 100%.
Giving in too soon
Too many sales people roll over and play dead when the customer even hints at not being willing to pay full price. I recently witnessed an exchange between a customer and a sales person where the sales person, even before putting the offer on the table, told the customer they were going to give them a lower price.
You might say this was a verbal tactic and the sales person was prepared for it by increasing the initial price. Sorry, but it wasn’t. I knew what the regular price was and what the sales person should have been selling it for.
As if offering a discount right upfront wasn’t a big enough mistake, the sales person went on to give the customer an even bigger discount when they were slow to respond with their decision. Did the customer wind up buying? Yes, so you could say the sales person got the sale.
The problem is they gave up nearly 50% of the profit they should have made.
Afterward I asked the sales person why they were so quick to offer a discount and the response didn’t surprise me.
Bad assumptions
First, they said it was obvious from what the customer was saying to them that they weren’t going to pay full price. Where the sales person got that inclination, I have no idea as I heard the entire discussion.
Second, the sales person said the prices they charge are simply too high for today’s economy and the competition is a lot less. Wow! Talk about making bad assumptions.
Build confidence and conviction
The number one way sales people destroy profit is by not having enough confidence and conviction in what it is they sell. This lack of conviction causes them to roll over and give in far too quickly to customers.
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The piece that drives me crazy is how they do this based on actions or comments made by a customer that are taken out of context.
Believing in what it is you sell and how your customers will benefit from it is essential, and I’m a firm believer in the concept that the more a person pays for something, the more value they will find in it.
The sales profession is not about giving things away. Leave that to your marketing or advertising department. Your job is to believe 100% in what it is you sell and to then sell it at 100% full price.
