As Eric Dzugan pursues a VP of Sales job at a major organization, he has learned that sales reps benefit so much more from learning from their mistakes than they do from focusing on their success stories. While every sales rep should be proud of the deals they close, they should also be aware that there is always so much room for improvement. Today, Eric Dzugan will share some of the most common mistakes sales reps make and how they can avoid them to make 2023 their most successful year year.
The biggest mistake a sales rep can make is talking too much. Most sales reps are extroverts and enjoy having conversations. Sales is a difficult career path for those who are shy. Because sales reps are more outgoing, they can tend to talk more than their prospect. Eric Dzugan encourages the sales reps he supervises to listen as much as they possibly can during every step of the sales process. For starters, sales reps can learn more by listening than by talking. Also, people typically appreciate having their thoughts and opinions heard. By actively listening, sales reps can pick up on the biggest needs of the prospect. The sales pitch can then be crafted to speak to the issues the client is facing.
Eric Dzugan believes younger reps tend to have a knack for giving away too much information for free.
Those who are experienced with talking to multiple sales reps will be skilled at driving out as much information as they can from a sales rep. The information a sales rep holds is very valuable. Setting up boundaries and drawing a line as to how much information a sales rep is willing to provide can only help entice a prospect to sign up for a service. Understanding where to draw the line can help a sales rep tighten up their sales pitch while protecting their company’s information.
When speaking to a prospect, a lot of sales reps will focus on the price point of whatever it is their selling. Eric Dzugan has come to learn that people don’t buy anything based on a price point. They buy based on the proposed value the product or service has in their life. If price is brought up by the prospect, the sales rep should bring the conversation back to the value added and why that value makes the price well-worth it for the consumer.
When a sales rep finds themselves in a slump, the natural inclination is to oversell or overpromise what a product or service can deliver. Overpromising may help close a deal or two, but it can also ruin the reputation of both the sales rep and the company they represent. In the age of online reviews, all it takes is one public review to end the career of an emerging sales rep. A sales rep should deliver the facts and explain different ways that a prospect can get the most out the product or service they are selling. Most prospects will appreciate honesty much more than being force fed expectations that are unrealistic.
Finally, Eric Dzugan learned that his closing rate skyrocketed when he spent more time ensuring that the prospects he spoke to were the decision makers at the company. When sales reps speak to people who don’t have the final decision on moving forward, the best-case scenario is gaining their approval and starting the process over again when they are passed to the next person. Eliminating the back and forth with those who can’t make a purchase will save a sales rep a lot of time, which is critical to closing more deals per month.
