Selling Responsibilty 13 excuses - if only.....then I could have sold.....

One of the on-going exercises I use on sales skills courses is a team challenge.

In this on-going 'game /energiser' where  points are  awarded or deducted  for various things.

One of the areas where points are deducted is for “whining”. 

It is done in a playful way, yet delegates realise over the length of the course how quickly and  frequently we all are to whine and whinge about things.

Whining is where we make excuses and complain why we did not do something.

In Selling

it is where we complain in a feeble or petulant way why we did not achieve the sale/target etc.

It’s been my privilege to work with some top salespeople over the last three decades.

One of the things that distinguishes them from the crowd is they don’t hide behind lame excuses or at least not for any noticeable period of time.

Here is a list of sales excuses. I guess most of us are guilty of them from time to time.

Take a look at them. Ponder on them and work out to eradicate them from your sales routines !

Food for thought to inspire positive mental attitude i selling-
In full English breakfast the hen was involved but the pig was committed!

I have given some ideas how to treat these 'lame' excuses- maybe you can think of additional cures.

1. The product is no good –  ask yourself “Why did you take the sales job if you didn’t believe in the product?” The first sale is to yourself.

2. The price is too high – Sell value not price, rookies sell price. If price was REALLY the whole reason –then your company does not need a salesperson – they could sell the product/ service on line.

3. I haven’t  got  time for prospecting – Make time, plan the day/week/month/quarter/year ahead, stick to your schedule, and eliminate time wasters ( whether activity or people!).

4. The Targets are too high – Stay committed, keep your sense of urgency, and plan steps to achieve goals

5. Our competitors are better – See point 1, do you know why and how to differentiate yourself to  your competitors? Are you buying into their publicity and’ spin’ instead of living and believing in your company?

6. We do not get enough support – Are you abdicating your responsibility- are you looking for someone else to do your work?  Maybe it’s your knowledge of product/customer/market that is lacking. Perhaps you should be able to answer these questions. If not, go to your boss with  the details you are after.

7. There is no call for … No one is buying now – Create urgency and value, most companies have budget and will make decisions if shown value.

8. My product is a commodity – even with basic products great salespeople will create value and differentiation.

9. Can’t get an appointment – build better rapport and trust. Make better initial value communication. Maybe you are not interesting enough to talk to!!

10. They won’t return my calls – See point 9 and did you give them a reason to call you back?

11. Not enough people know about our products/service we need to run more marketing communications campaigns – Marketing and selling are two different things – have you closed every single opportunity in front of you?

12. There are not enough leads – Closely related to Point 11 – cherry picking is not high level selling, be strategic, identify your best prospects and get to them by yourself, you cannot wait for them to beat a path to your door.

Let's make it a baker’s dozen No.13...It's not my job to....no comment necessary on this one I reckon.

Much of this is down to developing a strong positive mental attitude. Are you involved in Selling committed to it?

It has always been a volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous world. VUCA is not all that new!

To adapt a certain advert on the Red London Buses recently  " It's a VUCA world - get over it!