7 Avoidant Behaviors That All Salespeople Need to Stop
Sales is all about doing. You might have all the skills in the world to be a successful salesperson, but until you pick up the phone and start prospecting, they won’t get you anywhere. Without initiative and an ability to self-motivate, even the most promising sales reps will fall flat and be left wondering what went wrong.
Despite this, there are many things that salespeople avoid doing. Whether it’s because they find the task unpleasant, or simply out of a lack of prioritization, you’d be hard-pressed to find a salesperson who does everything they’re supposed to, day in, day out.
So if you want to succeed in sales, you’ll have to stop avoiding some of the necessary evils that come with the job. Doing some of these things might make you nervous or make you groan because of how tedious they are, but if you actually want to achieve your goals, you’ll need to stop doing the following seven things:
1. Putting off prospecting
If there’s one thing that’ll move the needle, it’s putting aside time every single day to look for new business.
2. Emailing instead of calling
Phone-phobia is an affliction salespeople can’t afford to have. Send the email, but pick up the phone and make some calls — it will pay off!
3. Not taking time to learn the product
You can try to wing it all you want, but a sales rep who knows their product(s) inside and out will always have a competitive advantage.
4. Avoiding price discussions
Just because you don’t want to discuss price doesn’t mean the conversation will go away. Conquer your fear and go for it — learning how to negotiate price will lead to more money in your pocket.
5. Focusing on new leads instead of follow-up
New leads always look promising, but the prospects you’ve already spoken to are where the real money is. Focus on follow-up and the big commission checks will follow.
6. Not asking for help
Salespeople are independent-minded and rarely ask for help. Don’t be like this — you are not an island. Use every resource available, unless being successful isn’t important to you.
7. Job-hopping all the time
Instead of throwing in the towel at the first sign of adversity and starting over somewhere else, try sticking it out. Not only will you avoid the ramp-up period, you’ll be at a company long enough to build a huge pipeline.
