As you might expect I spend a lot of time working with sales
professionals helping them to breakthrough their personal
barriers. In doing so it always amazes me that the same
"reasons" for under-performance arise again and again.
Salespeople look me in the eye and voice these "reasons" as
if they're real and as if I've not heard them before!
In this article I am going to share with you the top 10
excuses used by sales losers so that you can audit the
"reasons" that you use when you're not getting the results
that you would like. In my experience nearly all salespeople
use some or all of these excuses at some point in their
sales career. Auditing your usage of them will pay massive
dividends in motivation, focus and results in the short,
medium and long-term.
My challenge to you as you read these excuses is to do two
things...
* Firstly, honestly appraise whether you do use any of these
excuses. Consider how often, when and at what cost...
* Secondly, hold yourself to a higher standard and vow never
to accept them ever again.
Top 10 Excuses Used By Sales Losers...
1. Poor market conditions / economy. Most salespeople use
this as a reason for not performing at some point or other
in their careers. I have worked with whole companies who
spout this "reason" almost as a mantra! I'm not arguing that
some markets aren't more buoyant than others, however there
is always opportunity for those who work hard. In many "poor
markets" many of your competitors may hold this excuse and
therefore have almost given up. This leaves the door open
for you to work smarter and secure the clients that are in
the marketplace.
2. Expensive / uncompetitive products. I worked with a
company who took a new product to market. After the initial
trial runs, much of the feedback from the clients stated
that they thought that the product was too expensive. Much
of the sales teams concluded therefore that the product was
uncompetitive. One sales individual however made enormous
sales so I sought him out and spoke with him. He told me
that the other salespeople in the business were selling on
price not value and had failed to identify how the product
was worth the money to clients! Expensive and uncompetitive
are subjective words... in what context are you using them?
3. Lack of training or education. Lack of training or
education is one of the most widely used excuses in business
today. For some reason many individuals feel that they would
be more successful if only... Conversely speaking, sales
superstars take responsibility for their own success. I
believe that for the most part, individuals already have all
of the skills that they require to be successful. If there
are genuine areas in which training would be useful then
identify what training and development you need and organise
it yourself.
4. Poor management and support. I have never worked in a
business where somebody didn't criticise the management and
support. Let's face it, if you want to push the blame
outside of yourself you'll always find a way to do it! Sales
losers seem to find someone to blame and a way to lose
wherever they work. Sales superstars accept reality for what
it is and find a way to excel wherever they work. Which are
you?
5. Wrong territory or geographic region. Territories,
geographic regions, vertical sectors... in many of the teams
that I work with these are extremely hotly debated topics.
I'm not arguing that one territory is the same as another
however it is incredibly rare that I meet a salesperson that
has ALL of the business in their territory. What I tend to
find is that whatever territory you give to salespeople...
plodders plod and superstars perform. Could it be possible
that there is no such thing as a mediocre territory only a
mediocre sales person?
6. Saturated sector or niche. Much like some of the other
excuses this is a matter of context. Certainly some sectors
are more mature than others; however once a sector reaches a
certain level of maturity then all sorts of new
opportunities arise (e.g. Clients fail to get the service or
solution that they require and look around for new business
partners). There's even some advantages... at least your
clients know that they need a solution, they don't need to
be educated to that. You just need to persuade them of the
benefits of you and your solution.
7. Weak client base. Many salespeople complain about the
nature of their clients... number, size, spend etc. When I
was first in sales I worked opposite a girl who had multiple
accounts. One of these spent twice as much on the same
solutions as my largest client. To add to my problems they
also weren't that fussy about the quality of their solutions
and my client was incredibly fussy! For about three weeks it
ate into me. I moaned to anyone who would listen and things
were bleak. Then one day one of the office superstars pulled
me aside, "Gavin, you can't fight with the way it is. What
you can do is work harder, smarter and faster. Prove that
you can win business anywhere and opportunities will open up
to you. Stop believing that the grass is greener on the
other side of the fence...". That year saw me break all
records for that business.
8. Upbringing and education. Some people still believe that
their upbringing and education effect their outcomes in
life. There's even loads of academic argument about it. I
don't care! What I know is that if you accept that argument
and you didn't have a great education or upbringing then you
are emasculated!!! Look! There are loads of examples of
people who have broken out of awful backgrounds and have
achieved amazing successes. Whether you're a PHD from
Harvard or a comprehensive drop out we all have the same
opportunity to sell. After a sales presentation the words,
"I'm sorry that wasn't so good but I'm a Harvard grad you
know" aren't going to help!!!! The profession of selling is
a great leveller.
9. Poor office conditions, team members, database! What do
you do when things go wrong in the office? Are you bothered
by other team members? The wrong temperature? The
technicalities of the database? One individual I worked with
delivered a 3 page report on the database to his managers
the month before I arrived and then had the gall to winder
why his sales figures were no good!! Stop trying to control
external events and control what you can... your sales
activities.
10. Lack of reward or recognition. Genuinely, if you're not
getting the reward and it's a problem... move on. Otherwise
get on! Lack of reward or recognition is not a reason. It's
an excuse. Too many salespeople complain about this area. If
you need rewards and recognition get inventive and find ways
of rewarding and recognising yourself.
For the last 10 years, Gavin Ingham has been helping sales
people to explode their sales performance by turning
self-doubt, fear and lack of motivation into self-belief,
confidence and action. With his inspirational approach to
sales performance and motivation Gavin combines commercial
experience, personal excellence and communications
technologies in delivering personal and business sales
success.
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