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Top Ten Biggest Sales Mistakes
A study
published last year in the Harvard Business Review sheds light on what
customers really think about sales representatives. The survey of 138
customers responsible for business-to-business purchases for large North
American companies shows that 71% of customers’ grievances with sales
representatives involve lack of communication and procedural missteps.*
But salespeople in all walks of life, including those in the nonprofit
world, can benefit from these findings. Read below to ensure these ten
most common mistakes – listed with the percentage of survey respondents
who called each one a major mistake – don’t find their way into your
sales process.
1. Salespeople don’t follow my company’s business process.
(26%)
2. Salespeople don’t listen to my needs.
(18%)
3. Salespeople don’t follow up.
(17%)
4. Salespeople are pushy, aggressive, or disrespectful.
(12%)
5. Salespeople don’t explain solutions adequately.
(10%)
6. Salespeople make exaggerated or inaccurate claims.
(6%)
7. Salespeople don’t understand my business.
(4%)
8. Salespeople act too familiar.
(3%)
9. Salespeople don’t know or respect the competition. (2%)
10. Salespeople make some other mistake – for example, charging high
prices. (2%)
*“Atkinson,
Tom and Ron Koprowski. “Sales Reps’ Biggest Mistakes.” Harvard Business
Review. July-August, 2006.
The survey was conducted by senior leaders of the Forum Corporation and
reviewed 138 customers responsible for business-to-business purchasing
for large companies in North America.
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