These days, edging a sale towards a close isn’t a simple step-by-step process that you could imagine reading in a “how to do sales” book. That might have once felt the case; however, navigating a prospect through the sales funnel can be a much more nuanced process now.

You could even call sales something of an art – and, if you want to make sure that your paint strokes go in the right direction, here are some techniques to prioritise omitting from your – ahem – palette.

Adopting a “salesy” tone

Instinctively, an inexperienced salesperson might want to heavily pile on the loudness and enthusiasm in a bid to get attention from a prospect. However, acting on this instinct could actually repel customers who too easily detect your insincere demeanour.

For this reason, you should instead take up a “low-key, friendly, genuine voice”, as Entrepreneur advocates. This will be better for firmly connecting with prospects.

Enthusing too much about yourself

Obvious though it may initially seem that you should talk about your prospects, too many salespeople still make the mistake of making themselves and their offerings the main focus of attention. So, how do you revert the focus back to your prospect?

Ask them questions aimed at clarifying this prospect’s aims, challenges, requirements and desires. Through doing this, you could find that you fall naturally into a tone conducive to better sales.

Arguing with the customer

There’s a risk of unhelpful tension flaring up if, during the conversation, the customer takes issue with a point that you raise. However, resist arguing with the client, as you won’t change their mind.

It would be better for you to ask the customer to explain why they think this.Listen carefully as the customer answers, perhaps even in intricate detail. Through listening to each detail as it arrives, you could pick up on something which later helps you to close the sale.

Not establishing the customer’s budget

Though many salespeople could feel discomfort creeping in when asking a prospect about their budget, you should learn to overcome reticence that arises from this.

This is important because every prospect will have their own budget – and, if you evangelise about a product or service only to realise that the prospect can’t afford it, you have wasted time, both yours and theirs. Prioritising finding out their budget can allow for a more productive conversion.

Acting as though every prospect is qualified

Here’s another example of a horrendous waste of time in the world of sales: attempting to sell to a prospect even when they don’t appear well suited to the product or service being offered.

With time that you invest in ill-fitting prospects, you could be directing your efforts towards people who are likelier to say yes to what you seek to sell.

Unearthing success in sales can seemingly pose one challenge
after another, but training courses from Impel Dynamic can assist you in honing your sales prowess and so avoiding making rookie mistakes.