The Biggest Sales Mistake

What’s the biggest sales mistake?

You’ve observed others making mistakes and you’ve probably made a few yourself. Salespeople are often highly susceptible to embracing processes that hurt their long-term sales.

They can often make decisions which seem like a good idea in the moment, but cause massive complications in the future.

However, the biggest error that a salesperson can make is selling to everyone. It does seem like a good idea. After all, the more sales the better…right?

Selling to everyone is short-term gain for long-term pain.

The truth is, you don’t need to, nor should you sell to everyone in your pipeline. Only sell to the people that are your best prospects. When you attempt to sell to everyone you can, your customer service often falls short. You begin to work with people who are not necessarily the right fit for your business, and as a result, it becomes more difficult for you to meet and exceed your buyer’s expectations.

If you’re committed to results (which I’m sure you are!), chances are you will focus more on these unsatisfied clients which will deviate your attention away from clients who are a good fit for your business and satisfied with the results you’re delivering. As a result, you’re likely to receive complaints from previously satisfied customers and this can lead to a drop in client retention.

Once you get caught in this vicious cycle, it’s tough to get out! But, you can avoid getting caught in the first place by being selective with who you choose to work with!

Consider a more efficient approach. Simply look at your current client base and determine who your best prospects are now. Then, target all of your prospecting activities (direct and indirect) to a set of those best prospects.

When you begin working exclusively with clients that fit well with your business, you’ll be able to seek out prospects with similar qualities and continue the trend of creating successful and long-term relationships with your clients.

Shift your focus from selling to everyone and focus instead on creating mutually beneficial relationships. Narrow down your prospecting activities and target only those prospects who you can serve efficiently.

By doing so, you will actually increase your sales results long-term without risking any customer service issues arising in the future.

What’s one quality you look for in all of your prospects before you work with them?