3 Deadly Telesales Mistakes to Avoid

Posted by Ann Barr in Cold Calling, Sales Tips | no responses

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The first nine to 15 seconds of a sales call to a new prospect are critical. Unfortunately, new sales reps are trained to use the very words that turn off prospects. According to author and sales trainer Jill Konrath, there are three mistakes telesales reps should avoid if they want to crack into corporate accounts, shorten sales cycles and win big contracts.

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Jill Konrath | Selling to Big Companies: 3 Deadly Words You Need to Avoid …

“You probably have carefully selected words to impress your prospects with the value your company provides or the kind of relationship your firm establishes with its good customers. So … drum roll … here they are:

1. Leading-Edge (state-of-the-art, industry-leading)
The moment you start using words like this, you’ve turned into a self-serving salesperson. You may not think so and it most likely isn’t your intent, but that’s how your prospect sees you.

“Why? Because you’re trying to impress her with how wonderful your offering is. Everyone knows that that’s how salespeople talk. The more you brag about your offering, the less believable you are. Even if your product or service is the most advanced in the entire world, your prospect knows that it’s only a matter of months before some other firm has a competitive offering that probably costs less.

“Don’t talk about your offering. Leave out all the descriptors that supposedly make it so incredible. Focus on your customer’s objectives, challenges and issues instead. You need to get them to move off the status quo and those “bragging” words just don’t do it. But most often I see sellers use it because they’re scared of losing a potential opportunity. They want to make sure their entire laundry list of offerings is on the table in hopes that prospects find something that they need in it.”

Watch Jill Konrath’s video to Learn More About the Other Deadly Mistakes Sales Reps Make

You can see suggestions for exact wording to use on this page.

Jill Konrath, author of Selling to Big Companies, helps sellers crack into corporate accounts, shorten sales cycles and win big contracts. Visit http://www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com for more info. Get a free Sales Call Planning Guide ($19.95 value) when you sign up for the Selling to Big Companies e-newsletter. Just send an email with “subscribe” in the subject line to jill@sellingtobigcompanies.com and it will be sent right to you.

Jill Konrath’s best-selling book Selling to Big Companies is available on Amazon.com

About The Author

Ann Barr is a telesales marketing success coach with a passion for teaching. She loves helping people who are starting out in new telesales careers and working with experienced sales reps who are looking for new ideas and tips. In addition to presenting monthly e-classes, she writes and edits direct-mail marketing letters and emails for clients. Sign up today for Ann’s free Weekly Sales Tips and get marketing tips and ideas to increase your sales!