How to be a complete and utter failure in Sales?

Part 1 of 2 Parts on this page

The evolution of this short article was quite interesting for me eventually resulting in Firms using it seriously as a blue print to improve ‘sales performance’ by halting and changing specific behaviours and attitudes. The article is based on becoming ‘an utter failure in sales’. 

You know, I spend a lot of time designing and delivering tailored workshops for a variety of client groupings.  Recent activity has included specific programmes for internal auditors of a large financial institution, consulting work with engineers, marketing and IT people, motor finance specialists and professional service advisors.

What so many of these firms have in common is a reliance on the provision of their good or service they offer their client to the detriment of sales strategies and behaviour.  To illustrate, as with many service providers they put so much focus on the technical wizardry of their product or art that they sometimes forget the importance commercial reality of sales and customer relationship management to the success of their business.

One professional services advisor remarked that he thought his firm was so poor at winning sales and retaining customers that if I designed a booklet around ‘what not to do to be a good sales person’ then that would be the reflection for how his business operated. 

I did not take this seriously and thought it a little harsh of him to make this comment….however….. we agreed it might be a good idea to write such a piece because then we could use ‘reverse psychology’ to get him and his partners to take a playful look at their approach to sales and customer retention and start to take things seriously.  They did!

Myth: Anyone Can Sell

It’s useful to have a set of beliefs that reflect the fact that commercial success is purely down to one’s technical expertise whether it’s designing the latest renewable gizmo to providing specialist legal, financial IT, engineering or consulting advice.  It is also not useful for any business to believe that anyone can sell and influence others to change their mind.  It takes much more skill than that.  Unfortunately, the selling process is viewed as a ‘sharp suit art’ bestowed on spivs and second hand car salesmen and that anyone can perfect it - given a bit of practise and a little confidence.

Technical World vs. Commercial Reality, Three Examples

a. Technical Geneticist as Sales Person

One’s personal beliefs can be really powerful is providing the worst things you can possibly do to run a business into the ground.  I was working with a genetics business and the sales manager of one division was rooted in the science of genetics.  Goodness knows why he was in sales.  Rumour has it that he was the most senior geneticist and he would be the best person to talk with clients being a technical expert.  Unfortunately for the company this was an extremely bad choice.  Their clients where all commercially focused and dealmakers.  They had no interest in the science behind the science.  It took some time to convince this parent that using the geneticist as a rain maker was counterproductive.

b. Chemist as Sales Guru

Likewise, in a Plastics business a highly qualified chemist was given the role of account manager with a new client.  Again the company thought the ability of the chemist would be valued by their customers.  He was focused on the properties of the plastic – the client just wanted plastic to extrude fenders for trucks. The relationship never got anywhere and business was rescued after head hunting a talented account manager who had worked in the process flow industry.

c. Traditional Lawyer as Rain Maker

A legal firm used their more senior and traditional partner to make a bid for work with an Enterprise Company.  Because the senior partner knew little beyond his legal specialism they were not shortlisted for important intellectual property work.  A more junior member with IP knowledge with a commercial application would have won the deal.

There are many cases of lawyers, engineers, inventors, boffins and entrepreneurs and technical specialists in every field thinking they understand the dynamics of relationship management, the sales arena and commercial business practise. 

Don't Commit to these Practises 

So here is my compilation of a top twenty six approach to things you should never do.  We’ll show you how to never be a success, grow your business or win repeat sales.  Tou can help build ‘buyer’s remorse’ and dismiss repeat business faster than anyone.  You can teach yourself to become the business prevention manager. 

And please consider I was prompted to write  this article by a client with ‘tongue in cheek’  intentions - and note my client really did use this to prompt his business partners to review their sales practise.

1. Don’t Decide What You Want to Be, Do and Have as a Profitable Business

Think that having a strategy and business plan is less important than working on the technical aspects of the service and the products you produce.  It’s also a good idea not to share the vision of what you could become by aligning all functions under their own specialism rather than a central strategic thrust.  Don’t allow functional silos to develop any element of integration let them get on with what they do best by themselves.  And even better encourage building empires of technical competence.

2. Put off the most important Decisions you can make to make your Business Successful

You are too busy to spend time making decisions about where you are going and how you are going to measure progress.  Better to be a busy fool, interfering in the work of other professionals, knowing everything and micro managing in even the most basic sales and customer management issues.

3. Don’t Do Things on Purpose

Procrastinate if you can and on purpose because there will never be a good time to make a decision.  You need to know ever single thing about the market and the customer before you can put forward a strong business plan.  Never be forced into trusting your intuition.

4. Use the Four quadrants of Failure daily

5. You don’t need to change anything about yourself – just focus on the technical realities

The need to change and work personally on ‘Brand You’ is less important than getting the product out into the market place.  Learning and development is consigned purely to technical expertise and product knowledge.  Why focus time on sales and customers when the product will sell itself?  The market will beat a route to your door to purchase the most eloquent new mouse trap as it always has in the past.

6. You don’t need to improve your ability to take control of the sales process

The sales process will be achieved when the customer is happy with the technical specification of the product.  Focusing on the softer skills of influence and negotiation are perceived as manipulative by the customer – so why bother anyway?  Why distinguish between buyer ‘needs’ and ‘wants?’  When the product is ready the customer will buy as they have in the past.

7. Don’t explore the dynamics behind a buyer’s decision to purchase your product

It can be a real waste of time to find out what makes the client’s organisation tick.  Why go to all the bother to explore other stakeholders in the buying decision?  What use is exploring the hidden dynamics behind the client’s business priorities, immediate challenges, politics, culture etc when you could be providing more technical specification in your product range?

8. Avoid partnering with your client in helping them in making a buying decision

Is it a good use of time to work closely with your business client and develop a strong partnership?  Why bother when the timing is lousy and the customer will not buy there and then.  So what if they commit in the future – sales is all about here and now.  Future sales are speculative, focus on today.  All this partnering work is an excuse for not getting what needs to be done today.

9. You don’t need to predict buying behaviour and building long term relationships

What is the point of predicting buying behaviour?  Predictions by their very nature are risky and only predictions anyway. Mystic Meg Science!  Look at the weather? How often are weather predictions accurate?  Long term relationships are only worth developing when we have firm short term relationships.  Let’s focus on this quarter rather than end of year.  Yes, I know the customer suggested we get involved in product development but we don’t have the resources and who is to say it will come to anything anyway.

10. Don’t bother understanding the reasons customers and clients migrate their loyalty to others

Okay, we have client migration – it’s difficult to predict but we can always win new orders and new customers.  It’s all a ‘merry go round’ anyway – we all lose customers,……… it’s natural…….but they come back eventually – well some times. 

Why focus on the reasons why they leave and what’s all this about ‘mystery shopping?  What am I going to learn from taped telephone conversation of my discussions with potential customers anyway?

How to become a utter and complete failure in Sales?

Part 2 of 2

11. Don’t measure the costs of replacing migrating customers

What’s the point – once they have gone they have gone?  And if we knew the cost of replacing customers how would that impact our other budgets.  It would only confuse things.  Others would probably want to spend even more on sales and marketing and where would product development be then?

12. You don’t need to undertake sales prospecting

Why prospect for sales when anyone who knows our industry and the keeps abreast of the technical Journals will know exactly what is going on.  Besides, I can rely on the local College to alert us to new developments in the field – their lecturers spend a lot of time on technical and business development.  Prospecting for new clients is not a good way to spend our investor’s money.  When the finished product is ready for market we will naturally attract those with most interest in the field.

13. Critical and forgotten factors in forgetting to immerse self in sales preparation and planning

Our skills lie in our technical proficiency and not in sales or customer management.  Allow us to get on with what we do best.  We can always recruit a business studies student in the summer vacation to do some projections for us and write some sales literature.  I don’t want to be diverted from my research and the development of our services.

14. You don’t need to develop a tailored sales strategy for your marketplace

Developing a strategic overview of our emerging markets is a diversion of our energies at a time when we have other challenges to face.  We can devote monies to advertising later.  What we need today are customers who are willing to order.  I think we need to rely on our knowledge and our good name in the industry.  The customers know who the key players are and they will not forget us or give up and look elsewhere.  We are based in a very business commercial centre and have had a lot of business for years.  Why would you think it would change?  We are no worse than anyone else.

15. It is a waste of time creating a specific a sales strategy for each customer

Developing a specific sales strategy for all our customers is waste of time.  We know what they want and what their challenges are.  Of course, some customers will move on but that happens to every company.  We just have to be patient and not be panicked.  We need to have faith in our services and know that markets soon change back.  Nothing stays negative for long.

Besides, the customers are pretty much similar in their needs – why make a big deal out of differentiation?  The customers usually buy what we have on the shelf – why would that change?  Why would customers become pickier?

16. Disinvest your energy and time in building any momentum to drive up lead generation

Devoting resources to lead generation is a complete waste of money.  We are making assumptions about the market which may not be true, so why engage in it?  Lead generation is about networking and most networking generates poor ROI – so why would we commit to it?

17. They will come to you so don’t initiate contact with your prospects

CRM sounds good but the customers will beat a track to our door when they hear of our new offerings.  We don’t want them getting involved in product development or new service enhancement.  We are the experts, we know what they need and want.

18. Never ask your customers ‘how are we doing in the customer service stakes?

Why ask if we are not prepared to take action on their requests?  It’s just stirring up a hornets nest?  It also increases their expectations and they start looking for things that are not working.

19.  Failing to rehearse a pitch to perfection – leaving your pitch to the last minute

We all know how to give presentations.  We outline what our service and product achieves for the customer.  We detail the features and explain how things work.  Beyond that all presentations are just a waste of time.  What’s the point of fancy PowerPoint presentations, graphics and design?  How will that improve quality assurance of our product and service?

And why do I have to explore business challenges that our customers face?  It’s up to them how they decide to use our expertise. We are not there to solve their problems.  People buy the features of the product not a presentation.  The audience focuses on technical proficiency not on how well we can partner with them or how we gear our proposals to the benefits they will accrue.

It’s a waste of time rehearsing – it looks phony and our customers know how we tick.  If we focus on rehearsals we will spend talking less about the product and what it delivers, and too much flannelling about!  I am unhappy about presentations anyway – I’d prefer to stand at the front and read from our documentation and our research reports.

20. Not understanding objection handling and ‘buyer’s remorse’

Some customers do regret their purchasing decision but what can I do about it and what will understanding buyer’s remorse impact our delivery to the customer?   

Handling the key objections of customers will do exactly what for our business?  Why should I prepare in advance for potential objections?  I know the product well so I can deal with most technical objections. 

We don’t understand why do we need to deal with non technical objections that don’t relate to the product and why start taking personality differences and communications styles into account?

21. Missing the whole point of that ‘silver bullet’ presentation

I don’t believe it.  What is this magic silver bullet that will reverse customer thinking?   Silver bullets do not exist.  You say we can develop our own ‘killer presentations’ but I am not so sure.  It also will divert people’s attention from what is important in the business.  I don’t want to confuse the team with this terminology.  We need to stick to the knitting.  It’s about analysis and practical applications. You’ll tell me next “it is the sizzle that sells the sausage”.

22. Focusing on short term deals rather long term ‘win-win’ strategies

Sanity is reality and the here and now.  We have salaries to pay and products to ship and deliver.  Our service and maintenance people cannot be distracted by long term relationships which may or may not evolve and mature.  We have overheads to cover and we need cash flow for this quarter and next.  Devoting time to speculative ‘blue sky’ relationships does not generate ROI.  Building on potential win-win solutions in the longer term is not a priority.

23. Considering it unimportant to prepare presentations to Investors and your Bank

Some believe that presentations are important in the context of product or service that can be delivered whether it be an IT system or Engineering solution.  The most important stakeholders that can influence your growth are Investors and playing to them and their insecurities should focus your attention.  Watch any episode of Dragon’s Den and you’ll see what I mean.

24. Never listen or read procurement processes

Many entrepreneurs are not aware that the first stage in assessing a tender is for the most junior person in the procurement department to review any bid against the procurement criteria.  So if you fail to tick all the boxes in the PQQ request you will automatically be deselected.

The office junior is doing their job well when they ‘tick boxes and it’s the foolish businessman who does not take the tender requirements seriously. 

Recently a College who I know failed to win a tender because the people presenting the tender failed to produce three hard copies of the application and a CD ROM as requested in the PQQ.  Instead they emailed an 89 page tender to a client.  I am convinced on receipt of the electronic copy the office junior would be looking for compliance with the PQQ, see the vendor had not complied and then hit delete on their keyboard.

The academic staff had worked on the project for many weeks were not too happy when they learned of this action on behalf of the college sales people. 

25. Failing to follow up documentation supporting any pitch or presentation

Over promising and under delivering are two cardinal sins reflected by many business people who are focused entirely on their product to the detriment of their business.  Turning up and driving a great pitch is not enough if you promise back up proposal, worked examples and the devil in the detail. 

26. Be oblivious of how to help your clients and investors close the sale

It is beautiful when you build so much rapport with your clients and investors that you create a deep desire for them to feel compelled to ask you for your help.  But it can be a drain on your time.  It’s much better spending time on product specification and on the features of your product rather than the benefits and the advantages that will accrue to your customer should they commit to become a customer.

Epilogue

And all these problems are real and most of them are critical in enabling your business to be a success.  They can all be fixed.  It’s not down to luck.  The more people plan, prepare and commit to strategic selling and committing to action – the luckier they get.