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    The 25 Most Common Sales Mistakes and How to Avoid Them: . . . And How to Avoid Them
    The 25 Most Common Sales Mistakes and How to Avoid Them: . . . And How to Avoid Them
    The 25 Most Common Sales Mistakes and How to Avoid Them: . . . And How to Avoid Them
    Ebook107 pages1 hour

    The 25 Most Common Sales Mistakes and How to Avoid Them: . . . And How to Avoid Them

    By Stephan Schiffman

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    About this ebook

    "25 Sales Mistakes is essential for any professional or organization committed to sales excellence."
    --Michael A. Berman, Chief Operating Officer, Outside Ventures

    In the newest edition of this valuable manual, Stephan Schiffman offers updated advice to salespeople about getting prospects and making the sale. It's not just what you do--it's what you don't do:
    • Don't sell against a competitor
    • Don't be satisfied
    • Don't stop getting ideas
    • Don't use boilerplate proposals
    • Don't overuse e-mail
    The book also includes a new introduction and updated text. Schiffman offers salespeople the kind of advice--from listening to the client to following up on the sale--that has made him the best corporate sales trainer today. With Schiffman's book in their pocket, salepeople can avoid common blunders and make the sale.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSimon & Schuster
    Release dateJul 18, 2009
    ISBN9781440513893
    The 25 Most Common Sales Mistakes and How to Avoid Them: . . . And How to Avoid Them
    Author

    Stephan Schiffman

    Bestselling author Stephan Schiffman founded D.E.I. Management Group in 1979 and has since led his company to become one of the nation's fastest growing sales training companies. A leader in motivational and sales training, he is a certified management consultant who has trained and consulted with a wide range of international corporations, including IBM, AT&T, Motorola, Sprint, and CIGNA. Schiffman has written over 50 books, which have sold well over six million copies internationally and have guided generations of salespeople through their career challenges. His articles are published frequently in publications such as The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Sales and Marketing Management, Personal Selling Power, Corporate Travel Magazine, and INC. magazine. Mr. Schiffman divides his time between managing D.E.I., selling, training, consulting, and product development. He continues to serve as a frequent guest on national radio and television shows, including CNBC’s Smart Money, Minding Your Business, Steals and Deals, and Money Talk.

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      Book preview

      The 25 Most Common Sales Mistakes and How to Avoid Them - Stephan Schiffman

      CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP

      THE25

      MOST COMMON

      SALES

      MISTAKES

      AND HOW TO

      AVOID THEM

      3RD EDITION

      STEPHAN SCHIFFMAN

      AMERICA’S #1 CORPORATE SALES TRAINER

      9781598698213_0002_001

      Copyright © 2009, 1997, 1991 by Stephan Schiffman

      All rights reserved.

      This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher; exceptions are made for brief excerpts used in published reviews.

      Published by

      Adams Business, an imprint of Adams Media,

      an imprint of Simon & Schuster, Inc.,Inc.

      57 Littlefield Street, Avon, MA 02322. U.S.A.

      www.adamsmedia.com

      ISBN 10: 1-59869-821-4

      ISBN 13: 978-1-59869-821-3

      eISBN: 978-1-44051-389-3

      Printed in the United States of America.

      J    I   H   G   F   E   D   C   B   A

      Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

      is available from the publisher.

      This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information with regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional advice. If legal advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought.

      —From a Declaration of Principles jointly adopted by a Committee

      of the American Bar Association and a Committee of Publishers and

      Associations

      This book is available at quantity discounts for bulk purchases.

      For information, please call 1-800-289-0963.

      To your future

      9781598698213_0003_001

      Contents

      Introduction to the Third Edition

      Introduction

      MISTAKE #1 Not Being Obsessed

      MISTAKE #2 Not Listening to the Prospect

      MISTAKE #3 Not Empathizing with the Prospect

      MISTAKE #4 Seeing the Prospect as an Adversary

      MISTAKE #5 Getting Distracted

      MISTAKE #6 Not Taking Notes

      MISTAKE #7 Failing to Follow Up

      MISTAKE #8 Not Keeping in Contact with Past Clients

      MISTAKE #9 Not Planning the Day Efficiently

      MISTAKE #10 Not Looking Your Best

      MISTAKE #11 Not Keeping Sales Tools Organized

      MISTAKE #12 Not Taking the Prospect’s Point of View

      MISTAKE #13 Not Taking Pride in Your Work

      MISTAKE #14 Trying to Convince, Rather Than Convey

      MISTAKE #15 Underestimating the Prospect’s Intelligence

      MISTAKE #16 Not Keeping Up to Date

      MISTAKE #17 Rushing the Sale

      MISTAKE #18 Not Using People Proof

      MISTAKE #19 Humbling Yourself

      MISTAKE #20 Being Fooled by Sure Things

      MISTAKE #21 Taking Rejection Personally

      MISTAKE #22 Not Assuming Responsibility

      MISTAKE #23 Underestimating the Importance of Prospecting

      MISTAKE #24 Focusing on Negatives

      MISTAKE #25 Not Showing Competitive Spirit

      Bonus Mistakes

      NEW MISTAKE #26 Not Having a Fallback Position

      NEW MISTAKE #27 Not Asking for the Sale

      NEW MISTAKE #28 Not Getting Enough Information

      NEW MISTAKE #29 Not Knowing When to Stop Talking

      NEW MISTAKE #30 Taking a Leisurely Sales Approach

      Quick Reference Summary

      Acknowledgments

      I would like to thank the following people for their help with this book: Anne, Daniele, and Jennifer for their unceasing support.

      Introduction to the Third Edition

      Once or twice a year I’m asked to revise one of my old books. Some might suspect that revisiting old work is boring in a déjà vu, been-there-done-that kind of way. On the contrary, I look forward to it.

      For one thing, looking back reaffirms the basic tenets of my sales philosophy. I make very few changes of any kind and none of any substantive nature. If these books required substantial revision, it would mean that what I’ve been preaching is wrong.

      But sometimes there are amusing aspects to my nostalgic trips back in time. For example, somewhere in the middle of a prior edition of this book I suggested it is appropriate to send a thank-you note to a prospect following a first visit, a reminder of what was discussed and that you’ll be getting back to him shortly. Moreover, I even told you how to prepare the note on a good typewriter.

      Can you even find a good typewriter in an office now?

      Technological advances aside, the basic to don’t list offered here is as valid today as it was when it was first written about a decade and a half ago.

      In fact, the rules may be more pertinent today than they were then. As this introduction is being written, the American economy is in terrible shape. Oil prices, which were outrageously high, are lower—but who knows for how long. We’re in the midst of a mortgage crisis. And unemployment is the highest it’s been in years. There’s even talk that America’s largest auto companies are being driven to bankruptcy.

      Hopefully, all that will have changed by the time you read these words. With any degree of luck, we’ll all be back on the road to prosperity. But in an ironic way, I believe these down times are good for us.

      When we—and by we I mean sales reps—go through a period of prosperity, we tend to get sloppy. Orders come in so easily—whether we do things correctly or not—that we forget the basics. Bad times serve as a wake-up call, a reminder that if we continue to make silly (okay, stupid) errors, someone else will get the business.

      The original version of this book included twenty-five common sales mistakes—and how to avoid them. I’ve added five new mistakes—reflecting patterns of errors I’ve noticed in classes over the last few years.

      Finally, I’ve always been a little leery of part of this book’s title: 25 Most Common Sales Mistakes blaring across the cover struck me as a little negative. I always suspected that that was all potential readers ever saw. People never like to be told that they’re doing something incorrectly. I understand that. That’s why I think it’s important to focus on the other part of the title—how to avoid them, how to stay on track, how to close sales in any environment.

      I think you’ll enjoy this book. More important, I think you’ll profit from it. And if you have any suggestions, feel free to contact me in care of sschiffman@steveschiffman .com.

      I answer all correspondence. Especially the letters from people who enjoyed the book.

            Stephan Schiffman

            February 2009

            New York City

      Introduction

      This book is not a cure-all; it doesn’t promise an instant turnaround to your sales career. My feeling is that, without your efforts and commitment to your own results, no book can do that.

      This book can, however, be used as an effective tool for identifying and resolving the most common and troublesome sales mistakes—the ones that needlessly eat away

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