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Why You’re Losing More Sales Deals Than You Should: Common Mistakes and How to Fix Them
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Are you missing out on sales deals that should be yours? Here’s why, and how to turn the tide in your favor.

Those of us that sell are responsible for two major outcomes. The first outcome is scheduling a first meeting, something we call opportunity creation. The second outcome is winning the client, something we describe as opportunity capture. There are a great number of ways to lose deals that you might have won, ,and here we will explore the ones that are most likely.

Talking Too Much about Your Company Loses Deals

The first reason that you might lose deals is that you sell by talking about your company, your company’s clients, and your solution. Decades ago, salespeople sold like this because this worked. Without the internet, buyers and decision-makers needed to acquire information from the salesperson. Today, your contacts are two mouse clicks away from your company’s website. When you repeat what’s there, you waste everyone’s time, reduce your chances of a second meeting, and risk losing the opportunity.

Note: Approach the conversation with your client’s strategic goals in mind. Even if you don’t know exactly what they are, use your experience to ask questions and share insights that prove you understand their perspective.

Too Much Rapport Building Hurts Your Results

Your contact isn’t likely to need a new best buddy forever. Trying to build rapport at the beginning of your first meeting feels like you are wasting time. If your contact is kind enough to give you their time, you should use it to help them better understand their problem and their and the rare decision they must get right on the first attempt. When you have taken care of the business and your contact is still seated, you can work on your relationship.

Note: If you want to develop real rapport, start with an executive briefing. This helps you create business rapport, which is valuable in presenting you as a consultant.

Failing to Research Prospects Impacts Your Sales Performance

If you have not done the research on the contact you are meeting with and their company, you may harm your chances of winning. When you don’t know anything about your prospective client, you tend to ask questions you could have answered with an online search. Take the same approach to better understand their industry, something most salespeople will not bother to study. When you don’t do your homework, you can’t give the client confidence that you know enough to help them. This lack of research causes your client to believe that you don’t know enough about them or their industry.

Note: We are working on a program that will speed up your research, giving you a deep dive into the top 20 industries.

Creating Value Is Key to Closing More Deals

You will often hear people suggest that they want to deliver value, but that isn’t exactly right. The most important outcome of the sales conversation is creating value for your clients. When we talk about creating value, we are describing the ability to provide your contacts with an education about their problem and their decision making. What you need to know now is that we have left the Era of the Solution and entered into the Era of Decision Making. You may lose deals if you are unable to help them with the decision they are facing. If you don’t create value, your client will find a competitor with a sales strategy that does. Not Engaging the Right Stakeholders in Brings Risk to Your Sales Process

You may fail to win a deal if you pursue the sales conversation without acquiring the right stakeholders. If you decide to work with a single stakeholder instead of identifying and acquiring the right people, you have greater odds of losing a deal. You might worry about offending someone you believe is your sales champion, but you cannot build consensus and develop a solution that works without meeting the other contacts who will eventually weigh in on the decision. You need to know that you are responsible for ensuring your client succeeds. If you go with the first contact and ignore everyone else, you are certain to lose the sales opportunity.

Common Mistakes Salespeople Make That Cause Lost Deals

There are other ways you could lose deals you might have won. These unforced errors include:

  • Failing to keep the commitments you promised your client
  • Trying to push the client to buy before they are ready to move forward
  • Failing to realize that your client is engaged with your competitors

The last one in particular means you must do your best work, making it more difficult for your many competitors to steal your clients.

How to Ensure You Win the Deals You Create

You should not waste the opportunities you create. Do everything you can to capture them. It is important that you use a modern sales methodology and the B2B sales training that will help you to win deals. If you are a sales leader, make certain that every salesperson is aware of what causes buyers and decision makers to disengage with your salespeople and instead engage competitors.

It is incredibly important to win the deals you create. Without winning the deals, you have wasted your time and your client’s. Every deal you lose makes it more difficult to reach your sales targets. If you happen to be in an industry with many competitors, losing a large client might mean you will be locked out for years or decades. You must do your best work to win and lock out your competitors for all eternity or longer.

Information Disparity 2-part video series

Post by Anthony Iannarino on August 29, 2024

Written and edited by human brains and human hands.

Anthony Iannarino

Anthony Iannarino is an American writer. He has published daily at thesalesblog.com for more than 14 years, amassing over 5,300 articles and making this platform a destination for salespeople and sales leaders. Anthony is also the author of four best-selling books documenting modern sales methodologies and a fifth book for sales leaders seeking revenue growth. His latest book for an even wider audience is titled, The Negativity Fast: Proven Techniques to Increase Positivity, Reduce Fear, and Boost Success.

Anthony speaks to sales organizations worldwide, delivering cutting-edge sales strategies and tactics that work in this ever-evolving B2B landscape. He also provides workshops and seminars. You can reach Anthony at thesalesblog.com or email Beth@b2bsalescoach.com.

Connect with Anthony on LinkedIn, X or Youtube. You can email Anthony at iannarino@gmail.com

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