Sales Tips >> Browse Articles >> Sales Tips
7 New Offering Mistakes You Can't Make
Featured Author:
Jill Konrath
Jill is a leading-edge sales strategist and business advisor … author of bestselling book, Selling to Big Companies … an in-demand sales speaker who provides much needed wake-up calls to sales organizations.
Jill publishes an industry-leading newsletter, hosts a widely read blog and has written hundreds of articles on sales success. She’s frequently quoted in top business media including Entrepreneur, New York Times, Business Journal, Selling Power, Sales & Marketing Management as well as countless online publications. She’s been a guest of Entrepreneur Radio, Sales Rep Radio, Small Business Trends and more. Most recently, Jill launched the Sales Shebang – a web resource, conference and community for savvy saleswomen who sell to the corporate market.
Jill’s training programs are ideal for sellers who are struggling to crack into corporate accounts, experienced sales pros who need fresh strategies and sales teams launching new products.
Click HERE for more info
Jill Konrath
New products and services are the lifeblood of organizations. The sales force eagerly awaits their arrival, hoping for a short-term competitive edge in a cut-throat marketplace. Yet when new products or services are launched, many sellers become their own worst enemy. They make these seven critical mistakes that slow down or even totally derail their best sales efforts.
Mistake 1: Ungrounded in Reality
If a salesperson isn’t totally familiar with how customers handle things without their new product or service, they’re at a major disadvantage. If they don’t understand the likely problems customers experience because of their current product or method, as well as the implications for their business, their ability to create value is severely hampered. Without knowledge of the pay-off customers get from using the new product or service, salespeople aren’t able to sell with confidence or handle tough obstacles.
Mistake 2: Questionable Practices
Good questions drive the sales process. They don’t just emerge from thin air when a sales rep is sitting in front of a prospective customer. They take time to develop. Salespeople omitting this critical step invariably flounder during customer meetings. Uncovering dissatisfaction or pain with status quo is difficult. Discovering gaps between the customer’s vision of the future and their current state is a formidable challenge. Building a business case to make a change is next to impossible.
Mistake 3: In Pursuit of Glory
Calling on top prospects first can be a big mistake! The first time salespeople sell any new product or service, they often screw things up. Their knowledge of the customer’s situation may be spotty and their presentations ragged. Unanticipated questions and obstacles cause them to stumble. Their overall effectiveness is much lower than it would be if they had a few practice sessions with “B” prospects under their belt.
Mistake 4: Faulty Premises
Setting up meetings to update customers about the new product or service can lead to trouble. Arranging the meeting isn’t the mistake – just its premise. If sales reps tell customers they’re bringing information about the new product or service, that’s exactly what customers expect the meeting to be about. Sellers then find it exceedingly difficult to switch into a questioning mode – an essential step for determining valid business and financial reasons for changing. Instead they’re expected to talk, talk, talk – and boy, do they ever!
