29 Most Common Sales Mistakes to Correct Right away

Committing a mistake is fine as long as we learn from it and don’t repeat the same mistake again.

The same is true for sales. 

Most often than not, we have seen that sales representatives are clueless as to why the prospects are not converting into customers.

That’s probably because the sales reps are committing the common sales mistakes again and again. Worse, they are unaware of their mistakes unless someone shows them upfront (like a conversation intelligence platform for sales teams). 

Most salespeople make a very common mistake of not following up with questions and customer objections. Arguing with clients and asking irrelevant questions leads to poor customer service. Focusing too much on price often leads to the biggest sales mistake.

We have come up with a list of most common sales mistakes (and how to avoid them at all costs) that reps make while being on sales calls.

29 most common sales mistakes 

1. Not having good listening skills

When it comes to sales, it is largely seen that people have a bad habit of talking too much about their product or service.

When you harp your own horn, you won’t get enough time to know about the problems of the prospect.

That doesn’t mean you should go mum either. 

The right balance is specific to your organization but experts believe that 60:40 (60 listening) is a good rule of the thumb.

As per a study, top sales reps allow prospects to speak 57% of the time(on average). 

Most the successful sales reps focus on asking intelligent questions and then let their prospects do the talking.

These reps just keep directing the discussion with the right questions/inputs so that the prospect can move towards a sale.

That’s possible only because they know when to talk, and when to listen.

Here’s a great guide from Hubspot on Active listening in Sales.

2. Giving away too much information 

When you talk too much, you tend to give extra information which is totally uncalled for, and it actually might go against you.

There is no harm in providing information, but it should be in limit. The prospects should do the hard work of getting the information and advice from you.

That happens by them taking interest in your product or service.

It is useless to provide too much access to information without getting anything in return.

So stay focused and reveal what’s required and what moves the prospect towards a sale.

Summarize points either manually or with the best AI summarizing tools and talk accordingly.

Remember, your goal is to sell, not provide the prospect with unnecessary information

3. Continuing to sell after the customer says yes

This method, according to experts, remains unknown, yet it serves as an effective method to jeopardize already secured business deals.

The prospect agrees, signals their intent, and the rep keeps talking. The system requires additional explanations, additional product comparisons, and additional customer reassurance.

The problem occurs when the customer needs to assess all details because the extra explanations take away from their decision-making time. 

The moment a customer says yes, your job shifts from persuasion to confirmation.

The caller needs to outline their upcoming tasks and establish a schedule before ending the phone call. Strategic use of silence during specific times establishes dominance.

The system identifies calls through its conversation intelligence tools, which show that representatives continue to sell after customers show buying interest, which happens frequently with new employees who believe that their output shows actual development.

4. Not focusing on solutions

It is good that you talk about the amazing features that your product has. But do you actually think the prospect is interested in them?

I bet they are not. Most of the customers do research before talking to a salesman. At least, they are aware of the features that your product (and the competitors) have to offer.

Before pitching anything, recall all the sales skills and focus on solving the problem of your audience, and pitch your product as a solution. 

It’s easier said than done, so let me show you how we pitch Enthu.AI.

Instead of talking about the latest speech analytics or AI/ML technology that we are using to find call insights, we tell the sales leaders how call insights can help their team learn from their sales mistakes, improve performance, and increase sales revenue. These are the problems which a sales leader faces (and not the AI/ML model they should be using).

Speak about solutions and benefits, not the products & features.

5. Letting the prospect control the conversation

Active listening demonstrates essential importance to communication yet active listening requires different skills than complete listening control.

When prospects start dictating the agenda, reps lose the ability to ask discovery questions, surface pain points, or tie their solution to what actually matters.

The effective representative uses structured conversation techniques which begin with clear intentions, follow a specific questioning order, and control unnecessary discussions while maintaining access to prospect information. 

The conversation should be understood as an interview process, which gives prospects the opportunity to express themselves while the representative maintains control over the discussion.

Call recording and review enable visualization of conversation patterns, which allows trainers to restore proper conversation structure through their coaching methods.

6. Talking more on price than value

If your customer sees the value in your product, price generally takes the backseat. At least, it becomes the second important criteria, not the first one.

Contrary, if you think that price controls the sales narrative, then you are mistaken.

First, providing too much discount on your product or giving it away at low prices is only good for a short period of time.

Second, if your product has no value, then no one will take it, even if given for free. But if it has value to offer, then people will buy it even at high prices.

You need to drive the value proposition (at a given price), not the price proposition (for the given value).

7. Giving too much away for free

Sales representatives who want to assist customers face a common trap that leads them to provide excessive value during pre-sale activities until they begin working without payment.

The sales team provides their full audit process together with complete proposal details and all customized system demonstration contents before the prospective customer shows any serious interest in their services.

The process decreases value perception while it teaches customers to acquire expert knowledge through free channels.

Your time investments before a sale must lead to specific outcomes which include either a scheduled date or a meeting with the decision maker or a formal assessment process.

The practice of sharing business strategies only benefits organizations when it builds customer relationships instead of using it as a replacement for sales advancement.

8. Making hollow promises

If your goal is only to sell without thinking about the customer, you will end up with overpromises. But what happens when you are not able to deliver on the promises you have made?

You are considered a liar. Worse, the reputation of your company takes a beating. You must not exaggerate or hide any kind of information about your product.

Instead of making large, unrealistic promises, you should underpromise and overdeliver.

It means when you provide them with more than what they have asked for, it will surely boost your reputation as well as the revenue. Beating expectations positively is what generates word of mouth. Do the opposite, and you have no one but yourself to blame. 

9. Doubting Your Own Pricing

Your product lacks value according to your evaluation, which will make your customer perceive all your pricing information before you disclose any specific costs.

The signals that sales representatives demonstrate through their voice fluctuations, their tendency to offer preemptive discounts and their excessive cost-related apologies show their inability to comprehend the worth of their product.

People gain price assurance through their complete understanding of the product, together with actual customer feedback.

Reps who regularly hear customer success stories, review case studies, and understand the ROI their product delivers are far more comfortable defending a number.

Sales leaders should build this into onboarding and ongoing coaching, not just product training, but value training. The moment a rep needs to reduce the price during a call evaluation session marks the time when coaching should start.

10. No intention of closing a sale

Many times, sales reps focus more on their sales pitches and slideshows than the actual sales part.

It is because they want to show off in front of their colleagues, juniors, and seniors about their oratory skills and sales craftsmanship.

This has to stop because you are not helping anyone, including yourself. 

The most important part of the sales process is to convert the prospect into a customer, and that’s where the focus should go. Obviously, the sales presentation and the design play their role, but the most important part is still the ‘good old’ solving the customer problem. 

Additionally, you need to make it clear to the prospect that you are in the conversation to sell. You have to ask them to buy.

This is the easiest and straightforward way.

Don’t let the distractions sway you from your objective of the conversation.

11. Allowing customers to push you around on terms

The two concepts of flexibility and capitulation show distinct characteristics. Representatives who compromise on delivery schedules and payment conditions, project boundaries, and service limitations create operational disruptions because they display a customer-focused attitude.

Salespeople develop this behavior because they want to win deals and gain acceptance from others. Customers maintain respect for boundaries when salespeople show confidence in their established limits.

A sales representative establishes product credibility by presenting their delivery capabilities and standard business terms to customers. The organization requires all exceptions to go through formal approval processes instead of granting immediate access during phone discussions to maintain operational efficiency.

Call data analysis enables you to track your representatives who provide non-standard terms because they need to solve their personal issues instead of assisting potential clients.

12. Do not know how to handle objections

‘No’ is a word that most sales representatives hate. Every sales rep longs for his prospect to agree with him. Unfortunately, that’s an unrealistic expectation. So what should you do? The first thing is not get disheartened when you are offered objections on your face. 

Instead, consider that as an opportunity. Psychologically, the value of ‘yes’ increases after saying ‘no’ too many times.

Consider an example of a car dealer. The car dealer will always keep the best car for last so that when you are saying ‘no’ to almost everything, a ‘yes’ at the end will come as a relief.

It is an art to handle objections in sales. You have to stay cool, show that you are open to their questions and understand the concerns they are having. 

Also, you need to answer their questions honestly and clear any objections that they have.

After all that, if your prospect is still not convinced, then you might want to exit the sales process because the prospect may not be the right fit for or may not be in the buying stage.

Sales objections are one of the important components of sales that is bound to happen.

The prospect needs to make sure before they make a purchase, and it’s the duty of the salesperson to address all the questions and doubts.

13. Get into an argument with a potential customer

It is very easy to get into arguments when your points do not match with your potential customers. Sometimes, a prospect is not able to see the actual picture, and the objections raised by the person are unreasonable. 

And when you try to correct them, you get into an argument. 

Understand one thing clearly: you are representing an organization. There’s a way to deal with such situations, and the best way is often not to get into the argument at all.

So what should you do?

Stay silent or better empathize with their concerns. Ask questions to get more clarity into the matter, and let them know that you might need some more time to resolve the objections. 

At last, if you feel like you have hit a dead end with the prospect, end the conversation amicably and move on. Just don’t argue to drive your point. Remember, you can win a war by purposefully losing some battles.

14. The sales representative is underprepared

Being underprepared is a crime in sales.

Yet, 42% of the sales reps feel they don’t have enough information before they make a sales call (a survey by Lattice Engine reveals). 

When you are selling something (especially high-value sales), you must know everything about the prospect.

Ok, not everything but most of the things.

That’s because your prospect is also researching you.

If you want to leave a good impression, do thorough research. Get into your prospect’s shoes and understand the challenges in sales they may be facing each day. Identify the questions they may be asking when you finally talk to them.

All this research work helps you ask specific questions, dig at the right spots and provide solutions that solve the problem. 

When you know about the prospect, personally or professionally, it shows your commitment and dedication towards work. That helps generate trust and respect.

This is extremely important because everyone wants to buy from someone whom they can trust.

15. Not able to talk to decision makers

The sales process, in which you cannot reach out to the executives who have the power to make purchase decisions, is useless.

You need to meet with the decision maker early in the sales process to make it a successful sale.

Because it will be more effective if you tell the benefits about your product and the important points of the deal directly to the decision maker.

Caveat: this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t talk to other parties involved. In the sales process, you will come across gatekeepers, influencers, product users and champions. Most of the time, these are the people who take you to the decision makers.

Your work is to identify such people, rather than wasting time on any random person.

16. Do not sell to someone who doesn’t need it

You must not sell your product to someone who doesn’t need it.  Simply, your product is useless for him/her.

Most of such deals backfire. Why? Firstly, it will be a one-time deal. The person will soon get into a buyer’s remorse and won’t make the transaction the next time.

Put your sales effort into creating long-term relations with people who really need your solution. Moreover, businesses prosper on repeat transactions done by old customers.

Secondly, it is bad publicity.

The person who doesn’t need your product will see it as useless and also tell the same to the world.

And suddenly, you might start losing your old customers who get influenced by negative word of mouth.

17. Not asking the hard questions

Sometimes sales reps try to avoid asking the hard questions to the prospects. It might be because they don’t have enough experience or they are not well prepared enough.

And when it happens, you miss an opportunity to build rapport and trust with the clients.

As a salesperson, you must always ask the hard questions like: “Why are you considering us after your long-term relationship with our competitor?”, “What do you think about our price?” “Are you comfortable with our company’s policies?”, etc.

Because when you do that, you can understand the mindset of the prospect, and you will also see yourself closing more deals than before.

18. Selling alone

Sometimes you might not have an answer to a question asked by the prospect.

At this point, you must not fly solo and always ask for help from other people in your company.

For example, a product manager will be able to explain better about the technicalities of the product.

So do not be ashamed of asking for help because it will improve your chances of closing the deal.

19. Agreeing to every term of the customer

Saying ‘yes’ to every term put up by the prospect is not a good idea. Because once you start on this journey, there is no coming back.

One after the other, there will be a series of demands made by the prospect, and you might not see an end to it.

It will also continue after he/she becomes your customer, and this will not only drain you financially but also mentally.

At the same time, this doesn’t mean you say ‘no’ to every request either. Do a cost-benefit analysis and take a decision. This activity will eventually lead to a happy and satisfied customer base.

20. Diverting attention to unimportant topics

In a sales process, it might happen that the sales reps go off topic and start discussing something that is completely irrelevant to the sales.

This type of conversation should be avoided at all costs.

Your prospect is giving you his attention only for some period of time (which is generally quite short).

You need to put out your message in that short span of time. 

If you are successful in delivering your message, you can talk about other things but only those that build your relationship with the prospect.

21. Not having a plan for follow-up

It is a rare chance when a prospect says yes to the deal after the first meeting. A deal closes only after several meetings/conversations.

It means you need to do a follow-up if you want to close the deal. 

As per research by Marketing Donut, it takes at least 5 continuous follow-ups after the initial sales contact before a customer says yes.

So have a follow up plan for your prospects.

22. Talking bad about the competition

It is quite common in the sales process that you talk about the differences between you and your competitors. It is not a problem as long as your focus is on your product & solution, and not on the competitors’.

That means avoid bad mouthing your competitors. You need to draw out comparisons, yet keep the emotions aside.

Understand that the buyer is interested in knowing about your product, the benefits it provides and if you take that away from the prospect, he will lose interest and the deal will never succeed. Remember that the sales process is about your product and nothing else.

23. Talking after closing a deal

Once you close the deal successfully, you just need to say thank you.Don’t utter a word beyond that because if you do, then it might cost you the deal.

It happens a lot of times when after closing the deal, the sales rep (in their state of happiness) says something that is not taken in the right spirit by the other party. As a result, the client will say a final goodbye to you and the deal.

Learn to shut your mouth up after someone agrees to be your customer. Worse, let them become your customer before you open up further.

24. Not appropriate body language and too many filler words

You must be careful about how you project yourself in front of the prospects.

Filler words are quite human and most of us tend to use them, but an overuse might turn off some prospects.

For example, when you use words like ‘umm’, ‘you know’, or ‘the thing is’, or when you avoid eye contact or when your shoulders are down, etc, all these things might show that you are under prepared, bored or uninterested.

This definitely impacts the sales outcome.

25. Do not let prospects control the narrative of the sales

At times, prospects might say that he will get back to you in a week or so for he has to discuss your product with someone important or do a thorough analysis about your product.

But never allow this to happen because that’s the most common way to pass the call.

Instead, take control of the narrative and request the prospect to fix a meeting for next week now itself.

Most of the time, they agree, and if they do not, you know the prospect is still not ready for a sale.

26. Not staying in touch after the sale

The practice of closing sales agreements followed by complete communication withdrawal stands as the most costly sales mistake because it enables your competitors to obtain your most valuable prospects who would have referred others to your business.

The process of selling additional products to existing customers proves easier than converting new customers, yet sales representatives direct their efforts toward prospective buyers who have not yet entered the sales process.

The organization uses a 30-day, 90-day, and renewal schedule, which establishes regular contact with customers to maintain relationships while discovering new client requirements which would otherwise create opportunities for competitors.

The process transforms happy clients into people who actively recommend the business. The sales representatives who evaluate post-sale results through their CRM system achieve better performance than those who regard customer success handoff as their final task.

The sale process begins at the contract signing but it reaches full development at that point.

27. Over-relying on sales scripts

The usage of scripts exists because they help new representatives who need to understand a product, and because they assist businesses which need to follow strict language rules. The use of scripts as a replacement for actual work kills the two essential elements which lead to successful business transactions.

The representative who follows a script will show their scripted performance to others. Prospects recognize the pattern, disengage, and start treating the call like an obligation rather than a conversation.

The fix requires organizations to use frameworks instead of their current structured systems. A framework provides the representative with a skeleton structure which includes four elements (open, discover, connect, advance), but it does not control his complete speech.

Reps can create their own successful performance through the combination of regular call evaluation and the identification of effective conversation methods which lead to successful outcomes within their designated essential structure. The use of process requires authentic behavior, which reading from a page violates.

28. Ignoring tone, pace, and vocal cues

In current B2B sales, which rely on phone and video methods, body language was replaced by vocal cues. All people miss these signals because they concentrate on their upcoming speech instead of listening to what others say.

The process of losing interest makes prospects move at a slower pace. When prospects show interest, they begin to ask additional questions. Short answers which sound positive to others yet contain hidden signals of withdrawal show that prospects will stop their engagement.

The most effective sales coaching method involves training reps to recognize specific speech patterns while analyzing calls to find points where tonal changes occurred.

The automatic detection of sentiment changes by conversation intelligence platforms enables organizations to measure their abilities, which were previously developed through experience.

29. Not knowing when to walk away

In current B2B sales, which rely on phone and video methods, body language has been replaced by vocal cues. All people miss these signals because they concentrate on their upcoming speech instead of listening to what others say.

The process of losing interest makes prospects move at a slower pace. When prospects show interest, they begin to ask additional questions. Short answers which sound positive to others yet contain hidden signals of withdrawal show that prospects will stop their engagement.

The most effective sales coaching method involves training reps to recognize specific speech patterns while analyzing calls to find points where tonal changes occurred.

The automatic detection of sentiment changes by conversation intelligence platforms enables organizations to measure their abilities, which were previously developed through experience.

Conclusion

As a sales leader, it’s your responsibility to coach the sales reps in the right direction. For that you need to catch their mistakes well within time, before the damage gets done.

While you can’t monitor 100% of the conversations within your sales team, Enthu’s conversation intelligence capabilities can. 

Enthu’s artificial intelligence algorithms analyse every single sales call that happens in a team, and surfaces the sales mistakes within a couple of seconds.

That means not just better QA but also better rep coaching resulting in improved performance.

After all, there is a direct correlation between the sales mistakes & the revenue performance.

Which are the most common sales mistakes you see reps making day in and day out?

FAQs