Don’t Forget to Tie Your Shoelaces! – Five Don’ts for Salespeople

When following the don'ts for salespeople, it's important to remember that becoming a great salesperson begins from the foundation up. Try to follow your intuition, keep your confidence, and focus on being present in your life and actions.

Five Don'ts for Salespeople:

1. Don’t lose momentum. Prospecting is like a flywheel. It takes a while to crank it, but once it is spinning, little touches keep it going. When you stop, such as to deal with a non-critical interruption or to do something mindless that’s going to turn into a half hour long project, it’s like putting a big brake on that wheel. Afterwards, you’ve got to work twice as hard to start the wheel up again.
2. Don’t ignore the hairs on the back of your neck. If you think you should call or email someone to follow up, but are procrastinating because you’re not sure how they will respond, especially if it’s to ask them to send in the contract that they agreed to sign, then act! The same thing applies when you’re in a meeting. If that internal voice is screaming, “Discuss the price now!” then act!
3. Don’t assume the worst. Bad salespeople keep thinking that their clients and prospects are annoyed or put off with their persistent follow up. If you agreed to move forward, or if you ask for a meeting or recommendation, then don’t second guess what the other person thinks about it. Maybe that person is especially busy this month and it fell off their radar. Chances are you are blowing it way out of proportion.
4. Don’t call a spade a shovel. If someone keeps postponing a meeting, or doesn’t get back to you on a timely basis, then call it. Find out if commitment to this project is declining. What the best way to do this? Just ask!
5. Don’t rush out the door. Take fifteen minutes for a soft landing. You’ve been flying at warp speed all day. Take as much time as you can (without cutting into prime selling time – i.e. 8am to 5:30pm) to organize your space, update your task list, and so on. Be kind to the future you!

Again, these don'ts for salespeople encompass the big picture of what goes into being a great salesperson and it can take a bit of time to successfully build these habits–like your parents reminding you to say please and thank you. At first, you had to remember to do these things, but after awhile, they become natural.

Do you have any other don'ts for salespeople? Let us know in the comments!