Six Common Sales Myths That Need To Be Busted
“Your attitude, not your aptitude, will determine your altitude.”
Zig Ziglar
No matter how long you’ve worked in sales, you may have heard a tall tale or two. Maybe you took these tales as sage wisdom from salespeople who came before you. Or maybe you scratched your head and wondered why people have certain misconceptions about sales processes, strategies or the sales field in general.
Shruti Kapoor, co-founder and CEO of Wingman, says that some sales myths can be so all-encompassing that they stall your progress and stand in the way of your overall success. In this issue of Promotional Consultant Today, we highlight Kapoor’s thoughts on six of the most common sales myths that need to be debunked right now.
Myth 1: Sales always follow a simple formula. This simply isn’t the case. You may sometimes follow a formula of booking a meeting, creating a deal, doing some follow-up, and then closing the deal, but oftentimes, sales stages overlap each other. Sometimes, prospects may even have to go back a stage, Kapoor says.
Myth 2: Only extroverts can succeed at sales. It’s time to crush this common sales myth because both introverted people and extroverted people can succeed in sales. This is because sales involves in-depth research, extraordinary sales abilities and plentiful soft skills, Kapoor says. When you have these abilities, you can be a fantastic sales professional — whether or not you classify yourself as an extrovert.
Myth 3: Multitasking is the only way to get everything done. Sales is a fast-paced career, and you may have heard that you need to be doing three things at once to keep up. However, it’s much better to focus on one task at a time, rather than trying to juggle too many things at once. Learn how to prioritize and delegate what you can.
Myth 4: You should always be closing. Kapoor says this is a dangerous myth because the salesperson who wants to always be closing and treats their profession like a simple numbers game will inevitably come off as pushy. Prospects will see them as far more concerned about making the sale than solving a problem.
Myth 5: Every conversation needs a call to action. In many cases, a CTA is a great thing. You want prospective buyers to know the next step to take with you. However, Kapoor says that sometimes the prospect isn’t ready to commit. Sometimes, they just need space to breathe, and you should just be patient.
Myth 6: People just don’t trust salespeople. Some potential buyers view salespeople with skepticism. They’re wary of being sold to. However, when you work to build trust and authentic relationships, you can change that dialogue.
If you’ve bought into any of the myths above (or if you’ve shared any of these myths as a sales leader), consider them officially debunked.
Compiled by Audrey Sellers
Source: Shruti Kapoor is the co-founder and CEO of Wingman, a real-time sales coaching tool for sales reps.
