3 Ways to Destroy Your Relationship with a Prospect

by David Matos

There comes a time in every sales cycle where we look to purposely sabotage a deal rather than helping a prospect and securing a commission.  After all, who wants to make a living these days?

At this point every single one of my clients and partners is reading this and contemplating ways to lose my contact information.  But before that happens, I just want to point out that this what some of us say in our actions when we fail to strengthen our relationship throughout the entire sales cycle.  You could have the most eloquent tongue, however, you know the saying, “Actions speak louder than words.”

Although the title may be deceiving, let’s look at three common problems and easy solutions to keep your prospect first in every action you take.

1. Problem:  During meetings with multiple influencers and a decision maker, they often break off on tangents about internal issues that may prevent them from moving forward with you.
   
   Simple Solution:  Read!  No seriously, read up about the industry, the company, and the challenges that you hope to resolve.  The more you know about their business before the big meeting, the more you can actively participate in those sidebar discussions.  After all, it is “your” meeting.
    
2. Problem:  When it comes time to talk to your prospect about what resources you’re committing, you go into a very high level, low detail description in order to avoid making mistakes.
   
   Simple Solution:  Get to know people in different departments within your company.  You should know the best speakers from the technical department that are willing to help you on complex sales calls.  This will help you in being viewed as an expert.
    
3. Problem:  Uh oh!  You gave the wrong timeframe for delivery and were wondering why your prospect seemed so happy.  They are ready to sign now!  Do you tell them about the backorder now or do you hold off until you have a creative response?
   
   Simple Solution:  Take responsibility for your actions!  At CFS we often refer to “falling on your sword.”  Mistakes happen, but if you aren’t proactive in admitting and resolving them, you will lose credibility faster than you can dodge a phone call.

Now I realize there are about 20 more mistakes I could outline (and probably will in future posts) but for now I highlighted 3 common problems I see too often when working with salespeople, and have done myself in the past.  How many mistakes can you think of?  We would love to see your thoughts in the comments!