Don’t Let Negative Past Sales Experiences Ruin New Opportunities
There’s an old adage in sales about sales encounters. It goes something like this:
You should always go into a sales situation prepared for a no but hoping for a yes.
It’s important to remember that each new opportunity you come across will have its own unique challenges and advantages. Though it’s hard to stay optimistic when objections crop up, bringing baggage from one sales call to another will not help you close. The longer you work with a product or solution, the the more confident you feel in your abilities to sell it, and the more assumptions you may make in regards to the outcome of each business engagement.
However, don’t get too carried away. It’s important to remember that each prospect and each situation is different. Just because you were unable to aid one prospect with your product or solution does not mean you will be unable to help the next one, or the next three. Over time, trends, industries, and budgets change. Key decision makers move on to different companies and are replaced. As an inside sales rep, you have no control over any of these factors. But you do have control over how you adapt and react to different situations. Your tone and attitude can have a dramatic effect on a conversation.
We’ve all done it. We’ve called into an organization and faced extreme opposition from cold and warm prospects. We’ve felt jaded, and we’ve entered the next call weary from the battle scars of the last one. However, in doing this, we tend to project objections onto prospects before really understanding their level of interest in the first place. None of these situations turn into opportunities.
When you let your negative sales experiences influence your future calls, you create a self-fulfilling prophecy of failure. If a prospect agrees to talk more with you, it’s usually a sign that an event or situation within their company has compelled them to be open to new ideas and new solutions to their problems. Step back, listen and don’t say or think anything negative until you’ve heard their story.
Who knows? You may find that you were worried about objections that didn’t exist anywhere but in your mind.