Top 6 outdated sales tactics to abandon

Leaving a good impression on a client is difficult, but it's really simple to create a poor impression, particularly when it comes to sales. Here are some moves to avoid in sales. These may have been industry standards in previous years, but it’s time to update your sales strategies with best practices.

Cold calling random prospects

Cold calling random opportunities is tedious, difficult, often useless, and can have a negative effect on people’s impression of your brand. But this doesn't mean you should give it up entirely.It simply implies that you need to modify your strategy in calling random people.

Of course, since you still need to call for prospecting, the correct route to take is to make warm calls. It merely indicates you should do the homework or research about the person you’ll call. Know how you can best help with your product and services before you pick up the phone.

Selling to everyone

You will only waste your time by going after everyone. Do a favour to yourself and the prospect and take the time to disqualify those who do not qualify to be a prospect in terms of need, budget, time-frame, etc.

This enables you to concentrate your efforts on skilled opportunities that would profit from your product or service. Not only does it save money, it also protects you from getting detractors who talk about your unprofessional conduct to their friends, which is counterproductive.

Not fully using technology

And when it comes to computing, sales and advertising, there are now tools for everything from automation to CRMs to customized tools for social media monitoring. Through the usage of surveillance tools for social media, you will be able to better know your competitors and the kind of impact they have on your target audience.

Adding to that, we can recognize where our target markets come from and what their particular interests are. There is no justification for not customizing our advertising and marketing strategy with all the knowledge we acquire from social media tools.

Using social media only to promote your business

Because of personal social media platforms, it is simple to lose clients, particularly if you only use it to advertise. Sure, social media marketing is successful. Customers buy from companies they follow on social media, therefore not using such platforms can hinder your business. Remember, the only motive of promoting your products and services on social media should not be to just make money.

Customers are easily annoyed by brands that over-promote their products and services .

Consider how you can use it wisely to drive engagement and strengthen your brand.

Over-selling your product and services

Sales cycles were incredibly involved in the old days. All meetings were conducted in person, so inherently the process was slower and more complicated.

It was easy for a sales person to get away with what he/she would have stated five months ago.

Because sales took so long to close, the priorities and product requirements of a prospect would often differ from those at the beginning by the end of the process. With emerging technology, sales moves much faster, so keeping track of the specifics and not over-selling is important.

Talking, more than listening

Because information was so limited for many consumers before the internet, those who were selling held the knowledge and authority and did the talking more. But in today’s world, information is available at everyone’s fingertips, and the buyer is aware of all the details.

Now, making assumptions is hazardous. Don’t always ask closed-ended questions, instead rely on listening more and offering open-ended questions or prompts. It is healthy to know the customers perspective before you let them know about your view.

Although outdated tactics won’t hamper your business entirely, it is definitely not doing what’s best for your business either. A firm sales plan added with creativity can make wonders!