What It Takes To Be An Entrepreneur

7 Things That Make Clients Hate You Part 1

Written by Jay Shapiro for Gaebler Ventures

Less than scrupulous sales people give others a bad name. Here's how to make sure you earn yourself a good reputation as an understanding salesperson who delivers. Don't follow this advice and you could add yourself to the rank of the despised.

There are many reasons why people have an aversion to certain types of salespeople - but here we are focusing on the seven most deadly of those.

Call them sins if you like, if they are part of your way of dealing with clients, then sure as eggs is eggs, they won't like you and that's not good news for your business.

1. Are you a poor listener? Or worse still, are you someone who doesn't listen at all. This is one of the main gripes with people when it comes to citing what they most dislike about salespeople. Sadly many of them fail to listen properly to what customers or prospects are saying. This means that they can't accurately address any key issues that the customer has raised as being of importance.

Consider the following and decide who you would rather do business with.

Salesperson A talks you through his sales pitch, which bears no relation to what you have told him what your needs are.

Salesperson B does very little talking, but listens closely to what you tell him your needs are and suggest tailoring his service to suit you.

It's no surprise if you pick Mr B. We all would.

2. Do you talk too much? Too many people in sales think that having the gift of the gab is a virtue. It isn't. If you're babbling away, you can't be listening. You don't necessarily have to tell it to sell it. This may come as a shock to those of you who rattle on with the belief that doing so will eventually stun your prospect into submission, but, it is the customer who should do the lion's share of the talking. That's right, the customer.

But how can you sell if you aren't talking? Don't panic, you'll get your go at verbalising soon enough, but only do so after your prospective customer has had their say. The secret to success here is to allow the customer to express their needs in order that you can follow up by presenting them with a resolution to their dilemma, or a product that will service their needs.

3. Do you lack the necessary knowledge to sell your product? We live in the information age so there is really no excuse for anyone in sales to be devoid of the relevant knowledge.

The professional salesperson should be capable of speaking knowledgably about the product, including any comparisons that might be drawn with similar products or options that they offer.

The salesperson who doesn't know his product and what it can do, inside out, will come across as ignorant and will very quickly lose the prospect's interest and the possibility of a sale.

The message here: Learn everything there is to learn about what you are selling. Be an expert and then you can sell confidently and you will inspire your client's trust.

Jay Shapiro is a freelance writer based in the UK. Jay has a particular interest in the emotive aspects of the entrepreneur's character. "Alongside the nuts and bolts of business, the character of the person is often the ingredient responsible for success."

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