Common Sales Mistakes

Last month, this column explored the importance of integrating your business’s marketing and sales plans. Marketing gets customers to your door while Sales provides solutions to the customer problem satisfactorily enough to conclude the transaction (read: revenue.)
There are core steps in the sales process, with variations depending on marketing strategies, industry sector and personal communications style. Talent and ingenuity can happen at every stage, as can mistakes. You’ve spent plenty of money on marketing to attract potential customers, now don’t lose them because of one of these easy-to-fix missteps.
Stage 1: Welcome the Customer – the most common mistake made at this stage is to forget to do it, sincerely. Sales people sometimes jump right to Deliver (stage 5.)
Stage 2: Build Rapport – people buy from people; take the time needed, sometimes just a few moments, to humanize the selling process. You can also use this step to ask a crucial market research question: “How did you hear about us?”
Stage 3: Determine the Problem – the common mistake made at this stage is overly-eager sales people not allowing the customer to be heard.
Stage 4: Determine the Solution – the mistake made at this stage is offering a solution unrelated to the customer’s problem (stage 3). In the customer’s mind, this is not a solution at all.
Stage 5: Deliver the Solution – mistakes here often are of a logistical nature (i.e. stock outs, expensive delivery costs etc.,) or of a quality control nature.
Stage 6: Conclude the Transaction – the most common mistake here is that the transaction is cumbersome. The customer is already in pain from having to part with their money; don’t make the paperwork or payment transaction a hassle.
Stage 7: Follow-up post-sale – the most common mistake made here is that it’s ignored, sacrificing future sales from what could be a loyal customer.


Missteps in the selling process can have serious consequences, depriving your business of revenue and eroding confidence in your company staff as well as potential customers. Take time this month to analyze your company’s sales stages, then take an honest look at mistakes you might be making along the way. You’ll find that many of them have simple solutions which can be implemented at once, with immediate positive impact to your sales success.