The #2 Mistake Sales People Make

Craig Elias | March 25, 2009 - 8:16 pm

The number two mistake sales people make is that, even when they get in front of highly motivated decision makers at EXACTLY the right time, they lose the sale because they fail to understand the decision maker placed them in the red zone of the credibility curve – below.

credibility-curve

When prospects believe the risk of being your customer is greater that the your credibility you end up in the red zone, above your current place on the prospect’s credibility curve, which is highly likely to result in no sale!

Only when prospects believe your credibility to be greater than the risk of being your customer are you in the green zone, below your place in the prospects’ credibility curve, and therefore more likely to make the sale.

In order to win business you need to shift yourself as far as you can into the green zone of the credibility curve. This meas you need to, on your first call or visit with the decision maker, find ways to:

  • Lower a prospect’s perception of the risk of becoming your customer and
  • Increase their perception of your credibility

My question, to be answered by commenting below, is “What can you do to increase your likelihood of closing the same by reducing a buyer’s perception of risk and increase their perception of your credibility?”

Win $1,500 worth of Trigger Event services to help you close more sales by shifting your place in a prospect’s credibility curve by getting the most votes for your answer.

Answers are voted on by clicking on the Top Seven Mistakes in Sales Voting Button - Trigger Event Selling button that appears at the end of each answer and voting ends on Monday April 13th.

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Have an EVENTFUL week!

Craig

  • Raj

    For any sale that is complex in nature and has direct relationship to key pre-determined ‘strategic risk factors’ needs as you rightly stated – credibility and risk minimization. Guess what! both go hand-in hand. They are not mutually exclusive but deeply intertwined.

    Credibility building & Risk minimization:

    1. Needs to be done at all the key decision makers level. Understand their role in the organization, their key responsibilities, the tangible and intangible impact of the solution that you intend to sell and above all, each of their personal agenda;

    2. Build your own ‘personal credibility’ with each of the prospects. Go slowly. Do not think of selling anything but creating an opportunity where the prospect can test you personally in terms of integrity, delivery, ability to be carry the customer flag/business issue in your own organization.

    3. Provide an understanding of the customer organization in terms of ‘key strategic business issues’ which define the prospects organization position/fit with its external environment and key stakeholders;

    4. Before even seeking a meeting with the key decision maker, you have to create an environment or education about yourself that is compelling in terms of ‘credibility building’. This can be achieved through building network with other SBU of the prospect’s business, solving small tactical issues, maybe highlighting a new business process or model, which can create a suatainable business for the prospects organization etc. This excercise does not go waste. This will create a ‘positive voice’ about you in the prospects organization and it will reach the key decision makers ears. Remember, in today’s busines times of ambiguity and uncertainity, all SBU work in unison. Even though the key decision maker might be one person, but he still will need buy-in, yes, buy-in friends. It is a difficult job but who said complex solutions selling is easy;

    5. Whatever, you create in front of the customer, your own creditibility, you have to do the same for your own organization. You have to build that same faith in the eyes of your prospect about your own organization in terms of ‘customer focus’, ‘delivery’, ‘verticals specific knowledge’, ‘innovation’ and many other things;

    I hope this helps. There are many other key areas that also come into play. But aboveall, is your own self, people buy from people, just be humble and show to the customer that this partership does not end with this sale.

  • Eliot Axelrod

    The best way to move yourself in the green zone is to make promises in terms of delivering ideas or other commitments – referrals, information, industry contacts, and following through.

    Your only value to a prospect is your ability to listen and to follow through. Keep your promises and your credibility will climb.

  • http://www.marcusevans.com Leslie

    Agreed! I work with a 24-hour sales cycle and credibility is my number one tool. When I am calling a C-level executive from a Fortune 1000 company, it is crucial that I am believable, straight-forward, and consistent. Confidence in the strength of my product also plays a key role for the credibility I have in other’s eyes.

    If you ARE NOT completely honest & upfront with a potential client in the first meeting or first conversation, you significantly diminish the chance they will do business with you. Even if you don’t have EVERY answer, it is better to say, “I am not certain, let me double-check and make sure I sharing the most accurate information with you,” rather than lie or fumble over your words.

    My grandfather once told me that in life we are only given one reputation, it should be treated very carefully because if tarnished once it takes a lifetime to clean. CREDIBILITY IS KEY!

  • http://www.bobcop.com/ Samuel Anderson

    Under promise and over deliver. We developed a plan first with our products. I chose to make our product in such a way that we never have to reinvent the wheel again and whenever we start a new one, we already have a minimum of 50% of our work already completed. We are at the point now where we are currently at the 70% completed. This is very good and it took time, years in fact.

    When I speak with a potential client, I tell them this isn’t your band-aid or just a simple system to get the work done, it will continue to work in other areas, just tell it what to do.

    By us designing a system on compound growth methods and with the ability to be versatile in expanding in other areas, knowing this, it gives ME the advantage to talk more to the potential client and find out even more of his/her needs and then I’m able to create a virtual road-map FROM their current need to all their future needs that they did not intend to mention to me initially giving me credibility to inspire them to move on with us and our products/services.

    We do it at a pace that is comfortable to them and before you know it, the first year and more have passed by and they are happy and moving at a pace that is comfortable to them since they are able to control it from the start.

    What I have done is switched the credibility issue in their shoes by making THEM be the one to show me THEIR credibility by choosing us. If they don’t choose us, then they will know they made a mistake.

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