Nonsense Niche
Not having a niche is bad enough, my pet peeve is a business that believes that they can reach everyone. I always say, "Everyone is no one!" I call it shotgun marketing, you aim in a general direction and try shooting lots of tiny pellets hoping you will catch something. But what's almost worse than shotgun marketing is having a niche that is unclear, if you are lucky enough to actually get through to your ideal client they will probably end up confused or annoyed because your niche is unclear or ever changing to suit your needs. Who are you targeting, what problem do you solve for them and why should they come to you? Boom! Be clear.
Pushy Pitch
No one likes being sold to! The days of hard selling and pushing people are over. People prefer the softer, more collaborative approach as too much damage has been done in the past and too many call centres have killed cold calling. "You must buy from me because you need what I have to offer" just won't work anymore - it's sad that it ever worked. Your pitch needs to be appealing, like tasty bait at the end of a fishing line. It needs to attract people to you. The best thing about this approach is the right bait will attract the right people to you - red hot, self-selected, pre-qualified leads biting on your bait! Isn't that better than a pushy pitch that makes people walk on the other side of the street when they see you or hide behind a pillar at networking events to avoid you?
Mixed Message
Your sales message needs to be crystal clear, super simple and passionately persuasive. If you crack this not only will your sales be effective but others will be out there sharing your message too. Your niche is who you are selling to but your message is what you say to them. Keep it clear, simple, persuasive and consistent. Don't give up because you put a message out there and don't see instant results. Send your message out over and over and over again. Test, measure and tweak. When tweaking your message give it enough time before tweaking and tweak one thing at a time like perhaps a word or an image. If your message slowly grows into a better message then people will only see improvement and want it even more. If your message changes drastically and often you will leave your ideal clients so confused by your mixed message and resistant to your offering.
Poor Promise
Once you have cracked your niche, pitch and message you need to offer a fantastic promise. A poor promise is a killer to all your hard work or even worse, a promise that doesn't deliver! Your promise is a really important part of your sales process. People will buy what you promise them. The opposite is true too - people won't buy if you don't promise them anything. What are you boldly and confidently promising your target audience? Don't offer a poor promise like, "I am pretty sure I can help you with that" or "This might solve your problem". Be confident that you can help and be sure to deliver that help after you have sold it.
Trite Talk
Have you ever encountered a salesperson who sounded like they were a stuck record? They repeatedly share their sales spiel with you and when you didn't buy they share it again. Not once did they ask if you need what they were selling or how they could serve you. The just talked and talked and talked and..... talked! Then talked some more until you wanted to cry or just bought from them to stop them from talking? Trite talk will kill your sales no matter how hard you have worked on all of the above. Train yourself and your sales team to LISTEN more and talk less. You have two ears and one mouth, a great guide to how much talking and listen to do - listen twice as much as you talk! You will be amazed how much you can learn about your ideal clients through listening and asking the right questions. That info is powerful enabling you to sell effectively and serve well.
Confusing Call to Action
Ok, so you've found them, you've hooked them and made a brilliant promise - it's all good to go! Except there is no clear way to buy. All that hard work still won't result in a sale if it isn't super simple to pay. Tell them what to click or how to pay very clearly. Don't make the checkout process an obstacle course because you may have sold your solution but they call to action is so poor that they buy the solution from someone else who has a one-click solution.
Get MORE SALES this July!
In the month of July Women's Business Club turns the spotlight onto sales by bringing the countries top sales speakers to our clubs and collecting fantastic sales articles to share with you. Reserve your space at your nearest Women's Business Club to get the full benefit today!