The 25 Most Common Sales Mistakes and How to Avoid Them (Unabridged) [Audio Download]

Stephan Schiffman, the famous master of cold calls and sales techniques, provides bite-sized tips on correcting common sales problems. He uses the same nuggets-of-advice format as in many of his other books, such as The Most Common Sales Habits of Highly Successful Salespeople, and the formula is a winner for him. His advice may sound fairly familiar, and much of it echoes his other books, though the concept that you can error-proof your sales approach is a dandy new angle. The advice is sound and is soundly given. Schiffman presents a short, brisk directory of 25 goofs to avoid and ways to fix up your sales approach in this easy-to-read booster. Maybe the simplicity and accessibility of his step by step approach explains why titles based on 10 of this or 25 of that are so popular - just as we suspect this spiffy countdown will be as well.

If you make the calls you get the business

I have the 1990 edition but I looked at the latest edition and the author has added some bonus tracks.

This book is very easy to read and I used to have the Quick reference summary at the back blown up to A4 size and laminated when I used ot go out and give talks.

It is obviously about selling but it also applies to every aspect of business. If you are not selling you have no business. I am a lawyer and it is anathema to most lawyers to think they are salesmen but they are if you do not get in new work then you are dead

I will be ordering the latest version and I will put it on my wish list.

His bonus tracks are interesting

Number 26 Not having a fall back position.
Number 27 Not asking for the sale
Number 28 Not getting enough information
Number 29 Not knowing when to stop talking
Number 30 Taking a leisurely sales approach

Mistake 7 failing to follow up

I used to get a stream of ladies on a Monday morning making enquiries about divorces.

I would give them my spiel and they would go away happy but I discovered that almost none of them came back.

I wondered why and had a think about it. I thought that maybe they wanted to be prompted to instruct me and that they didn't really know what to do next.

I was assuming that they would be just mesmerised by my ability and ring me back. They didn't

I then used to write a follow up with what they had to do next and setting out my costs.

As a result of that simple idea I turned eight of ten of the enquiries into instructions.

Now in all my work if someone calls I set out in detail my costs and what I need them to do. It makes it easy for them and I then receive a properly filled in instructions sheet and usually a cheque for the fees,

An invaluable sale technique but how many people do it?

Mistake 23 Underestimate the importance of prospecting.

I am amazed at the number of people who tell me "Oh we don't have to advertise or prospect because we get all out business from recommendations"

It can be a dangerous position to be in if all your clients suffer because of the recession then you have no work.Also you are not actively looking for work but just sitting waiting for people to give you work.

In the boom times this may work but in a recession it is fatal. Also how will you spot that the competition is taking your business if you are not taking steps.

The best time to find a new job is when you have got one and the best time to get new business is when you have plenty. The public can smell your desperation if you are trying to sell from a weak position

When I first started in business on my own I had a colleague who taught me about marketing and selling and he made a simple statement which holds true

If you make the calls you get the business. It is simple enough answer the phone and ring those who you can do business with and do it constantly

Great book indispensable to anyone who has to do selling of any sort.