The salesperson's worst enemy

In my career I have been fortunate to have performed in both ends of the traditional negotiation desk. I've been a purchaser as I've been a salesperson and in this experience I have seen few mistakes by sales professionals that can be as damaging for a commercial relationship and the overall sales results as overpromising.


It's tempting to promise the moon to a potential customer, especially when in the "dating" stage of the relationship as we are trying to convince and gain the favors of the still probable customer. The temptation is not only for the salesperson, but also for the buyer. Let's face it, few buyers will decline a special favor, even if not necessary. Why wait until tomorrow for the delivery if the salesperson is promising a same day shipment? Or why take the full price if the seller offers an unrequested discount?

Interestingly, as popular as the expression "under promise - over deliver" is, this mistake is made by experienced and beginner sellers alike. If you are a sales professional remember the following concepts before promising your customers the moon:

- Do your homework and learn what's really important to your customer, don't assume you know it and ask the right questions. Only then will you be able to offer just those negotiation points that are relevant, compelling and strictly necessary.

- Don't take commitments on someone else's behalf. First, you may be placing unnecessary pressure on your own team to accomplish parts of your negotiation that might not be achievable. Second, it's best to have control over the items of the offer, why would you want to give that control away?

- Do request and take reasonable time to prepare your offer and negotiation and take into consideration all the components and colleagues that might get affected by your proposal.

- Don't take your competitors' offers for granted. Just because a buyer tells you that your competition has a better deal that doesn't mean it's true or that there are no guidelines that apply for such deal to become available. Research for an educated decision.


Avoid becoming your worst self enemy, remember that if you overpromise, you might get the business once. However, if you don't deliver you will damage your reputation, you will create unnecessary tension within your own team, but worst, you may never get a second chance to serve that customer.

Leave over promising to politicians, you have a customer to care for and a reputation to think about.

Soft skills, hard results

The profession of selling is in constant adaptation in response to changes in the business environment. Elements such as technology and globalization obligate the design of new techniques, more elaborated selling processes and the inclusion of technology in the daily execution of the sales function. However, there is one key component that remains an untouched but very important part of the trade, soft skills.

In recent years a lot has been discussed about Emotional Intelligence (EQ), this is our ability to perceive our emotions, understand them and adjust our actions to achieve desired outcomes.

Although many attitudes and characteristics of our personality may be consider soft skills there are some that can truly bring you hard results when selling:

Impulse Control - One of the most memorable phrases in the past few months is: "I just want my back life" by Tony Hayward from British Petroleum in reference to the PR nightmare developed after the worst oil spill in history in the Gulf of Mexico. It makes you wonder, how could a seasoned executive not control his emotions on such a sensitive subject? Slips like these can kill anybody's hard earn reputation. Impulse control does not only relate to things we say but of course, things we do and how we execute them based on our emotions. A sales person that can't control his(her) impulse to sell in the early stages of a conversation with a potential customer will get the same results than Tony Hayward got, the exit door.

Assertiveness - Ever been harassed by a car sales man? That is not assertiveness, quite the opposite, it is about understanding when to wait, push, offer, ask and negotiate and to effectively change speeds and execute as required. Think about it, how many times could you have gotten the purchase order if you had just asked for it at the right time?

Empathy - A favorite of mine, as top sales people will tend to score high in EQ tests on empathy. It is about wearing the customers' shoes, feeling their pain and see things from their perspective. Empathy is a powerful source for information a great tool to build relationships and the ultimate way to connect at a deeper level with your customers. Do it well and you won't have to convince them, they will know you understand them.

Whether soft skills can be learned or not is debatable, some will say you can be trained or coached while others believe they are part of your personality. Regardless, there is no doubt that when selling these skills are critical so keep in mind your emotional intelligence before taking action and review the consequences and the results that you aspire to achieve. For hard results you have to believe there is nothing soft about these skills.

Loyalty can't be bought

Because of my business background developing markets in Latin America, I often get questioned what is the main difference between doing business south of the border and doing business in the United States.


The answer is somewhat simple, but it has a very deep connotation: Business in those markets is driven by relationships and loyalty.

More often than not, we see aggressive "loyalty" programs aiming to gain your next purchase, but that is just it. These businesses have defined just your next purchase as loyalty when in reality they lack to connect with you for a longer relationship.


"Bribing customers has created a business culture focused on closing this month's numbers rather than developing long lasting business"


On the other hand, these programs are for the most part based on pricing, rather than on the buying experience, the performance of the product or even the quality of the services. The reality is, that even in this economy, a truly loyal customer will not consider pricing as the main decision factor and there's many products and services that have shown us that other characteristics of the product can be far more relevant than the price tag.

The key to effectively engage with your customers is to understand how they interact with your product and their satisfaction level with the value that you are providing.

Never before was the interaction between buyers and sellers more intensive than with today's increase use of social media, online reviews and other marketing resources. However some of these tools might not suit all needs, be mindful of this when choosing.

Define what you want to measure as well as the units you want to use (members, clicks, stars, followers, sales, orders, referrals, etc) and then design the strategy to get there. Use the tools that will help you get to your defined targets and do not assume that just because it's there it will suit your strategy, company culture or product image.

Most importantly, think of engaging with your customers rather than bribing them. After all, loyalty can't be bought.