Marketing and communications professional Henry Vinson points out a few mistakes sales professionals should never make on a call.

1. What Not
to Do on a
Sales Call
HENRY VINSON
Henry Vinson

2. The best products in the world
couldn't keep a company with a
lackluster sales team afloat.
At its heart, the math behind business is painfully simple: without a
strong pipeline of lucrative sales to fund development, even promising
ventures will inevitably flop. But it isn't enough to simply assign a few
employees to contact businesses that might be interested in becoming
a client and rattle off some marketing slogans over the phone;
representatives need to be able to engage potential clients in a way
that convinces them of a product's business value.

3. Call Without a Clear
Plan or Message
A meandering call wastes time and tanks
sales calls. Approaching a potential
client without a plan or central idea will
both take up valuable time and convince
them that your company lacks
professionalism. Always prepare for a
sales all by outlining goals and
strategies beforehand, and always have
talking points on hand so that you don’t
wander off-track during a call.

4. Boast About the
Product
Whatever you do, don’t boast.
Prospects know that you believe in the
product; they expect you to sell it to
them. However, talking up your
business too much can come off as
disingenuous or scripted. Overuse of
vaguely positive terms such as
“absolutely” or “perfect” can drop
sales chances by as much as 16%.
Prospects want to talk to a convincing
person - not a sales bot!

5. Read from a Script
Never let your talking points turn into a
script. At its heart, a sales conversation
is just that: a conversation. It requires
each party to listen and respond to what
the other says in a way that
demonstrates that they care about the
other’s ideas and thoughts. If you sound
as though you’re reading from a script,
the prospect won’t feel valued and will
disengage. Consider talking less!

6. Forget to Outline
Next Steps
Don’t leave your client hanging if they
want to move forward! Always have an
outline for next steps and a concrete
follow-up plan at the ready during a
sales call. Poor planning could cost
you a client you might otherwise have
retained for years.

7. Thank
You!
HenryVinsonConsulting.com