7 sales misconceptions that hurt sales

Many salespeople are convinced that they can sell any product or service because they know all the principles of successful sales. However, such overconfidence, as well as insufficient professional skills, can harm transactions and lead to the undermining of a store's reputation.

Marketing experts have identified the 7 biggest misconceptions that sellers have about what influences sales success.

Sometimes salespeople confuse the causes of sales problems with their consequences. An analogy can be drawn to treating a disease, the effectiveness of which depends on the correct diagnosis. Eliminating symptoms alone does not lead to a complete recovery. 

It is necessary to find out the causes of problematic situations, understand how much they interfere with the achievement of goals, and only then spend time overcoming external signs. The most popular excuse that managers or salespeople often use to hide behind is "I'm bad", "I don't know how to manage sales".

In fact, the reason lies in the lack of any planning, control over the work of the staff or lack of motivation. Or there may be other problems.

Here's an example. Customers regularly abandon items added to their shopping carts at the checkout stage of an online store. The seller may blame himself, the poor quality of the product, the company, and the manager may try to improve the product. However, the root of the problem may lie elsewhere - in the technical side, in a poorly loaded payment form or a too long registration form.

It is important to conduct a problem checkup and prioritise tasks that cannot be postponed, and then make a plan to eliminate them.

Don't assume that if you give a customer 100 arguments in favour of your product, they will immediately agree to buy it. On the contrary, the more persistently the seller puts pressure on the buyer, the more resistance they will have. The physical law is at work: the force of action is equal to the force of resistance. A customer may feel distrustful of an overly active salesperson who pushes them to choose a particular product or store.

When building a conversation, the salesperson should be guided by both their own intuition and ability to sense people's moods, as well as certain rules in sales. Present the product in a way that makes the buyer feel confident that the decision is theirs, not yours.  

A person who tries to convince someone else of his or her point of view actually feels insecure. It's the same in sales: a salesperson who is confident in his or her work, product, or service will not convince a customer with a half-hour lecture about the product. 

Take a firm stance: "I am an expert, but I hear you. Talk about what the client is really interested in. Analyse their wishes. However, close attention, as well as complete apathy, can disrupt a purchase.

Many salespeople mistakenly believe that in order to make a successful sale, you need to talk a lot about the characteristics and technical properties of the product, i.e. load it with various information. In fact, as we found out in the previous point, to win the customer's favour, you need to listen to them more. Show sincere interest, ask probing questions, and eventually discover their motives for buying, their true needs and desires. 

And the customer can find out about the characteristics of the goods on their own on the website or on Google. Talk about technical aspects if it helps to create the right impression of the product and when the customer asks about it.  

Another myth that hinders sales is the salesperson's uncertainty that he or she can influence the customer's decision at all. This is the opposite side of the overconfidence of store employees when they try to convince a customer to choose a product.

The customer will quickly sense your lack of confidence and incompetence as an expert and is likely to refuse to buy. They should immediately feel that they are dealing with a professional and that you can be trusted. At the moment of making a decision, many customers are unsure about the feasibility of a purchase, and are haunted by a lot of doubts and objections. The seller's task is to dispel all the "buts" of the client and smoothly convince them of a fair price and the right choice.  

It is important to recognise the true reason for the objection. Ask clarifying questions to uncover hidden fears and strengthen the person's faith in your product.

One of the most common marketing strategies to increase sales is to provide additional services and consultations to persuade customers to make a purchase. However, the primary task of the seller is to find out the true motive for the purchase. 

If the customer's main selection criterion is the cost, then additional privileges can really convince them to buy from you. For example, it could be free delivery of the order or adding an accessory to the parcel.

However, if other criteria are important to the customer, such as the quality of the product, the configuration or availability of a free trial version, the terms of the order, then whatever you add to the order will not convince them to make a purchase.

6. Failed sales are the buyer's fault

7. Rely on the inattention of buyers