The Survey Says. . . .

Make sure you are aware of your selling weaknesses. . .you may not think that you resemble the pushy, dishonest "used car salesman" stereotype of the past, but sometimes we just might.
A new survey from the American Management Association surveyed 1100 buyers on the sales tactics and behaviors that got under their skin the most. Here are their nine answers, ranked from most to least offensive:

1. Being too pushy
2. Not taking "no" for an answer
3. Not listening
4. Talking too much
5. Bait and switch
6. Reading from a script
7. Using meaningless sales jargon
8. Up-selling
9. Being impatient

Pushiness (24%) and refusing to accept a "no" (23%) were by far the most offensive behaviors to survey respondents, with not listening (18%) trailing close behind. On the other end, up-selling annoyed a mere 4% of respondents, and being impatient, a tiny 2%.
What are the takeaways? Here are three conclusions:

• Sell on the buyer's timeline -- don't force prospects to buy on your timeline. You won't have to be pushy if you maintain a pipeline full of prospects in various stages of the buying process. That way, you'll have prospects ready to close -- on their own terms -- every single month.
• "No" isn't a bad thing. Keep in mind that "no" is better than "maybe." When prospects disqualify themselves, you have more time to spend on better fit opportunities.
• Reps who listen, sell. How will you be able to put together a solution for your prospect if you don't truly listen to and understand their needs? Ask questions and carefully listen to your buyer's answers so you know how to best help them.