How to Close Sales: 6 Annoying Sales Tactics to Avoid

You get on the phone, dial the number, and wait. What comes next can either be a flop or a  gold mine for you. But, have you ever wonder if your sales tactics could come across as annoying when it comes to your sales pitch? Well, a group of people over on LinkedIn in The Sales Playbook group shared with me some other the most annoying sales tactics they’ve heard.

Are you guilty of any of these sales faux pas? If so, it might be time to reevaluate your strategy.

  • Don’t Spam:One individual, Erik Koenig, gave the example of how he and his coworkers would jokingly forward generic sales emails they received. But there was a problem. They discovered the same email had been blasted to the entire company – all departments indiscriminately.  Another spamming tactic that was shared by Aaron Flint. When Flint didn’t respond right away to the first few email drips, the sender stared sending him huge amounts of spam hoping for a reply. Obviously, this wasn’t very effective.
  • Don’t Insult the Lead’s Intelligence: Asking questions that have a ‘well, duh’ type of response to further your sales pitch isn’t the best idea. One of the biggest complaints that people have of sales reps is when they ask questions like, “Do you need more customers?” or “Do you want to save money?” Asking those questions are both tacky and annoying to the lead.They know they’re being set up for whatever you are trying to sell. Instead, prospects would rather hear how they can save/make more money or get more customers. With that sort of message, they would probably listen to your pitch if you showed them how. Asking rhetorical questions doesn’t do anyone any favors. It wastes the time of both the sales rep and the prospect.
  • Don’t use Closing Scripts: If there is one thing prospect REALLY hate, it’s closing scripts. With that in mind, it’s probably in the best interest of a sales rep to not use them. No one likes hearing someone read directly from a screen in a monotone voice. It’s tacky.
  •  Skip the Lying and Hype (Dishonesty): Remember that Disney movie about the puppet whose nose grew with every lie? Don’t be a Pinocchio. People can tell when you’re lying. Don’t try to trick your prospects.One example from the LinkedIn group mentioned above was putting a ‘re’ in the  subject line implying previous contact. Be honest with leads, it will help keep them happy when they turn into customers. Not to mention they will trust you more.
  • Always Follow Up: Surprisingly, this was also listed as a pet peeve. If you tell your prospect that you will follow up with additional information, make sure you actually do. Making a successful sales pitch and then never following up, or keeping set appointments with a prospect will only create bad news for you.
  • Pressuring for a Sale: Have you ever been to a mall and been roped into talking to the sales reps at the booths? The majority of them have the tactic of practically ramming their sales pitch down your throat. Don’t do the equivalent to this on the phone. Don’t create extreme pressure for your leads. It will only make them want to pull back even if your product could be a perfect fit.

In your experience, what is your biggest sales tactic annoyance? On the flip side, what’s the most effective sales tactic? Make sure to comment below and share with your friends and colleagues.

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