Marketers have a thin line between making or breaking a sale while still managing it with professionalism and experimentation.
Knowing how to nurture a lead takes skill, which is critical for marketers to learn. While it may take more than a few failed attempts to master it, knowing what to avoid can get you ahead.
Here are the most common mistakes marketers make when attempting to drive deals.
13 Common Marketing Mistakes That Turn Prospects Off
1. Not being transparent
Some marketers make the mistake of not being entirely transparent. For example, a social media marketing agency can pass itself as a success story with fake followers, convincing small businesses to invest in their services.
The key takeaway is to avoid advertising in an area you haven’t succeeded yourself yet. With the spaces you have executed, make sure you’re transparent about the results you can provide them.
To succeed, you must craft a personalized sales pitch in a way that aligns with your client’s biggest problem. For instance, if you’re selling CRM software to a small business that has no experience with one, you’re responsible for educating them. When you demonstrate your product in their setting, they have an easier time visualizing its use.
2. Following ‘best practices’
While best practices pose practical guidelines, marketers don’t always need to follow them. In fact, best practices can provide a ton of value for businesses in operations and finance. However, marketing is more about uniqueness, so center-practice guidelines don’t always work for every case.
By definition, best practices are those businesses have tried and used widely for success. However, you should try and avoid them if at all possible. When you head in a different direction, you find a better way of doing things.
3. Talking too much about the company
Prospects want to learn about what you can do for them. When you’re constantly bragging about what your company does, remind yourself that it’s about them and not you.
For this, listen to your prospects’ pain points and what they need. People don’t need to know what you can do if it doesn’t solve their actual problems. Whatever challenges they’re facing, listen closely.
Prospects can provide just as much valuable feedback as customers. So as you move them through the sales funnel, ask for their feedback — especially when they drop out. They can tell you about their experience, and you get to learn something. That way, you’ll understand how to convert a prospect into a lead.
4. Failure to research and qualify prospects
Often, marketers jump on the call with a lead immediately. Yet, they don’t realize how unprepared they are because that person knows very little about who they’re speaking to or what their business does.
Even if you have a strong sales strategy, you can’t compensate for targeting the wrong buyers. That’s where research and qualifying prospects come into play.
Once you get to know your prospects better, the closing conversations will go smoother. Start by outlining the criteria of your targeted client. That way, you know who’s qualified as a potential buyer.
Remember, you can qualify prospects based on their demographics and engagement history.
5. Getting too technical with data
Marketers often focus too much on the data and treat their customers like machines. While data is critical, it’s not the only part that makes sales successful.
Good conversation is essential to make your facts and figures matter. When you ensure your content tells a compelling story, you’re making it mean something. Plus, it’s how you can ensure your sales pitches stand out.
So, how can you gauge customer feelings? Achieve this by looking at their experience. That’s how you can begin to understand their feelings and see things from their perspective.
Start looking at marketing and selling as a way to help them. When you apply empathy to the sales process, you show prospects that you’re putting them first. That’s why it’s important to go beyond the brand and speak to the feelings your clients seek.
6. Pushing sales without offering value
Pushing a sale without offering any value is a surefire way to lose. Some marketers are so focused on getting leads that they forget what kind of value they’re bringing to the prospect.
Furthermore, they might believe that pricing is everything and use that as the only promotional tool. Then, when the company thinks they should discount everything to make a sale, they’re quickly devaluing it. As a result, the prospect approaches it as wanting to make a deal with you.
The best way to attract your prospect is to demonstrate value early in your communications, moving methodically in your introduction. Then, you can follow up with an invitation to connect or make a purchase.
7. Leading the sale with free stuff
Marketers often think the best way to sell their capabilities is through free work. If you sell to a seasoned prospect, they can see right through that and see it as an attempt to give away the “sauce.”
This is something that is usually implemented by any IT company in Atlanta that conducts performance-based solutions, which results in overall high revenue.
Consider trying to sell based on your talent or track record. Then, you can use your work sessions with prospects to showcase your thought process when applied to their situation.
8. Appealing to everyone
You could have the most appealing campaign, but people will move on if it doesn’t solve a specific problem. As a result, you spend all that time, money, and effort with little to no results.
The reality is you need to form unique customer segments. No two groups are alike or will respond to an offer similarly. That’s why you need to perfect your sales funnel with personalization. Tailoring your content is the best way to reach your customers.
Consider being empathetic and find out what your customers need. You can start by researching with surveys or questionnaires. Always ask questions and use your Google Analytics to gather customer data.
Remember, buyer personas will likely shift as things change in the market. So it’s important to refresh your customer profiles to best equip the sales team for outreach.
9. Promising results you can’t deliver
One of the common errors marketers make is overpromising results for new businesses. Unfortunately, this can be a major turnoff for some prospects. Yet if they believe you and you win them over, setting those unrealistic expectations can hurt the relationship later.
The best way to start your client relationship off on the right foot is to be candid about your expectations. Doing so can result in more wins and create better client relationships.
Another way to win them over is to let your prospects sell to themselves. You can ask the right questions and nudge them in the right direction. In the end, they’ll have convinced themselves they need your product.
10. Applying a standard sales approach
Applying a standard sales approach is a huge mistake if you have high-value, long sales cycles. Often, those methods are innovative and revolutionary ways of driving ROI. However, savvy prospects know what you’re trying to accomplish.
The better way to approach a potential customer is by getting them to talk. Try to learn about their goals and challenges — figure out what keeps them awake at night. Then, you can tailor your approach to their needs.
In a sales conversation, you should always expect to come across clients with different demands. So instead of saying “you can’t,” ensure your sales strategy is adaptable. That way, you can accommodate what your customers desire.
11. Asking about their budget too early
Asking about your prospective clients’ budgets early in a conversation is a definite turnoff for them. It’s like going up to a stranger and asking them how much they have in their bank.
To get an idea of what you could potentially work with, conduct some research on your prospect. Or ask about the company’s revenue and make a professional recommendation based on their goals.
12. Presenting with no intention to close
When presenting to the prospect, make it clear that you intend to have the product in their hands by next week. At that point, they might say they don’t have any intention of using it that quickly.
However, you can show off your confidence and respond by saying you wanted them to know your intention. That way, it sets the stage that you know your offering can solve their problems.
When you present with confidence, you can close with confidence as well.
13. Pitching at the wrong time
Marketers often alienate prospects by marketing to them at the wrong stage of their journey. When someone is interested in engaging with you, they may not be ready for a heavy sales pitch.
But with proper nurturing, you can eventually lead them to the top of that sales funnel. One of the leading ways to nurture a lead is email automation. Stay connected and keep your leads warm by automating your lead management with a corporate newsletter series.
If you can craft the perfect welcome message, you’ll start your new relationship positively. From there, you’ll set up a new lead in a series of automated emails.
That way, you can supply them with information to maintain the relationship until they’re ready to make their next step.
Conclusion
Every marketer makes mistakes at some point in sales. However, you must identify those errors and turn them into a valuable lesson for yourself.
Yes, getting things wrong is part of the journey, but you can always learn along the way. And hopefully, you can analyze these mistakes marketers make and use them to your advantage!
