As you might expect I spend a lot of time working with sales professionals helping them to breakthrough their personal barriers. In doing so it always amazes me that the same “reasons” for under-performance arise again and again. Salespeople look me in the eye and voice these “reasons” as if they’re real and as if I’ve not heard them before!

In this article I am going to share with you the top 10 excuses used by sales losers so that you can audit the “reasons” that you use when you’re not getting the results that you would like. In my experience nearly all salespeople use some or all of these excuses at some point in their sales career. Auditing your usage of them will pay massive dividends in motivation, focus and results in the short, medium and long-term.

My challenge to you as your read these excuses is to do two things…

* Firstly, honestly appraise whether you do use any of these excuses. Consider how often, when and at what cost…

* Secondly, hold yourself to a higher standard and vow never to accept them ever again.

Top 10 Excuses Used By Sales Losers…

1. Poor market conditions / economy. Most salespeople use this as a reason for not performing at some point or other in their careers. I have worked with whole companies who spout this “reason” almost as a mantra! I’m not arguing that some markets aren’t more buoyant than others, however there is always opportunity for those who work hard. In many “poor markets” many of your competitors may hold this excuse and therefore have almost given up. This leaves the door open for you to work smarter and secure the clients that are in the marketplace.

2. Expensive / uncompetitive products. I worked with a company who took a new product to market. After the initial trial runs, much of the feedback from the clients stated that they thought that the product was too expensive. Much of the sales teams concluded therefore that the product was uncompetitive. One sales individual however made enormous sales so I sought him out and spoke with him. He told me that the other salespeople in the business were selling on price not value and had failed to identify how the product was worth the money to clients! Expensive and uncompetitive are subjective words… in what context are you using them?

3. Lack of training or education. Lack of training or education is one of the most widely used excuses in business today. For some reason many individuals feel that they would be more successful if only… Conversely speaking, sales superstars take responsibility for their own success. I believe that for the most part, individuals already have all of the skills that they require to be successful. If there are genuine areas in which training would be useful then identify what training and development you need and organise it yourself.

4. Poor management and support. I have never worked in a business where somebody didn’t criticise the management and support. Let’s face it, if you want to push the blame outside of yourself you’ll always find a way to do it! Sales losers seem to find someone to blame and a way to lose wherever they work. Sales superstars accept reality for what it is and find a way to excel wherever they work. Which are you?

5. Wrong territory or geographic region. Territories, geographic regions, vertical sectors… in many of the teams that I work with these are extremely hotly debated topics. I’m not arguing that one territory is the same as another however it is incredibly rare that I meet a salesperson that has ALL of the business in their territory. What I tend to find is that whatever territory you give to salespeople… plodders plod and superstars perform. Could it be possible that there is no such thing as a mediocre territory only a mediocre sales person?

6. Saturated sector or niche. Much like some of the other excuses this is a matter of context. Certainly some sectors are more mature than others; however once a sector reaches a certain level of maturity then all sorts of new opportunities arise (e.g. Clients fail to get the service or solution that they require and look around for new business partners). There’s even some advantages… at least your clients know that they need a solution, they don’t need to be educated to that. You just need to persuade them of the benefits of you and your solution.

7. Weak client base. Many salespeople complain about the nature of their clients… number, size, spend etc. When I was first in sales I worked opposite a girl who had multiple accounts. One of these spent twice as much on the same solutions as my largest client. To add to my problems they also weren’t that fussy about the quality of their solutions and my client was incredibly fussy! For about three weeks it ate into me. I moaned to anyone who would listen and things were bleak. Then one day one of the office superstars pulled me aside, “Gavin, you can’t fight with the way it is. What you can do is work harder, smarter and faster. Prove that you can win business anywhere and opportunities will open up to you. Stop believing that the grass is greener on the other side of the fence…”. That year saw me break all records for that business.

8. Upbringing and education. Some people still believe that their upbringing and education effect their outcomes in life. There’s even loads of academic argument about it. I don’t care! What I know is that if you accept that argument and you didn’t have a great education or upbringing then you are emasculated!!! Look! There are loads of examples of people who have broken out of awful backgrounds and have achieved amazing successes. Whether you’re a PHD from Harvard or a comprehensive drop out we all have the same opportunity to sell. After a sales presentation the words, “I’m sorry that wasn’t so good but I’m a Harvard grad you know” aren’t going to help!!!! The profession of selling is a great leveller.

9. Poor office conditions, team members, database! What do you do when things go wrong in the office? Are you bothered by other team members? The wrong temperature? The technicalities of the database? One individual I worked with delivered a 3 page report on the database to his managers the month before I arrived and then had the gall to winder why his sales figures were no good!! Stop trying to control external events and control what you can… your sales activities.

10. Lack of reward or recognition. Genuinely, if you’re not getting the reward and it’s a problem… move on. Otherwise get on! Lack of reward or recognition is not a reason. It’s an excuse. Too many salespeople complain about this area. If you need rewards and recognition get inventive and find ways of rewarding and recognising yourself.

For the last 10 years, Gavin Ingham has been helping sales people to explode their sales performance by turning self-doubt, fear and lack of motivation into self-belief, confidence and action. With his inspirational approach to sales performance and motivation Gavin combines commercial experience, personal excellence and communications technologies in delivering personal and business sales success.

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