Social Selling Tips of the Week: How to Avoid Sales Killers & Respect Your Prospects

Sales professionals are no strangers to dismissal. While it may seem random at times, whenever things go awry in the sales process, there’s usually an identifiable reason why.

This week’s top social selling tips take three different approaches to identifying mistakes you may be making, how to recognize them, and how to improve your performance.

Check out some of the week’s best reads to understand common pitfalls and how you can pivot to a strategy that typifies the respectful sales professional.

12 Phrases That’ll Instantly Sabotage Your Negotiation

This week’s advice by Aja Frost doesn’t just point out the problem with certain sales language—it also offers corrections. She focuses her advice around pitfalls in the language we use, but the overarching message points to a common mistake: thinking about yourself more than the prospect.

“Whenever a rep is talking about their own needs and desires, it’s a problem. The focus must always be on the buyer -- yes, even during the negotiation,” writes Frost. Language like “I need…” is in conflict with a strong social selling strategy centered around the prospects’ needs. Instead, offers Frost, “Explain how the terms you’re proposing benefit the buyer.”

How to Screw Up a First Sales Meeting Fast

Sure, the first meeting is important, but Jill Konrath’s advice has wider applications. It’s not uncommon for a prospect to pump the brakes on the sales process, but it’s important to understand why in order to adjust your approach. Konrath urges sales professionals to slow it down if they perceive buyer hesitation.

While you should share information about your product or service in order to educate and inspire buyers, “prospects who receive massive information dumps unconsciously erect barriers to slow or even derail your sales efforts.” Instead, show your expertise by sharing content and participating in the conversations prospects are already having. Learn as much about your buyer as you hope they’ll learn about your offering. Social selling is a great way to stay on their radar while taking a step back from the info dumps.

15 Ways to Show Respect When Selling Anything

Now that we’ve covered two scenarios where sellers ignore needs of their buyers, let’s learn how to do the opposite. Andrew Griffiths provides great advice on how to demonstrate respect throughout the sales process.

He lays out a helpful list of ways to show respect to prospects—from managing expectations and asking intelligent questions, to actively listening and doing independent research. He finishes with this powerful phrase about respect: “Respecting other people is a choice and it does get noticed.”

Avoid the pitfalls outlined above and show the respect Griffiths encourages to be a savvy social seller.

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