Hang on: Explanation coming.
Think of yourself or your Sales Team (on sales calls, on the phone, on e-mail, while prospecting, during follow-up,
dealing with customer issues, and on and on and on . . .)
What are they doing? What are they saying? How are they acting?
In June of 2026 you likely have a Team of professionals. There are probably age and experience differences. Some are technically stronger than others. Some are better with people than others. Some have honed in on very solid sales skills. All good.
But, again, what are they doing? What are they saying? How are they acting?
Unless you are with everyone on your Team every moment of the day you cannot say what are they doing or saying, or how they are acting.
Have you ever wondered if they are doing what every salesperson does? And not in a good way.
Here is a solid list of 10 things most salespeople do. Not because they were taught, trained or coached that way. Because it is what they have always done. Because it is what everyone does and they do not want to stand out, rock the boat or screw up. After all, they are good people.
Most salespeople do this:
- Leave long and detailed voicemail messages
- Write long and detailed emails
- Ask only the technical questions (specs, measurements, quantity, application, etc.)
- Say, “Just following up . . .”
- Lead with a picture of Headquarters on the company PowerPoint
- Dive into “Here’s a little bit about our company” way more than prospects would prefer
- Droll on and on about the features and benefits of their products and services
- Wait for prospects or customers to call them back
- Say, “Great! Awesome! Perfect! Far more than the average person (what has ever really been awesome?)
- Follow up long after a deal has been awarded (falling on deaf ears)
If you read the list and are saying to yourself “That’s not so bad, at least they are working, they are trying.” If you are wondering what is wrong with this list, you might say Nothing. These items are what salespeople should be doing.
Ready for the problem?
Problem is: If everyone is doing it, where is the value when your Team does it?
If everyone in your industry is asking the same questions, where is the value when your salespeople ask the same questions? There is none. Especially the technical questions! And now the only distinguishing factor between you and your competition is price.
If your Salespeople do and say and ask what everybody else does, says, and asks why would anyone buy from your company? One reason: Because it’s cheaper. A race to the bottom is no race at all!
This is why relationships matter. This is why “Unique Selling Propositions” matter. This is why quality matters. This is why Supply Chain matters. This is why engineering matters. This is why customer service matters.
When everybody has it (or says they have it) why would they buy it from you?
Careful how you answer that one.
Be different. It pays to be different.
