10 Things Salespeople are Sick and Tired of Hearing
The world of sales is filled with people who couldn’t handle the demands and pressures of the job. Although nearly 13% of the entire U.S. workforce is made up of salespeople, studies suggest that over 55% of sales reps shouldn’t be in their positions. These numbers may seem staggering to an outsider, but it wouldn’t take much to convince anyone who has spent significant time in sales that they’re accurate.
The point of all of this is that achieving success in sales isn’t as easy as most people think. There are tools like Spiro’s AI-Powered CRM, which help you make more money, but ultimately it’s the salesperson’s responsibility to sink or swim. Real salespeople know this, and become frustrated with the general public’s misunderstanding of the career, and the way some people treat those of us who work in sales.
Here are 10 things salespeople are sick and tired of hearing:
1. I’m getting a better deal somewhere else
People love telling salespeople that they’re getting a better deal somewhere else. Sometimes it’s true, sometimes it’s a negotiating tactic, and sometimes they’re just plain wrong. But when a salesperson hears those words from a customer’s mouth, unless they have the ability to reduce the price, the immediate reaction is to say “That sounds like a great deal, you should take it!”
2. You’re all dishonest
Believing that all salespeople are dishonest is like believing that all college grads cheated their way through school. A small segment of salespeople who conduct business dishonestly and unethically give the others a bad name, but most salespeople are simply hardworking folks trying to feed their families.
3. I’d be great at sales
Whenever someone who has never worked in sales says that they’d be great at it, salespeople cringe because the person usually has absolutely no idea what it takes to succeed. Just because someone is outgoing, or good at talking to people doesn’t mean that they could even survive in a sales role, let alone be great at it.
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4. I don’t want to play games
Let’s be honest here. Any customer who says that they don’t want to play any games is about to start playing so many games with you that you’ll think you’re a supporting actor in one of the Saw movies. The types of people who talk like that are usually projecting their behaviors onto you, so don’t be surprised if when they say that, you’re quietly thinking to yourself “Let the games begin.”
5. Why didn’t you get an education?
People oftentimes incorrectly assume that salespeople are uneducated. While some salespeople don’t have college degrees, many of them do, and some even have advanced engineering or medical degrees as well. But even the salespeople who haven’t attended college become educated on their respective products, and the best of the best become experts and influencers in their space.
6. But I read something different online
Some customers are woefully misinformed about products, and don’t believe salespeople when we try to help them understand. The internet can cause all sorts of misunderstandings when it comes to pricing, product information, and availability. The upside is that an educated customer has the intention to buy, the downside is that they oftentimes think they know more about your product and pricing than you do.
7. Can’t you just give me a bigger discount?
People always want a discount, and you can’t blame them for it. But what you can blame them for is a lack of understanding that not only does the salesperson oftentimes have little control over pricing, but that we have bills to pay too! When someone asks for freebies, it makes you want to show up at their job during the day and ask them how they’d like to work for free.
8. I’ll definitely call you back
One of the first things a new salesperson learns is that the customer almost never, ever comes back. Most people promise to call back because they don’t have the courage to let the salesperson know that they’re not interested, or are afraid of some sort of confrontation, but one thing is for sure: the overwhelming majority of people who say they’ll call or come back never do.
9. Do you know who I am?
If you’ve ever worked in any customer-facing role, you’ll come across these type of people every now and then. Not only are they nearly impossible to please, they think that because they know someone, or work somewhere, or are someone’s relative that they are entitled to the world, and that all salespeople should bow before their majesty. Not going to happen.
10. I used to work in sales, I know all of the tricks
When a customer says this, it’s safe to say that they were probably the worst salesperson to work with in their office, and probably didn’t know what they were doing. There’s a big debate over whether other salespeople are the easiest or the most difficult to sell to, and the answer is both. Good salespeople are the easiest to sell to because they understand the game, bad salespeople are the most difficult to sell to because they don’t.
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