3 Cliché Sales Tips That Are No Longer Valid

The internet is an excellent source of advice about B2B sales. However, for every piece of sound wisdom, there is sales advice that you should definitely not follow.

Check out these nuggets of knowledge to see if any of them sound familiar.

“Trust your gut.”

Have you ever had a deal that you knew would close, but then fell through at the last minute?  It happens more than we would like to admit.

Once upon a time, “trust your gut” was all you had to lean on. But with today’s technology, that gut feeling can no longer compare to cold, hard data.

Most organizations have invested heavily in selling tools to help manage your pipeline leveraging  big data analytics. Take advantage of these resources that help you focus on the opportunities that are statistically likely to close, not the ones that give you warm and fuzzies.

“Never give up”

If your prospect didn’t bite the first 10 times you tried to speak with them, they are just not interested. So why waste your time? It’s OK to backburner a deal that’s not developing, so you can focus on hotter leads.

When time is money, time management and prioritization skills are gold.

SEE ALSO: If Everything Is A Priority, Nothing Is: Why Pursuing Every Lead Can Hurt

“When in doubt, bluff your way through a response.”

This might help you in the short term. However, it will (without a doubt) backfire spectacularly in the end.

Sometimes people ask questions they know the answer to, in order to test your knowledge. But regardless of the reason the question was asked, it is better to earn trust than to answer with a “white lie”…trust is a powerful thing.

The truth always surfaces and losing trust with a buyer is the best way to lose their business, whether it’s a day, week or year after the bluff was told.

These are just a few sales tips to avoid. Subscribe to our blog for sales enablement best practices and more!