8 Things NOT To Do on a Sales Call

I recently stumbled across an article "8 Things Not To Do on the First Date." It included mostly common sense stuff like "don't get drunk." I thought it might be fun to come up with a list of common-sense things not to do on your first face-to-face sales call. Here it is:

• #1. Flirt with the ... admin. It may seem tempting, but unless you've got soap-opera-quality looks, chances are you're only going to annoy (or even alarm) the admin, who will tell the boss. Fix: Stay polite, friendly and respectful.
• #2. Talk more than you listen. Initial sales calls are all about relationship building and gathering information, which you can't do if your mouth is moving. Fix: Get curious about the customer and ask questions.
• #3. Comment on the memento. The last 372 people who came into that office remarked about the signed baseball on the desk. Ho-hum... Fix: Research the prospect and ask about the prospect's job.
• #4. Pretend to drop by. Who are you kidding? Do you think that it's going to cushion the rejection if you pretend that it's not a sales call? Fix: Have something important to say or sell that justifies your presence.
• #5. Answer your cell phone. Ouch! Ouch! What were you thinking? How could any telephone call be more important than a real live prospect? Fix: Turn it off and leave it in your briefcase.
• #6. Overstay your welcome. Your prospect has hundreds of other things that he or she could be doing, rather than spending time with you. Fix: Set a time limit for the call.
• #7. Let the meeting meander. This isn't the time for a wandering conversation that slowly gets to the point or a long series of complicated questions. Fix: Provide brief agenda of how you expect the call to proceed.
• #8. Argue with the customer. If the customer doesn't agree with an important point, arguing is only going to set that opinion in stone. Fix: ask the customer why he holds that opinion; then listen.