You win some and you lose some. This is true in life and in sales. Many sales professionals aren’t willing to just shrug their shoulders and move on, though — they want to know why they didn’t close a deal. Understanding what caused a prospect to walk away can help them succeed in future deals, whether that means improving the sales process or delivering more value.

Jessee Sandlin, a content marketer for Covideo, a video messaging platform for businesses, has put together a list of four of the top reasons salespeople lose sales. We discuss his thoughts in this issue of Promotional Consultant Today.

1. You leave too much room for indecision. Prospects are going to shop around. That’s to be expected. Where many salespeople go wrong is allowing too much time for indecision. Sandlin says that hem-hawing, decision-by-committee and even just an inability to get a decision-maker participating all can contribute to the stall pattern of deal death. He points out a 2022 Dixon & McKenna study that found that 40-60% of deals today end up lost to customers who express their intent to purchase, but ultimately fail to act. If you feel like your prospects are hesitant, try pointing out case studies or incentives that could help them decide to work with you.

2. You’re trying to win over too many people. Some accounts require you to face a whole team of individuals. In these situations, Sandlin says you may find yourself trying to sway and influence every person on the panel. Ultimately, this ends up being wasted energy because it can slow your sales cycle and not everyone has equal say. Plus, it’s hard to do, he says. Instead of trying to woo every person in the room, seek the most influential person and focus on making them your advocate. Sandlin says this may be the difference between losing a sale and moving it past a mountain of bureaucratic red tape.

3. You’re trying to time everything right. Do you ever say, “Oh, the holidays are coming so my lead won’t be checking email often” or “It’s their busy season so they won’t really have time to talk.” When you do this, you’re trying to think for your leads and decide what they prefer. The trouble is, Sandlin says, that you’re often wrong. Trying to wait for the “perfect” timing is a surefire way to miss opportunities. If you see an opportunity, go for it — you may miss it otherwise.

4. You’re not personally connecting with prospects. Building relationships should always be top of mind. To lead a prospect through the buyer’s journey, you should make a personal connection as early as possible. Sandlin says the old adage exists for a reason — people buy from people. Don’t neglect the relationship-building part of sales.

You may miss out on deals for many different reasons, including the ones listed above. When you pause to reflect on why you’re losing sales, you can take steps to correct any issues moving forward.

Compiled by Audrey Sellers

Source: Jessee Sandlin is a content marketer for Covideo. He creates marketing-related content for the company's go-to-market verticals as well as targeted ads, case studies, blog posts, email campaigns and more.