I Made 51 Mistakes On A Sales Call and Still Closed the Deal

Mistakes in sales are not the end of the deal. When I was an AE my VP was listening to one of my calls. He documented 51 mistakes. Ouch!

Here’s what I learned.

1. Perfection does not close deals.
2. The feedback was hard to hear, but it made me a better seller.
3. The fact that I was open to feedback led to a promotion.

So, you might be asking, how did I close a deal with so many mistakes?

Despite my missteps, I followed my process:

1. I positioned myself as the solution to their problem
2. I created an environment to explore their needs
3. I presented a solution, but allowed them to own the decision

Now, it’s always best to avoid mistakes. In this case, I wouldn’t say I was lucky, I just didn’t cause the patient to bleed out.

Most sales mistakes are small and undetectable to the average salesperson, but the prospect notices. They begin to resist. They no longer feel safe. They wonder if there are better alternatives.

In sales it’s called death by a thousand cuts.

My 51 cuts was likely equivalent to 999 🙂