- Lack of Qualified Activity
A salesperson may be out doing what they believe is busting their hump, but in reality, they are just doing a lot of work to get very little turn over for that work. This can also be caused by salespeople who lack the understanding of the sales cycle. You may go out and make 30 contacts a day, but a majority of them may not even belong on your sales cycle. The time wasted on these prospects could be used to further better yourself with the prospects that do belong on your sales cycle.
- Being Unorganized
In sales it is extremely important that you stay organized. Whether you work for fortune five hundred company, or a company with five other employees, sales drives a business. Think about this, if the captain of a boat does not know where he is taking the crew, they are all lost. Salespeople in small companies probably hold a lot more responsibilities, like being in charge of their inventory and delivery of products. Either way, as a salesperson you are the face of a company. If a customer sees how unorganized you are, they are just assuming that the whole company is just as unorganized. It is important that you have your things together and prepare for your meetings or calls beforehand. Trust is built by being there for your customers and resolving issues quickly when they arise, it is very hard to do so when you are unorganized.
- Doesn’t Believe in Themselves
Not believing in yourself can usually be traced back to an attitude issue or a lack of work ethic. If you do not believe in your selling ability, how do you expect a prospect to? It is extremely important that you go into every meeting or call with confidence that you can achieve your goal for that call or meeting every single time. Having the right attitude is half the battle, if you believe you will achieve. The other aspect is work ethic. Those who work hard, know that they work hard, and those that are lazy or cutting corners, they also know that they could be working harder. So, work hard and have the right attitude and you will be just fine. Guess what, there is not a salesperson on this planet that has not been told no. Keep your head up and move on to the next prospect.
Nate 
Luke Owen 
Shelton Brower
I think you make a great point about how people need to believe in themselves and have confidence. There is nothing more cringy than talking to someone who is trying to sell you something, but they are just afraid of coming on too strong so they end up sounding really uncertain and scared. Confidence, in sales, really is key.
I think that you made a great point talking about unorganized salespeople. One unorganized, bad salesperson can change the reputation of a whole company and they’re all in trouble. I agree that it is important to have your things together and be prepared for meetings or calls beforehand. Going in prepared shows that you’re ready and that you care about the meeting you have gotten. Organization is a great key in sales.
It’s definitely true that confidence is extremely important to the salesperson. I actually have had experience with salespeople who just seemed uncertain about themselves. It was very difficult to talk with them, and inevitably, I walked away deciding that I wasn’t going to find an answer to my problem from them.
Interesting blog post. I believe these three qualities (knowledge, confidence, and organization) are vital in order to be successful in the sales profession, especially confidence. If a salesperson doesn’t have display or communicate confidence, the sale will most likely go incomplete.
I think oftentimes organization isn’t a focal point in training salespeople and it should be. The ability to organize knowledge of people, products, and sales interactions plays an integral role in the success of a business. This was a great list of ideas to help people become better salespeople!