Sales leaders - do not do this!

I received a call last week from a sales rep pitching me into his event.

It was one of the best calls I'd received in a long time.

He got me on the hook by asking some pertinent questions, building great rapport and clearly demonstrating the potential value.

It was clear he was relatively junior and I was really impressed.

We booked a second call for the following Monday and I was seriously considering moving forward.

Monday came and the same rep emailed me 15 minutes before to tell me his event manager was going to call...obviously to close me.

Fine, nothing new there.

From the moment this guy came on the phone I was put off.

With disingenuous enthusiasm he dived straight into how amazing his company was, how they thrived during covid, opened a number of new offices around the world and rammed various growth figures down my throat.

I couldn't give a shit.

He didn't ask me one question about me or my business.

His only strategy was to try and upsell me from the original proposal in a clichéd 80s Wall Street style, verging on the ridiculous.

I couldn't get off the phone quickly enough and lost all motivation to do business with them.

I actually felt bad for the junior guy who made the first call, as his manager had royally f*cked things up.

Moral of the story - sales managers should never forget the basics.

They need to leave their ego behind, focus on connecting, showing genuine interest in how they can serve, and asking more questions to fine-tune the client's needs.

This is how they can reaffirm a strong fit, build rapport, demonstrate value, and successfully close deals.

A closing call should never be taken for granted by a jumped-up manager high on their own ego.