12 Shameless Qualities Of A Bad Salesperson

This may be a bit of a controversial topic for some – but I think it’s one that needs to be spoken about. There have been times in my career I would have considered myself a bad salesperson. Times when I was over-the-top pushy, times when I was inconsiderate, times when I focused on the money and not the customer, and times when I just plain didn’t care about the customer.

If you’re currently in a sales role – or are aspiring to be in one – it’s important to be aware of and identify these 12 qualities of a bad salesperson, so that you can learn to avoid them at all costs.

1. You’re not really into sales. You’re just doing it because it’s a job.

Many people go into a sales career because it seems like the best option available to them. For some, it’s usually the only option available. A lot of times, you’ll find that those who are passionate about selling usually become very successful in their careers. If you’re not motivated and driven – this is probably not the right field for you. You need to be clear on why you’re selling in the first place.

I started in sales, simply because I didn’t have much choice. I was a college dropout and wavered between ideas because I didn’t know what my true passions were in life. However, I stuck with it and eventually started to fall in love with all aspects of sales. And it wasn’t until then, that I started to see the success that I had envisioned in the beginning.

2. Your goals are all about the short-term money.

When your only goal is to make a sale and get a quick buck, it’s usually not good news for the customer. You’ll do whatever it takes to get that sale, even if it means sacrificing the relationship you’ve built with them. Sales should be a win-win situation for both parties, and you should be doing your best to put yourself in the other person’s shoes.

Now, don’t get me wrong, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with being money motivated. But it’s the focus on the SHORT-TERM commissions, the quick hits, and the willingness to sacrifice a relationship to make a quick dollar that will ruin your career before it even starts. Bad salespeople focus on short-term dollars over the long-term relationship of their customers and clients.

If you are in this position right now, I can confidently tell you that once you shift your mindset from focusing on doing whatever it takes for short-term dollars and thinking doing whatever it takes for your clients to achieve success for the LONG-HAUL, your levels of success and wealth will rise drastically.

If both options were guaranteed, can you wait 1 year for $2,000, or would you rather have $100 now? One of my favorite subjects about the topic of delayed vs instant gratification is the Standford Marshmellow Experiment. If you haven’t read it yet, I’d suggest you give it a read.

3. You have little-to-no empathy for the customer.

When I first got into sales, I was taught to be aggressive, show no remorse, and have a buy-or-die attitude towards making the sale. Unfortunately, those teachings taught me to develop bad habits and develop some pretty poor personality traits.

Basically, I wasn’t a good listener. I was a pretty shitty one at that.

However, I absolutely do believe you should be aggressive. But there’s a right way to do it. You should always be aggressive in your focus on doing the right thing and getting the job done for your customer or client. And that means being a good listener. As a matter of fact, research shows good salespeople talk less and listen more.

4. You make promises you can’t keep

This is one of the big ones. If you make promises to your customers that you can’t keep, you better be prepared to move on from the relationship. Once your reputation is hit, you’ll be fighting an almost unwinnable, uphill battle, just to get back to where you were in the first place. So what’s the point? This is another scenario where the customer is not a priority, but rather making a sale at any cost is.

It’s important to always be honest with your customers, and let them know what you can and cannot do. If you make a promise, make sure you follow through with it.

I’m also not saying you can’t make big promises. If you wanna be bold and promise big, and you know you’ll deliver – by all means, go for it.

But believe me when I say this, most people would rather invest in a promise for a little less, than be promised the world just to get nothing back in return.

5. No product knowledge

This one is pretty easy to avoid. So I won’t talk about it much. If you are a sales professional, part of your sales skills includes having adequate product knowledge of what you’re trying to sell. If you’re new in a certain industry, pay attention to the little details as well as the big details of your product. You should learn your industry and your product, inside and out.

I’ve seen sales professionals jump into sales presentations absolutely clueless about their products. Typically ends in disaster. If you wanna sell big, you’re gonna need to know what your selling – plain and simple.

6. You have no sales process in place

When you run your own business, you need processes in place to be successful and have longevity. When you have a sales job, you absolutely need the same. Long-term success in sales requires an effective, repeatable roadmap.

For some people it will be as simple as cold calling a lead, generating qualified leads, and following up to close the deal. Others don’t have it so lucky, and things will be a bit more complicated. Either way, you’re gonna need a sales process and a system for dealing with customers, potential customers, maybe managing a sales team, or even handling objections. Everything you do should be systematized for repeatable success.

7. You take things too personally

I know this is a tough one for many, and I’ve dealt with a lot in the past. There were many times where I would get offended and take things too personally and let it affect the rest of my day. Which, sometimes led to weeks.

The problem is, this happens a lot more often than you might think. If you’re not emotionally ready for this type of industry – then I would highly recommend thinking twice before entering into sales.

Sales take confidence, thick skin, and the ability to brush things off and stay focused on your goals.

8. You don’t invest in sales training

When I was brand new in sales I often felt as if I were a bad salesperson, and that’s because I was. I didn’t have any formal sales training, but I knew I wanted to better. I wanted to be a good salesperson – actually, a great salesperson. So what did I do?

I started to take matters into my own hands. I would spend hours and hours at the bookstore reading whatever books on sales I could find. I studied the best salespeople, and the top producers of my companies like a hawk. I invested in the best sales courses I could find.

Eventually, I realized exactly what it took to become a successful sales rep.

9. You lack self-control

People in the sales game are typically high-energy. Sometimes, we’re even willing to do whatever it takes to achieve our goals.

I know I sure did. There was a time I drank a little too much because “that’s what everyone else in sales did,” and continued until it got much worse because I thought it had a positive effect when in reality it had a very negative one. Once I stopped harming myself and holding back my true self, my success and my self-control skyrocketed.

If you want to provide excellent service to your prospects or customers, you need self-control. You aren’t going to be at your best, without the ability to manage and practice self-control.

One other thing, don’t make the same mistake I did.

10. You only go after easy targets

This is yet another bad habit that can inevitably lead to failure. One of the worst things a salesperson can do is to only pursue low-hanging fruit. This means going after your easiest leads and avoiding all of the difficult ones because you don’t want to put in the effort.

If this is you, then it’s time you change your game. Instead of chasing after the low-hanging fruit, try and go for the more difficult jobs that will require more work to close. Maybe you won’t close as many deals in the beginning, but I can assure you that you WILL become a much better salesperson in the process. And soon start tackling the big deal you’ve always dreamed about.

11. You’re inconsistent

The key to any real success in ANY endeavor in life is consistency.

As a matter of fact, a salesperson with low skill and sales training, but has consistency will ALWAYS trump a salesperson with high skill and training, but no consistency.

Let me tell you a similar story of two salespeople who started work at the same company, at the same time. Salesperson A came in with all the talent in the world and would be what you and I consider a great salesperson. He was offered a big sign-on bonus and came in hitting hard, closing bigger deals than the company had ever seen. Salesperson B, on the other hand, started with no expectations and was, according to what I’ve written here, considered to be a bad salesperson throughout his career.

Over time, Salesperson A started taking more and more time off, started losing clients because of his inconsistent scheduling, and slowly started drifting towards all the bad habits a bad salesperson can have.

Salesperson B made every mistake in the book in the beginning. But he had consistency. Over time he worked on improving every aspect of his sales career and it paid off.

Eventually, Salesperson B became the top salesperson at the company, while Salesperson A had ended up quitting sales altogether.

Yes, Salesperson B is me.

But this sort of story happens more than you probably think.

If you wanna be the real deal in your sales career, you need consistency.

12. You feel a sense of entitlement

Sales is all about who wants it the most, and typically those with a sense of entitlement fall short in this department.

Sounds a bit counter-intuitive, right? But when you have an attitude of entitlement, you start to believe you deserve special treatment, and that things should just fall in your lap. But guess what? Life just doesn’t work that way for most of us, anyway. So don’t expect it for yourself.

If you want to get ahead in sales, drop the act of entitlement, and drop the ego. Put in the hard work to improve yourself, one step at a time, and you’ll be glad you did.

Conclusion

The reality is – sales is a tough industry, and it’s not for everyone. You need to be prepared to drop some bad habits for good if you want long-term success, wealth, and happiness in this field.

Are you ready to take on the challenge of bettering yourself, for a better life?

Then great! If you’re dealing with some of these bad habits right now, start planning to make a change, and start taking action. It will be one of the best decisions you ever make.

If not, it’s time to start thinking about another career.