Making the sale, the goal and dream of a salesperson, is no simple thing and it may be something small, something trivial, which tips the scales in your favor or against you. The question then is what, all things being equal, will likely kill your sale? These are the things you will have to correct. Here is our Top 10 sales blunders—some are about the product, most are about the salesman—and what you can do to avoid them.

The Product

Product knowledge and enthusiasm over the solution it can provide the potential customer are key to the sales pitch. Without them, there is no chance of success. Here are some things you need to look for:

1. Ignorance of Your Product. Have you ever gone into a big-box store looking for something technical, like a television, only to walk out in disgust because you could find no competent help? Not that there was no one to help you, the people were there, in uniform and waiting to … what? Take your money, sure. Get you to buy the extended service plan, absolutely. What made you walk out was the realization that the salesperson knew more about the extended warranty than he did about the product he was trying to sell you. What made it worse was the fact that you knew more about the product than he did. A sales professional knows their product, perhaps not down to every wire and diode that is in it, but certainly to the extent that he can have an intelligent conversation about it and describe how it can meet the customer’s needs.

2. Disbelief in Your Product. This goes along with product knowledge, because just knowing the product is not enough. You also have to believe in it, in its quality and in the company backing it up, both your own organization and the original manufacturer. There should be no question in your mind that it will perform as advertised, meet the needs of the client, and be properly supported. If you don’t believe it, then not only would you feel like a liar, but your disbelief will transfer to your client and there is no overcoming that. Soon, the whole exercise becomes academic and pointless. If you don’t believe in what you are selling, find something else to sell that you do believe in.

3. Broken Product and Fulfillment Promises. If your client is lucky enough to see a demonstration, that is good, but for the most part, they are relying on your word that the product is what they need, that it will operate as you describe and that you will deliver and service the product as promised. This means you have to have everything in place to make all of these things happen, a reliable fulfillment system that will allow you to keep your promises. Without it, you will find that garnering new business—not to mention repeat business—is all the more difficult.

Still, fulfillment problems do happen from time to time. In this case, you have to be first in communicating the issue with your client and you need to have some good, concrete answers and possible alternatives to offer, but be careful. If your client bought a product that is suddenly out of stock for one price, this is not an opportunity to upsell to something more expensive that is in stock. Doing that looks fishy at best and will result in the loss of the sale and the client.

The Salesman

Sometimes the problem is the person making the pitch. It could be a question of appearance, or the connection he makes. Here are some things to watch out for. Watch out for these issues:

4. Appearance is Everything. Yes, your appearance, personal hygiene and demeanor count. You may have the perfect product, something that your client must have and you both know it, but if you come in looking and acting like you just rolled out of bed, stinking of coffee and cigarettes, you can forget it. Fact is, you and your company and your product will be judged to a great extent by your appearance and bearing. This is the easiest thing for you to control, so take the time to look the part.

5. The Hardball Pitch. Sure, you need to talk. You need to tell how and why your particular widget is the very best widget for your client, but the truth of the matter is that a lot of your sales call needs to be listening. You are not there to deliver a speech, you are there to have a conversation, to listen as much or more than you speak. If you don’t, then you will be driving off your sale. People like to have their needs met and their problems solved. They do not like to be sold things and they don’t like pushy or aggressive salespeople.

6. Bad Connections. Business is about relationships, and if you don’t connect with your potential customer, your chances of success drop precipitously. To connect, you need to listen, yes, but you also need to speak their language. If you are in technical sales, for example, an occasional use of jargon lets the person you are speaking with know that you actually know what you are doing, which only adds to your credibility. On the other hand, if you are pitching to an executive with little technical knowledge, that same tactic—the use of jargon—would likely have the opposite effect.

Once you have established a connection, you can begin to build trust. This is done by keeping the lines of communication open between your initial pitch and the close of the deal, and then afterward to make sure that all is well with your client, that the product is working as described, as well as to be of assistance in case something is wrong. By being available to your client, by getting to know him and his needs, you make yourself an integral part of meeting those needs.

7. Poor Positioning. You have to know that your client actually needs your product or service, that they can use it and that they are capable of doing business with you. This takes research before you make your sales call and it is important because if there is no need and no ability to pay, there is no sale. Investing a little time now will keep you from wasting a lot of time later. One thing you can do is decide upon at least three questions to ask any potential client. The answers to these questions should tell you if they’re qualified to purchase what you are offering.

8. Watch Your Words. We are judged by the words we speak. Not simply the messages we convey, but the actual words we use to convey them. In this way, they are similar to appearance. Speak in a way that is easy to understand, yet appropriate to your audience. Also, be aware that there are certain words in the sales lexicon that are almost guaranteed to turn off potential customers, words like “contract” and “paperwork”, things with negative connotations. Substitute words that are more positive, like “agreement” and you will go a long way toward putting your client at ease.

9. The Politics of Prima Donnas. Selling is all about service, so don’t allow your ego to get between you and the sale. Likewise, understand that often the folks you deal with have an amazingly inflated view of themselves. You have to be able to talk to these people and get through to them so that their ego doesn’t get between you and the sale either. The key here is make them believe that you are all about solving their problems, that any benefit that you might derive from the sale is merely incidental. This is especially true if you desperately need the sale, since if they sense your hunger, they will happily go across the street.

10. Failure to Close. You can talk forever, and if you do your client may buy something from you just to shut you up, but that is a remote possibility at best. More likely, he will get tired of you, end the meeting and you will walk out wondering why he didn’t buy anything from you. The answer, of course, is that you didn’t close the deal. You don’t need to tell your prospect every little detail about the product or service. If you have been listening to him, you will be able to tailor your pitch to his needs, and once you have done that, you are in a position to close the deal. Ask for the sale, but do it in a way that focuses on the needs or desires of your client. If he showed interest in a particular aspect, there is your entry point. If he is showing enthusiasm for the whole thing, go with that. If he has reservations, offer to get him more specific information on how you can adapt your product to his needs, which will give you a chance to come back and try again.

Correcting these problems is really not difficult. It just takes work. You have to know and believe in your product. Otherwise, what is the point of selling it? You need to get past the merely glib and develop a real rapport with your client. You must also be a problem-solver instead of a mere salesman, keep ego out of the equation, know when to close and how to do it and make sure both you and your company can keep your word.