Sales Behaviors to Avoid

I’ve been in sales for 17 years, and spent $3M+ as a buyer. If there’s one piece of advice I’d give to salespeople it is; STOP blaming your product or price. Your Closed-Lost reasons aren’t what they seem. Your buyers aren’t telling you the full truth—most deals are lost because of the buying experience you create. Before you're handed your 2025 quota, make sure to fix these 9 silent deal-killers: 1. Being Slow No, “Sorry I missed your email”, or “Had a busy week” are not an excuse buyers can take. Nothing you say fixes the signal you send by being slow. You’ve lost points and they WILL affect their decision. 2. Being Disengaged I get it, I really do. You're trying to ‘play hard to get’, like dating. Newsflash— buyers want to feel they matter. It might work on a few, but most run away. 3. Being Over Engaged “I work here, you don’t”. As a buyer, I don’t have time for weekly syncs, long emails, ebooks, etc. I have my day job, and it’s not buying stuff. Sell accordingly. 4. Asking Questions For You You were taught qualification is for you, that discovery is for you. It’s NOT. I need to know if I’m not a good fit, or why I need to buy your stuff, as much as you do. Make it about me first, and you’ll get yours. 5. Following Up For You At least 90% of follow ups should serve the current buying ‘job-to-be-done’ for each stakeholder. Identifying the problem? Send a pain summary. Building problem consensus? Multithread to make sure no key buyer is missed. 6. Thinking Demos Are The Goal Buyers push you to demo. So you go on a feature dump rampage. But what they’re really saying is: “Had enough with this interrogation, let’s just see the demo, maybe It’ll help me get it”. Demos aren’t the goal, discovering value is. 7. Building Expertise In Your World (Only) If you can’t add value to my world (i.e. my problems, how to navigate my buying process effectively), then your value is a commodity. Just send me a recorded demo, or let me self-serve. Obsess over learning my world, before yours. 8. Email, Links, Attachments Hell We run many complex projects. Each in Asana/Notion. It’s all organized as so much can slip through the cracks. Why is a (more complex) buying project any different? Help me build consensus; organize the buying process in one space. 9. Ignoring Stakeholder Diversity A C-Level demo is NOT the same as a Champion, or Tech Buyer demo. You force them to do the heavy lifting. If you can’t speak to each person’s priorities, seniority, and preferences you slow consensus and risk losing traction. —— The way you sell IS your product. Buying experience is not marketing’s job. It’s not a nice-to-have. It’s the difference between you winning. And getting ghosted/single-threaded. Or losing to a competitor/no-decision. In 2025, make it easy to buy. P.S. We built Aligned to help create a sales process that stops ghosting & indecision. A 100% FREE Deal Room used by 30,000 sellers. You can try it here: https://lnkd.in/dwX_Zizk

Listen up. I’ve coached thousands of sales calls and most reps sabotage their own deals without realizing it. When I started in 2007, I nearly got fired for not understanding how language impacts buyer psychology. Now, after helping teams double revenue in 90 days, I can spot the hidden mistakes instantly. You're probably killing your win rate with these “harmless” phrases. Here are 6 phrases that are absolutely DESTROYING your deals (and what to say instead): 1) "Sorry to bother you..." Starting with an apology tells the prospect, “I’m not worth your time.” You’ve lost before you’ve begun. Top 1% performers NEVER apologize for delivering value. They command attention through absolute certainty. ✅ POWER MOVE: "Hey Alice, Marcus here from Venli. I'm reaching out because we helped Company X increase their pipeline by 37% last quarter, and I noticed your team might be facing similar challenges..." 2) "Just following up..." This lazy phrase screams, “I’ve got nothing to offer, but want your money.” Total momentum killer. Elite reps are wildly precise with their words and always reference specific commitments made in previous conversations. ✅ POWER MOVE: "Alice, you mentioned you were going to discuss our proposal with Charles during your leadership meeting yesterday. I'm curious … what feedback did you receive that we should address?" 3) "I know you're really busy..." Say this, and you’ve just made yourself irrelevant. Game over. Remember: YOUR time matters. Top performers signal status through subtle positioning every time. ✅ POWER MOVE: "I was just wrapping up a strategy session with Lisa, the CEO over at Company X, and wanted to quickly connect about next steps before my afternoon gets packed..." 4) "What are the next steps?" This signals poor process control - no system, no playbook, no real method. The sales machines I build don’t ask for direction - they GIVE it. They own the process. ✅ POWER MOVE: "Based on what we've discussed, here's what typically happens next: First, we'll schedule a technical review with your team for next Tuesday. Then, we'll deliver a customized implementation plan by Friday. How does that sound?" 5) "To be honest..." Wait, Wait... so everything before this wasn’t true? Nothing kills credibility faster. When I turn around failing sales teams, eliminating this phrase is always one of the first habits we break. ✅ POWER MOVE: "That's an excellent question, Alice. Here's exactly how our solution addresses that challenge..." 6) "What do I have to do to get your business?" Is this 1988? This pushy close screams desperation and kills trust instantly. The best reps I've coached understand that closing isn't an event. It's the natural outcome of a well-executed sales process. ✅ POWER MOVE: "It seems like you're hesitating about X. I'm curious … what specific concerns do you have that we haven't fully addressed yet?" Which of these six phrases have YOU been using without realizing it? 

The Biggest Threat to Your Deals? It’s not the competition. It’s not the price. It’s how you show up.   How do I know? For the past 20 years, I’ve helped professional speakers, consultants, coaches, and authors craft brands that open doors and sales strategies that turn them into clients. Here’s what’s killing your deals: ❌ Chasing the wrong contact: If they don't have the authority to say yes, they never will. ❌ Random follow-ups: “Just checking in” isn’t a strategy. It’s noise. ❌ Sending unsolicited material: If they didn’t ask, they won’t open it. Don’t spam. ❌ Selling instead of listening: You can’t solve what you don’t understand. ❌ Pitching before you’ve earned trust: Connection before conversion. ❌ Talking features, not outcomes: Nobody buys a tool. They buy what it does for them. ❌ Ignoring silence: No response is a response. Learn from it. ❌ Rushing the close: If you’re more urgent than they are, you’re losing. ❌ Not being relevant: If your offer doesn’t fit their now, it won’t fit their next. ❌ Not building a brand that sells before you do: If they don't know why you matter, you’re just another pitch. Want to close more deals? ✅ Find the decision-maker. ✅ Follow up with value, not reminders. ✅ Show up with insight, not pressure. ✅ Listen so well they’ll say, “You get it.” ✅ Show up, show care. Trust is earned over time, not in a pitch. ✅ Focus on their outcomes, not your offering. ✅ Handle silence with curiosity. ✅ Match their pace, not yours. ✅ Care more about their problem than your solution. ✅ Build a brand that makes your name open doors before your pitch does. People don’t buy from scripts. They buy from people who care and are known for it. #leadership #entrepreneurship #personalbranding

Sales folks, take note! Spamming a target company's employees with your services and requests for meetings will result in your company making its way onto a buyer's blocklist. As a buyer in the localization industry, I receive dozens of emails and LinkedIn requests every single day from vendors looking to showcase translation, AI, QA services, and more. It's not humanly possible to give personal replies to every outreach. When vendors can't get through to me, they often reach out to everyone on my team... and sometimes to many others across my company. I'd love for this practice to stop. It wastes valuable company time and makes a vendor appear desperate and non-strategic. Here's what to do instead: 1. Appeal to ego! Invite a target company’s decision-maker to a panel, or start a vlog series and ask buyers to appear and discuss industry topics. It’s also a great opportunity to reposition your company as a thought leader. 2. Offer genuine insight, not just services. Share a case study, white paper, or benchmarking data that’s actually useful to the buyer’s role, and do it without a sales pitch. 3. Build a reputation before you build a pipeline. Comment thoughtfully on posts. Contribute to community conversations. If you consistently show up with value, you’re far more likely to get noticed. 4. Target smarter, not broader. Don’t shotgun your message to an entire company. Learn the org. Understand the buyer’s scope. Then send one well-researched, personalized note that shows you actually did your homework. 5. Focus on mutual value. Can you help solve a known pain point or offer perspective on something changing in the market? Frame your outreach around collaboration, not consumption. 6. Use timing to your advantage. Keep tabs on when companies are hiring for roles associated with your offerings, launching in new markets, or attending conferences. That’s when buyers are more receptive to new solutions. 7. Lead with generosity. Offer a no-strings-attached resource, intro, or suggestion that doesn’t benefit you directly. Reciprocity is a powerful trust builder. And please! Don't ever ever call me on the phone! ;)

Apparently, a lot of us have heard "What’s it going to take to pull this deal into the quarter?" way too many times. The responses to my earlier post this week made it clear: this kind of pressure-packed sales leadership isn’t just common, it’s been normalized. So, for this reflection post, here’s a quick Worden Mini Masterclass (WMM) on what not to do if you're trying to build trust that lasts longer than your fiscal calendar. WMM -> 5 Red Flags of Sales Leadership that Undermine Trust AND What to do Instead if You Want Results that Stick 1. The “pull it into the quarter” play -> Red Flag: Short-term pressure disguised as strategy -> Better: “What’s the customer’s timeline and how can we support it?” -> Deals don’t close faster just because you really, really want them to. 2. Say “relationship selling,” measure “fastest closer” -> Red Flag: Coaching one behavior, rewarding the opposite -> Better: Align comp plans and KPIs with long-term customer success -> Mixed messages confuse teams and kill trust both internally and externally. 3. Ignoring timing as a real business factor -> Red Flag: Acting like urgency is universal -> Better: Treat timing as a discovery topic, not a leverage point -> You’re not accelerating...they’re adjusting. Huge difference. 4. Commission breath :-) -> Red Flag: Desperation vibes at the end of the quarter -> Better: Show calm, confidence, and actual partnership -> If the customer smells fear, the trust is already gone. 5. Obsessing over closed deals instead of retained value -> Red Flag: Short-sighted scoreboard -> Better: Celebrate renewals, expansions, and earned advocacy -> Great salespeople don’t just win deals, they win relationships. Takeaways: -> If your leadership strategy is built on pressure, you’ll get short-term results and long-term churn. -> If it’s built on trust, clarity, and alignment...then you’ll actually build something that lasts.

𝗜’𝘃𝗲 𝗰𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗱 $𝟯𝗠 𝗮𝘀 𝗮𝗻 𝗔𝗘. 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝟱 𝗽𝗵𝗿𝗮𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝗺𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘂𝗺 - 𝗶𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗹𝘆. I’ve said every one of these. And yep, I watched deals die right after. When I was starting out, I thought “closing hard” was what made you good. But great sales isn’t about pressure. It’s about precision. 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝟱 𝗽𝗵𝗿𝗮𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗲 - 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗮𝘆 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗱: 𝟭. “𝗜 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗱𝗲𝗮𝗹, 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻?” Why it’s bad: Centres your needs - not theirs. Comes off desperate. Say this instead: → “Good luck getting this wrapped up today - look forward to you achieving X” 𝟮. “𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝘄𝗲 𝗱𝗼 𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝗻𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗽?” Why it’s bad: You sound unsure. Not like a Trusted Advisor. Say this instead: → “What I'd typically do next would be X. Would you recommend anything else in addition?” 𝟯. “𝗖𝗮𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝗺𝗲 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝘆?” Why it’s bad: Screams “I didn’t do my homework.” Say this instead: → “I saw you just [hired/launched/expanded], how is this impacting X?” 𝟰. “𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗲𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗸𝘀.” Why it’s bad: Bashing others makes you look insecure - not credible. Say this instead: → “They’re a good company - here’s 3 reasons why companies choose us instead of them” 𝟱. “𝗟𝗲𝘁 𝗺𝗲 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗶𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂’𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱.” Why it’s bad: Weak & passive. No clear plan of action for anyone. Say this instead: → “Based off what you've seen today, can you see us solving X?" 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁: • More control over deals • Great sense of integrity in deals • Faster movement through pipeline 𝗠𝘆 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲: Being intentional with your words is critical Once you're truly customer-centric at your core It will come across in the words you choose 𝗣𝗦. What’s one line you’ve retired that you always used to use?

Most of your prospects don't hate outreach. They just hate 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮. That’s the problem. Not your offer. Not your timing. It's 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘦𝘭𝘴𝘦. "Buyers don't want to feel 𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘨𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘥 — they want to feel 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘥." That's the difference between 𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘮 and 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴. Too many sellers still treat outreach like a numbers game. Spray. Pray. Hope the algorithm, or a desperate target, will play along. You don’t lose buyers because of 𝘣𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨. You lose them because you made them feel like just another row in your CRM. Don't worry, I've got you covered. Here are 7 things to stop doing — and what to do 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘥 if you want to sell the way buyers actually buy 👇 ❶ ❌ Instead of: “I help [ICP] achieve [generic benefit]” ✅ Do: “I noticed [specific activity or post] and had a thought that might help.” → Speak to 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺’𝘷𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘦, not who you 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 they are. ❷ ❌ Instead of: Pitching after connection ✅ Do: Start a conversation that 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘤𝘩 → If your first message sounds like a setup, you’ve already lost trust. ❸ ❌ Instead of: “Saw you’re in [industry] – figured I’d reach out” ✅ Do: Reference their 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵, 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮, 𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘵, not their job title → Don’t mirror their LinkedIn filters. Mirror their 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴. ❹ ❌ Instead of: Sending 3 follow-ups with “just checking in” ✅ Do: Share something that proves you're following 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮, not your own sales cadence → A comment they left. A company announcement. Show your eyes are open. ❺ ❌ Instead of: Using phrases like “circle back,” “value proposition,” or “next steps” ✅ Do: Speak like a human who respects their intelligence → Most sales copy is 𝘈𝘐-𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯-𝘣𝘺-𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘴-𝘧𝘰𝘳-𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘴. Buyers want real talk. ❻ ❌ Instead of: Personalising 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 ✅ Do: Personalise 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘺 — or don’t reach out at all → A fake-custom message is worse than no message. It insults their time 𝘢𝘯𝘥 your credibility. ❼   ❌ Instead of: Assuming your offer fits their funnel ✅ Do: Assume you 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 know what they need — and ask a smart question first → Lead with curiosity, not certainty. You’re not a solution. You’re a hypothesis. Bottom line: If your outreach makes people feel boxed in, profiled, or processed — you're 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨. You're alienating. Sell to humans. Make them feel 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘯, not segmented. Now you: Which of these are you still doing (even if you hate to admit it)? And for the buyers amongst us, what makes you cringe big time?

Things that I refuse to do (that are common tactics in B2B Saas Sales) that help me maintain integrity: - Area code spoofing when you call a buyer so they think you're local - Calling the person multiple times back to back to break through their Do Not Disturb setting - Never disqualifying anything and bringing on any and every customer possible - Talking poorly about the competition as if I worked there in the past and know everything about that business - Reading down a list of questions and peppering the buyer without providing value - Not going into the platform if the buyer asks to see the platform - Conditional gifting where the buyer can only get the gift if they are willing to book a meeting with you (I prefer a softer CTA) - Promising features or capabilities that don’t exist or won’t be available in the near term - Not sharing a pricing range when asked - Spraying and praying with impersonal emails and cold calls What would you add?

It took me 6 years as a commission-only sales rep to make my first $1M in commissions in a single year. If I could go back in time and help my younger self get there faster… I’d tell him to NEVER do these 7 mistakes: 1. Stop being a product pusher You’re not selling the thing You’re selling the results of what your thing does Don’t focus on your product’s features and benefits Focus on the person’s/company's problems and where they want to be. That’s what prospects care about. 2. Sounding needy Sounding desperate will just drive prospects away You don’t want to say things like: “Just tell me what it’s gonna take for you to buy today” (Lowers your status) “If you buy today, we can offer a 20% discount” Etc… 3. Being assumptive too early You don’t want to say things like this too early in a conversation: “When we onboard you, we’ll do XYZ” It will trigger sales resistance with many prospects and cause them to emotionally shut down and throw objections at you. 4. Lowering your status Most salespeople lower their status to “please” the prospect. They build “fake rapport”, say “yes” to everything, and let the prospect have all the “power” You want to do the opposite to come across as the trusted authority, the expert who can solve their problems and get them the results they want. 5. Sounding overly-excited Ever heard “If you’re not excited about what you’re selling, your prospect won’t buy”? That’s a big myth. In fact, there's no data that supports this assertion at all. If you come across as overly-excited and biased, you’ll just trigger sales resistance with many prospects. You want to come across as more neutral, unbiased, collective and detached. 6. Sounding scripted Great salespeople are like great actors/actresses. They know their lines, but they sound natural. You should 100% have a framework/script so you don’t wing it. But you want to understand it so well that everything you say sounds natural. 7. Asking surface-level questions Surface level questions aren’t enough to get your prospect to emotionally open up to you. Don’t ask: “What are your top 3 challenges right now?” Ask: “Off the record, what’s really going on over here that’s caused you to look at possibly changing companies/vendors?” (curious tone)

You browse a fitness class' website. Five minutes later, your phone rings. Then an email. Then a text. Then another call. It’s not a follow-up. It’s a hostage situation. What do you do? You run. Not on a treadmill, but away from that brand. Because nothing screams low value like high desperation. Sales, like a lot of things in life, is all about the first impression. And for 53 percent of consumers, it matters more than price or product. Nobody wants to buy from the brand equivalent of a desperate real estate agent liking all your Instagram posts before cold-DMing you. Sales reps: Less thirst, more thought. What not to do: - Carpet-bomb leads with calls, emails, and texts. If they wanted that level of attention, they’d have a stalker. - Fire off a feature dump. No one wakes up thinking, I need a product with 27 bullet points. - Mistake persistence for persuasion. If they ignored the first three emails, a fourth isn’t the plot twist that seals the deal. What works: - Lead downloads a report? Don’t just send a “checking in” email. Drop an insight from the data and ask how they see the trend playing out. - Prospect attends a webinar? Follow up with a case study that maps to their industry. Don’t make them connect the dots. - New exec in the seat? Acknowledge the transition. Ask what success looks like in their first 90 days. Be useful, not just present. Great salespeople don’t chase. They position. They create demand by proving they get it - before the prospect even realizes what "it" is.