How does your organization interact with customers? Is your communication structure transparent? Does this translate when speaking to prospects? Your sales team serves as the face of your organization. They are the first point of contact for a potential new customer, and those first interactions can make or break a relationship.

Here are the 5 non-obvious ways you could be losing customers:

1. Go over someone’s head without looping them in

When it comes to sales, relationship building is key. We’ve heard time and time again that if you jump to the sale too quickly, you will lose them forever. When we finally do get that email response or that inbound call, however, it’s tough to not be overeager. Conversely, when we find out that the person interested doesn’t have the power to make the buying decision, it’s easy to drop them and move on up. Going over someone’s head without looping them in, however, is a major sales faux pas.

We all want to increase the lifetime value of a customer, and upsells and cross-sells are probably a major source of revenue for your business. Going over someone’s head is not getting off on the right foot with a potential partner, and will make closing the deal that much harder. While that person may not be the decision maker, they still make decisions, and in the long run he or she can and will impact the decision to do business with you. Moreover, the mindset that every individual in a company matters, and should be treated as such, is sure to reap greater rewards than assuming there’s someone more important you can speak to.

2. Promise something you can’t deliver during the sales process

Will your sales team promise anything to close a deal? It’s easy to get carried away with grandiose claims of what your business can do for a prospect, especially when there are dollar signs in your eyes. I think we can all admit we’ve been guilty of skewing earlier on the date for a new product launch or the rollout of a new feature. 

Making promises you can’t deliver makes a prospect question your accountability. People can read through the spin, and when looking for a new partner in business, most value honesty above all. I for one would rather go with the company that was helpful and transparent about their strengths and their areas of improvement. Ultimately, everyone wants to find the best fit. If you’re promising things you can’t deliver, the prospect is not making an informed decision when choosing to go with you.

On a different note, if you do close the deal, you’re putting an unwelcome strain on the person who is now required to manage the account. The person handling the relationship with a now paying customer is left to provide a more realistic view of what actually is capable. Under circumstances like these, your company is being set-up for failure as you can’t meet the inflated expectations that have been set.

 3. Assume someone is a decision maker

While you don’t want to pull a #1, you also don’t want to waste valuable time on someone who simply can’t make the decisions. While you always want to be polite and respectful of everyone you speak to, everyone is too busy to have aimless conversations. Also, you don’t want to spend too much time with the wrong person - it doesn’t help either party! When you do get a hold of a person at a target company, make sure you have an understanding of the company decision making process, tactfully ask to loop in the key decision makers, and know who on the team will value various aspects of what you have to offer. The more you know, the more effective your sales strategy will be, and the the higher the likelihood that your conversations will lead to a successful deal.

4. Over-connect on a personal level but do not help with the problem

As a customer, a friendly phone call or email is always nice, but when she is at work she is busy. A customer’s time is precious, and so is her budget. She is likely happy to talk briefly about her weekend, her morning, the kind of coffee she likes but you are talking for a reason and she needs you to be helpful on the business side.

Starting with a personal conversation is an excellent way to be remembered as a sales person. Half the battle is getting someone to take your calls or respond to your emails. If you found a personal connection or a means to stand out, then you should take it! But, know when to steer the conversation to the actual reason you’re reaching out -- your product or service. When you can connect on a personal level and on a professional level, that’s when you’ll be successful. Otherwise, prospects are going to avoid your calls. Connecting on a personal level and adding value is the winning combination for a long and successful customer relationship.

5. Fail to listen by talking too much

 Many of these “errors” can be avoided by simply listening. It’s amazing how much people will share when you listen quietly. The point isn’t to trick someone into oversharing, it’s getting them to share just enough so that you know the key points that will get them excited to work with you. Some salespeople employ the “keep talking to keep them on the phone” tactic, which may work in the short term, but isn’t going to effectively convince someone to buy what you’re selling. When you listen you can quickly discover a prospect’s pain points, where you can add value, and who the decision maker is, which means you can potentially avoid #1, #3, and #4 altogether! Asking great questions is the key to creating the space to listen so its important not to forget to practice that skill as well. Remember, when you’re selling it’s not about you it’s about the person you’re selling to. When you fail to ask great questions and listen, you won’t make a connection and you won’t give them the information they need to make a decision.

A sales organization that knows how to listen is a sales organization that will be able to address the right pain points, manage expectations, build relationships, and ultimately close dollars that will multiply. When you’re looking to grow your business, it’s ok to say no to prospects who aren’t the right fit and focus on the potential customers who will grow with you. Your sales team is the voice of your brand and by focusing on what’s above, your voice can become trusted, respected and revenue driving.

Arjun Dev Arora is the founder and CEO of ReTargeter. Prior to ReTargeter, Arjun was the Head of Business Development at Yahoo! Real Estate, and an investment banker specializing in the technology sector at Jefferies Broadview. In both his personal life and in the culture he fosters in the workplace, Arjun is passionate about learning continuously, building long-term relationships, and creating value through win-win thinking. Arjun serves as a member of the Young Entrepreneur Council, an LP at 500Startups, and is an angel investor and advisor to multiple Silicon Valley startups.

Learn more strategies for sales effectiveness and avoid these pitfalls with our free ebook at the button below.