This article should be bulletin board material for your sales bullpen. It should serve as a reminder for your veteran sales reps, and an initiation for your new hires. Cover this material in your next sales meeting, and then post it where everyone can see.

These are the still-too-common mistakes made by sales reps I consult around the world. The most important question is, what can you do to address them?

#10: Tries to be too friendly. I suggested one of our new sales managers watch reruns of WKRP in Cincinnati and pay attention to Herb Tarlek, the back-slapping, glad-handing sales manager on the sitcom. There is no problem with having fun and using humor in sales, but it’s a problem when reps go out of their way to become a friend rather than a sustaining resource for clients.

#9: Argues about the target audience. If you work in a large enough cluster, at least one of your stations will likely reach your client’s target customer. When you try to stuff a station down a customer’s throat, you know it’s not the right fit. How you position your stations makes a difference. However, sometimes reps can get too target-friendly doing so may eliminate opportunities on stations where the customer could reach an audience that might be on the fringe of the target, but could attract potential new buyers to the product or company.

#8: Shows up without an appointment. Do you really work your plan, or do your territory and accounts manage you? One quick way to have your day filled with frustration is to drop in on prospects or customers unannounced. It’s easy to be lazy and forego the prep work to set up appointments and do research. Customers are savvy, and not setting up appointments is the fastest way to lose credibility with prospects or clients.

#7: Bad-mouths other stations. On a recent speaking engagement at the Hawaii Association of Broadcasters, it was obvious that many of the radio and television reps thought the competition was inside the room. I showed them their local newspaper, which was filled with full-page ads from auto dealers. Yet the radio stations were splitting their 8 percent, and the TV stations were splitting their 26 percent - which left 66 percent being spent mainly in the newspaper. Bad-mouthing your competition shrinks your pit, it doesn’t make it bigger!

#6: Ignorant about their station/the broadcast industry. Why is learning about your product so hard? Do your reps know everything about your radio station demographically and geographically? Do they know the qualitative profile of your listeners? Hire good salespeople, teach them your product, then teach them the methodology of your sales system. Because it’s an intangible product, many radio reps don’t believe in their own stations’ ability to deliver results - because
they don’t understand their own product and their own industry.

#5: Doesn’t provide timely information. Just today, I found a media kit that was dated 2005, with statistics for the station that dated even further back. Make sure your research is as new as possible, and update it quarterly where applicable.

#4: Doesn’t understand the customers’ needs. In my experience, 90 percent of customers say sales reps aren’t inside their business and don’t understand their challenges. It’s not a cookie-cutter world anymore one schedule or package doesn’t apply to all. A customer’s proposal should be tailor made, not a template where only the name of the business is changed.

#3: Acts overconfident or pushy. It’s one thing to be able to close a business on your radio station during your presentation. It’s another thing to not listen to the prospect or customer, and push them rather than lead them. This is a fine line, and top-notch sales reps know how to walk it.

#2: Tries to sell customers something they don’t need. You see this in the automotive industry: The finance & insurance manager takes advantage of a customer who barely qualifies for a loan once approved, he stacks on the "extra" coverage and insurance that duplicates what’s already provided by the manufacturer.

#1: Shows poor follow-through. Do you over-promise and under-deliver? Weak salespeople don’t do what they say they’re going to do. Great salespeople get the re-order by producing - and exceeding - the goals expected by the client. Does this describe you?

Sean Luce is the head national instructor at Luce Performance Group. He can be reached at 832-567-6340 or by e-mail at Sean@luceperformancegroup.com.