How to Avoid Sales Prospecting Mistakes

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? 

Here's an avoidable mistake I made with inbound leads when I was an AE for The Challenger Sale. I'd get an inbound lead. They'd tell me they were looking at us + 2 of our competitors. I'd ask discovery Qs to understand why they were evaluating solutions and to understand the need. Then, I'd explain our differentiators and why those made us a better option for their needs. Here's where I fell down. I never slowed down to see if there were other priorities and categories of spend I was unknowingly competing against. As a result, I lost a lot of inbound deals to "We've decided to put a sales training investment on hold. Instead, we're going to invest in sales tech / do a re-org, etc.". After losing enough of them, I learned to add a step. Directly ask buyers 2 Qs: 1) "How did the leadership team arrive on X as the right solution to this problem?" - X = the category of spend. In my case, sales training. Listen for "I" vs "we" language. If I'm hearing "I" language - it might be a signal that they don't yet have buying group alignment on this problem or category of spend. 2) "What other investments/priorities were or are the the business considering?" - Language choice is important here. It's not "Were there other...". This is where we lean into assumptive language. Buying is not linear. Buying groups change their mind, back up, and hit restart. Assume this was not the only solution category they were/are considering. If I hear "none!" - that's a red flag. Most importantly, make it easy for them to be honest with us. Don't rush to convince them to prioritize our category of spend, before we deeply understand the others. "Objection handling" erodes buyer trust here.

Look, cold call pick-up rates and landing in spam are NOT the reasons why outbound isn't working for you in 2025. How do I know? We've worked with thousands of reps in the last few years: - I see all the sh*tty emails - Hardly any reps leave voicemails - People are afraid to call cell phones - Leaders are afraid to set call activity targets - Product pitching like crazy So why isn't outbound working for you? Messaging. I know. Messaging isn't a sexy topic. But poor messaging is likely why outbound doesn't work for you. Common messaging mistakes: ⛔️ Creating outbound messaging in a silo Mistake: A lone BDR leader, sales exec, or marketing exec creates all the cold call talk tracks and email sequences by themselves. Impact: Messaging sounds generic and has too much personal bias. ⛔️ Marketing or product creating outbound messaging Mistake: A PMM or marketing leader writes all the outbound messaging Impact: Since they've had little (or zero) conversations with real customers, the messaging is super generic ⛔️ Product voice: feature heavy messaging Mistake: Messaging focuses on how the solution works, specific features, etc. Impact: This might work on a webpage, but not in a cold email. Messaging feels super salesy and isn't appealing to execs. ⛔️ Not "chunking up" to business outcomes Mistake: Messaging addresses all of the pains of the user, not the decision-makers Impact: Reps get delegated down to product users and struggle to start sales conversations at the exec level ⛔️ Not leveraging customer conversations Mistake: Not using recorded customer conversations to inform messaging Impact: Messaging doesn't use the customer's language and feels generic. What to do instead: ✅ Build a messaging team Get no more than 10 of the best people together to build common messaging. This should include a few of the best AEs, marketing, customer success, sales leaders, product specialists, etc. And make sure to assign a single person to own messaging. ✅ Live workshop messaging by persona/vertical Run live workshops to work out messaging together. At a minimum, messaging should be created for each specific persona. For enterprise, messaging should be created by persona AND industry. A healthcare security leader speaks a different language than a SaaS security leader. ✅ Build a messaging matrix This is what the end product should look like: Personas → Priorities → Current Solutions → Problems/Impact → Desired Outcomes Now you have something that can easily be repurposed into talk tracks and emails. ~~~ If 2025 H1 pipeline looks thin—and outbound isn't producing results—get back to the basics and start with great messaging. Marketing should NOT own sales messaging. Sales needs to own sales messaging. And everyone needs to collaborate together for great messaging. Agree or disagree? 

A common mistake in sales is moving too fast. Prospect asks, “Does your software record calls?” You pounce: “It sure does! Not only that, our AI transcribes calls, logs them to Salesforce with 99% accuracy, and makes everything searchable. It’s amazing. Let me show you!” Prospect replies: “That’s too bad. Legal doesn’t allow us to record calls, even with consent.” Why does this happen? Because your mind was already in the future. Already closing. Already convincing. There’s a phrase in neuroscience: “Neurons that fire together wire together.” If your intent is to sell, your words will follow And people can feel it. That invisible pressure creates commission breath. Same intent. Same habit. Same resistance. The way out? Let go of needing the outcome. Move off the solution. Move into the question behind the question. Same question: “Does your software record calls?” But this time, you respond with presence: “It can. Sounds like call recording is something you’re looking for.” Now the prospect opens up: “Actually, we can’t record calls due to legal.” Now you respond, not react: “You can turn it off at the admin level, so no one can record. Want me to show you?” This is the art of detachment. You’re not pushing. You’re not persuading. You’re understanding. Intent shifts. Behavior shifts. Results shifts.

I have been on over 500 calls till now asking creators to try topmate.io and guess what, I have been ghosted countless times by them! "I will get back to you soon." is one of the most common responses when people are not interested in your services. As a professional, it is frustrating when your promising prospects fail to convert into clients, even after an engaging initial conversation. And it hurts even more when they ghost you without giving any reason. Here are four key factors to consider: 1⃣Misaligned sales and marketing: If your sales and marketing teams aren't in sync, your prospects may be receiving mixed messages. Ensure open communication and shared understanding of the ideal customer profile and lead qualification criteria. 2⃣Lack of customer understanding: Don't assume you know your prospects' needs. Take the time to truly listen and ask insightful questions to uncover their unique challenges and requirements. This will help you provide tailored solutions. 3⃣Credibility gap: If prospects don't trust your advice or believe you have their best interests in mind, they'll hesitate to commit. Focus on building rapport and demonstrating your expertise, not just closing the deal. 4⃣High-pressure sales tactics turn off prospects: Position yourself as a helpful guide, not a salesperson on a mission. By addressing these common pitfalls, you can create a more transparent, customer-centric sales process that builds trust and addresses your prospects' real needs. This will not only improve your conversion rates but also foster long-term, mutually beneficial relationships. After I started keeping the above things in mind, I have seen an exponential increase in the conversion rate. What else do you think puts off a prospect during the call? Your opinion is valuable!