10 Common Myths About Sales

“Myths about sales are widely held but they are just a false belief or idea.”

Well, not everyone would be a Jordan Belfort (portrayed by Leonardo DiCaprio’s character in ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’ ), who is seen building his career by lying and ripping off clients in penny-stock scams.

If you plan on starting a career in sales, the misconceptions about sales would make it a tough path for you. It should be noted that these misconceptions are developed by media and people who were not even part of the sales sector.

  • Sales is an amazing and fun field to be in, with tremendous opportunities for growth and advancement. And yes, there’s some money to be made as well.

So feel free to join the sales sector by busting these

Busting 10 common myths about sales 

Myth 1: Sales is a dead-end career

Many people assume sales is a job done to get a temporary paycheck with no promotions. Also, many would consider sales a job with no opportunities. This is very much a wrong interpretation.

According to an article in Entrepreneur, “85% of the company leaders and entrepreneurs in America today were once salespeople.” They carried sample cases, made cold calls, dialed for dollars, demonstrated products, and handled objections. Today, they’re the majority of corporate presidents and CEOs.

So, would you still consider sales a dead end? Maybe yes, if the end is at the very top of an organization.

Myth 2: Sales requires a Talent called ‘Lying.’

This has to be the biggest myth about sales. Everyone thinks a salesperson has an amazing talent for telling lies to get a client to make a buying decision.

Few people in the entire sector abide by this myth, but they would be considered bad salespeople. This is because the salesperson has failed to earn that person’s trust. However, generalizing this myth to the entire sales sector is not right.

Sales, these days, revolves around creating and nurturing good business relationships. If you’re willing to say anything to make a sale, most potential customers will sense that and look elsewhere to meet their needs. Hence, they are not getting enough clients. Thus, this myth is just making the salesperson bad at sales.

Myth 3: Sales is Purely a Numbers Game

Among the many myths, people assume a common myth that sales involve numbers and only numbers.

For example, one might think that sales involve- how many cold calls are on the phone, how many in person, how many appointments, how many sales, etc.

This is considered wrong because sales are not purely a numbers game. Yes, it does involve numbers, just like a doctor, musician, or any other job, because everything involves mathematics and numbers. But sales is about research, information, and relationships. Hence, sales are purely about people and their minds; they are more like a psychological job. You have to schedule appointments according to their work.

Myth 4: Salespeople get sales by ‘Talking Fast’

This is another example that tells people not to believe the myths. No one can make a living in the sales sector by being a fast-talking extrovert.

If the client doesn’t understand what the salesperson says, how do you expect him to make a deal? The client would also feel a sense of burden, inferiority, and pressure since they can’t pay attention to the salesperson.

Thus, a good salesperson listens to and understands the client’s problems and finds a solution for them.

A good listener beats a fast talker any day of the week.

Myth 5: Let your prospects come to you

This is one of the obvious myths.

It would be considered nonsensical to sit in one’s chair and wait for his prospect to come before him and beg for the product.

Often, clients research the product online, but they expect the salesperson to make the first call.

Do not wait for your prospects to reach you; be where your prospects are.

Myth 6: Close the deal at any cost

People assume that salespeople close every deal they get, sometimes even if it doesn’t make good business sense to the organization. This is wrong.

If you are not making your desired gross profit on a particular sale, you must consider whether it makes good business to accept it. I know small business owners who will offer substantial discounts to a large company to generate additional business from that client in the future. Unfortunately, they give away their services and expertise because they don’t get any more business from that company. They neglected to negotiate an upfront agreement.

Hence, many salespeople, especially these days, accept a deal only if the deal is good.

Myth 7: Sales is the only job that has unavoidable ups and downs

Every job has its ups and downs but none are unavoidable. Sales have ups and downs only if you don’t have goals and if there isn’t proper planning.

No matter what you hear, there is no “bad” season. There is always an opportunity for salespeople committed enough to find it. For example, while your competitors moan about everyone on vacation in July, you target people less likely to be away on holiday. This way, you get through to them more easily because fewer gatekeepers exist to contend with!

Sales only become a roller coaster if you let the process drive you instead of vice versa.

Myth 8: A salesperson must always be Professional

Well obviously, one must stay professional with your clients, but not necessarily act like robots.

A good salesperson must be human and connect with their clients on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc. Salespeople who sell socially obtain 66% more of their quotas than those using traditional methods

Also, assuming that jokes have no place in a professional environment is another myth that must be broken.

After assessing the atmosphere in the room, try relieving the pressure by adding a casual joke or remark. This could also win you more clients.

Myth 9: Sales: all cold calling, all the time 

Another one of the common myths. Well, this assumption is false for two basic reasons.

First, cold calling has become an easy part of the process with the help of technology and the internet.

The general trend these days is for salespeople to work more closely with marketers (and use web-based tools) so they can target companies and individuals in a more specific way.

Second, the amount of time you spend making calls to potential clients varies considerably depending on your career stage.

Account Managers now say that when they started as Field Sales Executives, they spent a good amount of time making cold calls. But once they proved themselves and their ability to manage their clients, they were asked to handle more sophisticated tasks; thus gaining promotion.

Myth 10: You have to have the experience to sell more

Experience is not everything.

Building connections and networking is a great way to sell more, but is not required. There are various outlets (for example blogs, YouTube, Google, etc) that allow you to dive into and learn about the sales world.

We often see people who might have just joined the organization, but would have kick-started their sales immediately; that too drastically.

If you want to learn how to improve your sales the key is more effort than connections. The more effort you put into perfecting your strategy, the more deals you will close this coming year.

The myths listed here are not what make you an influential leader but your ability to inspire a shared vision, facilitate collective efforts to reach a common objective, and identify and nurture the right talent.

One should realize that selling is an honorable career, and sales professionals must avoid falling prey to these myths about sales.

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About Navaneetha

Navaneetha, popularly known as "nav", loves to read, play badminton, play the keyboard and sing but when she's not doing any of those, she loves to write. What started as a high school hobby to write is now her ongoing passion. At AeroLeads, she manages Inbound Marketing and Social Media Marketing.

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