7 Bad Communication Habits that are Costing Your Sales Team MILLIONS in Revenue

Let’s cut to the chase friends.

Bad communication habits by your sales team are very likely costing your organization MILLIONS in revenue right now.

That is the truth.

Even more stunning, most companies just accept it.

Instead of addressing these issues head-on, their weekly sales meetings are about “pipeline review” instead of an actual training that sees long-term ROI and performance gains.

But if you’re reading this right now, it may mean you’re an outlier and want to know the specifics of why your team just can’t seem to reach its potential.

I’ve analyzed thousands of sales professionals over the last two decades in countries all over the world, and I’ve identified seven communication habits that hurt trust, hinder progress, and plummet closing rates. Here they are:

7 Bad Communication Habits that are Costing Your Sales Team MILLIONS in Revenue

Not Actively Listening:

The most essential sales skill of 2024 and beyond is not something anyone learns about in any school in the world—yet it’s the most “human” communication skill we have—active listening.

Remember, friends, EVERYTHING the prospect hears, sees and feels should make them think, “This salesperson gets me. They hear me. They understand me. They care about me.”

Please, please, I literally beg you to teach this skill to your team.

Failing to Discover Deeply:

Along with Active Listening, few salespeople (and humans, for that matter) understand the profound art of deep discovery—and the process of asking questions that make someone think deeper than they ever have while literally discovering things they didn’t previously know about themselves. Remember, great salespeople are constantly inducing “a-ha” and “lightbulb moments” in every prospect they encounter.

Failing to Take the Lead:

Fact: When a sales professional asks more questions than the prospect, their closing rates go way up. When a prospect asks more questions than the salesperson, the salesperson’s closing rates go way down. Why is this? because the one who asks the most questions is the one who is “leading” the conversation.

Remember: Great sales conversations have great flow, and great flow can’t occur if the prospect is the one attempting to “lead” the conversation.

Ignoring the Power of Storytelling:               

Serious question: When was the last time your sales team had ANY training on the art of effective storytelling?

If you’re like 99% of the companies I’ve spoken with over the years, the answer is simple: NEVER.

Lack of Incisive Language 

The power of incisive language may be the least talked about yet greatest sales superpower one can have. For example, incisive questions by a salesperson lead to incisive, clear answers by a prospect. Long-winded questions, on the other hand, lead to long-winded answers by the prospect—as well as a lack of general understanding as to what’s being asked of them.

Once again, when was the last time your team was trained on incisive communication?

The Curse of Knowledge

Have you ever spoken to someone who talked as if you understood everything they were saying, yet because of their fancy words, jargon, or acronyms, you were clueless as to what they meant?

Yep, that’s called The Curse of Knowledge, and it’s prolific among sales professionals.  Not good.

Bad Body Language

Ever heard of “Resting B-Face” before? (If you haven’t, Google it.)

In all my trainings with sales teams, the #1 self-observation they make after FINALLY watching their sales calls is the problem of resting b-face. (or a lack of looking happy and communicating positive energy when you speak)

As you might imagine, bad body language kills trust.

And a lack of trust, kills deals.

So there you have it friends. Recently, I spoke about this very subject of bad sales communication habits on my company's podcast, Endless Customers. This video is only about 2 minutes, but ask yourself, “Is my team suffering from any of these?”

But here’s the beauty of all of these bad habits: They can be unlearned.

And not only that, but your team can develop the opposite of each.

I’ve witnessed many sales professional transformations over the years, and they are magical to see when they occur.

Even better, they are contagious for the rest of the team.

Once one person goes through a total metamorphosis, others will become more motivated and want to follow in their footsteps.

And that’s a beautiful thing to see.

Marcus

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Need help training your team these skills? Looking for a sales keynote loaded with real takeaways that will inspire your audience to action? Reach out today.