Terrible Sales Ideas We're Addicted To, Part 2

Editor's Note: The following is part two of a two-part series about sales ideas that organizations have to change. In part one, Dan Waldschmidt discusses eight terrible sales ideas. Part two features nine more.

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9. "Checking In"

Somehow we seemed to have missed the memo that our clients really don't care about our personal schedules. The idea that we place a call or send an email to a customer with the opening line "I just wanted to check in with you" is just silly. More than that, it indicates a sloppy sales process. Somewhere upstream in the process, the opportunity wasn't qualified properly or key information that you need to deliver results was somehow lost in the process. The "check in" is a clear indicator that you need to check out your sales process and hone some new skills.

Edgy Alternative: Start every conversation with the word "you," and stop communicating unless you are delivering new value.