When sales calls feel positive but result in ghosting, founders often blame a lack of urgency. The real problem is usually a flawed conversational approach. These "polite train wrecks" feel good in the moment but fail to address the customer's core needs, leading to a misdiagnosis of why the sale failed.
Founders often try to prove their value in a sales call by offering free advice or workshops. This "helpful" approach usually fails because it ignores the customer's specific, often simple, questions for taking the call in the first place. It provides answers to questions they never asked, causing frustration.
When a customer asks a simple question, providing an overly detailed answer is counterproductive. This "waterboarding by help" frustrates the buyer, who just wants their specific problem addressed. At best it wastes time; at worst, it actively convinces them not to purchase.
The desire to appear intelligent causes founders to avoid simple questions and instead anticipate needs. This leads to incorrect assumptions. Asking basic, even "stupid," questions like "Why did you take this call?" is the key to understanding the customer's real needs and ultimately closing the deal.
Founders often believe leading with their mission will attract customers. This approach is counterproductive, turning the sales call into a "weird moralizing lecture." Customers care about their own problems and to-do lists, not the seller's "why," making this approach ineffective and often annoying.
A successful sales call is not about pitching; it's about asking two simple questions: "Why did you take this call?" and "What do you hope to get out of it?" The entire conversation should be structured around the customer's answers, rendering any pre-planned agenda secondary and potentially counterproductive.
Instead of leading a call with a deck, treat sales materials as a tool of last resort. When a customer struggles to articulate their problem, use a specific slide to provide structure or options. This keeps the focus on a two-way conversation and discovery, not a one-way pitch.