- The Follow Up
- Posts
- 4 Little Known Ways Sales Reps Ruin Deals
4 Little Known Ways Sales Reps Ruin Deals
Stop killing your deals with these easy to fix mistakes
In partnership with
Good Morning! Today is National Time to Talk Day, which means we have yet another reason to call our prospects. We’ll be opening every cold call like… Hey there, it’s me again. Happy national time to talk day. Let’s talk. And you can’t ignore the holiday tradition. Now let’s get into it. 👇️
4 deal killers 🔫
A simple mirroring technique 🪞
The golden age of cold calling 📞
Sales jobs & a meme 😂
4 Ways You’re Killing Deals
Look, we all know the obvious ways to lose a deal.
Bad discovery? Deal lost.
Terrible demo? Deal lost.
Price too high? Deal lost.
But what about the less obvious ways?
The subtle mistakes that are costing you deals before you even know you're making them?
Today, we're breaking down four sneaky ways you might be sabotaging your own pipeline (and how to fix them).
1. Brushing Off "Unqualified" Leads
It's easy to look at a lead and think "This isn't worth my time."
Maybe their email is full of typos. Maybe they're using a Gmail account instead of a company email. Maybe their title doesn't seem senior enough.
But here's a quick story that might change your mind:
Mark Nicholas (employee #3 at Metalab) once got an email from what seemed like an unqualified lead. It was poorly written, came from a personal Gmail account, and looked like something most reps would delete without thinking twice.
But Mark replied anyway.
Turns out, that ‘unqualified lead’ was a VP at one of the largest retail companies in the world. That single email led to millions in revenue for Metalab.
Now imagine if he just chalked that one up as unqualified… yikes!
2. Not Bringing in The Right People
In almost every deal, there are multiple stakeholders behind the scenes making the decision.
When you fail to bring them into the conversation, you risk losing the deal entirely.
Think about it - you might be crushing it with your main contact, but if they have to go sell your solution to 5 other people internally? Good luck with that game of telephone.
The fix is simple: Always ask "Who else would be involved in the decision for this purchase, and can we get them on the next call?"
3. Dishonesty (Even small lies)
As I'm sure you know by now, building trust is one of the most important aspects of sales.
Prospects need to trust your company, your product, and you.
But when you get caught in a lie - even a small one - you'll lose their trust faster than your email hits the spam folder.
Common trust-killers include:
Saying you have features that you don't.
Creating fake urgency ("This deal ends today!" ...when it doesn't).
Promising capabilities your product can't deliver.
Hiding limitations that might come up later.
Trust takes months to build and seconds to destroy.
4. Missing The Follow Up (Pun Intended)
By now, you're probably familiar with the stats that say 80% of sales require at least 5 follow-ups, while 44% of sales reps give up after just one follow-up.
But here's what most people miss: Sometimes deals aren't lost, they're just poorly timed.
Your goal as a sales rep is to constantly be top of mind.
Because you never know when:
Budget suddenly becomes available.
Their current solution starts failing.
Internal priorities shift.
New decision makers enter the picture.
Follow Up solves all of these timing issues. But only if you actually do it.
Which mistake are you most guilty of? |
Close More Deals by Automating Email and Meeting Management
It’s Monday morning, and your inbox is overflowing. Meetings are stacked, follow-ups are overdue, and selling, your real superpower, takes a backseat.
Enter Fyxer, your AI Executive Assistant.
Emails neatly organized, with replies crafted to match your tone.
Follow-up reminders and meeting notes handled for you.
More time to build relationships and close deals.
Start your 7-Day Free Trial today—no credit card required! Seamlessly integrates with Gmail and Outlook.