Here are the 10 leading complaints buyers make about salespeople, according to a survey by the Institute for Supply Management, formerly known as the National Association of Purchasing Management:
- Lack of preparation. Buyers hate salespeople who waste their time by calling without clear purposes and don’t have a basic knowledge of their respective industries.
- Lack of information. Buyers are critical of salespeople who don’t know their products and can’t answer simple questions.
- Aggressiveness. They’re turned off by “pushy” salespeople who argue and “care more about their commissions than meeting the needs of their customers.”
- Lack of dependability. They cite as negative examples salespeople who do not return call promptly or fail to do what they promise after getting the sale.
- Poor follow-through. They express disgust with having to call salespeople several times either to get information the salesperson promised to provide earlier or to get them to live up to previous commitments.
- Presumptuousness. Many are offended by salespeople asking for proprietary information, such as competitors’ prices.
- Walk-ins. They object to salespeople who waste their time by making calls before doing a “needs analysis” showing why their product or service is appropriate.
- Gabbers. They dislike compulsive talkers who go on and on and don’t listen when asked specific questions.
- Accountability. They object to salespeople who are always there in good times but disappear when problems develop, sometimes leaving customers holding the bag.
- Lack of personal respect. They object to salespeople who try to go around or over them to get to another decision-maker and make a sale.
