10 Sales Tactics That DON’T Work

Let’s be real: as business owners, the worst thing someone can do is compare our marketing tactics to a sleazy car salesman. 

We’ve all had terrible experiences in a car dealership that justify that fear, too!

Friend, there’s a fine line between professionally showcasing your product or service and selling in a way that makes people uncomfortable, which is why we want to give you 10 sales tactics that DON’T work.

This is so you’ll know what to avoid!

Ready to dive into the 10 sales tactics that don’t work? Let’s go!

1. Selling without creating content

We can’t tell you how many times we’ve been pitched a product or service on social media, and when we go to their profile there’s nothing but a few scattered sales posts. It’s a complete turnoff!

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: in order to GET something on social media, you must GIVE first. So create content, serve your audience with what they want and need, and THEN ask for the sale!

2. Auto-responders on social media

There’s a rule after the first date about not contacting the person for a few days, right? Maybe we should apply that rule to social media, too! Make it a habit to check your DMs once or twice a day, and don’t worry about the few hours it may take for you to respond when you’re not on your phone.

Auto-responders are impersonal and don’t serve your follower in any real way… so take it off, and respond whenever you can.

3. Not taking no for an answer

No matter how much you truly believe that someone needs your products or services, if they tell you “no”, then be gracious enough to say “okay.”

You never know, that person might come circling back to you one day! You want them to remember the courtesy you showed when you got turned down, so it’s better to take the high road in this situation rather than being overly persistent.

4. Selling without consistency

Something we teach inside Social Curator is that consistency is the foundation to social media success. If you’re not posting frequently, you can’t expect your audience to know, like, and trust you… and those are the things that lead to sales!

So choose a number of days per week you’ll post and stick to it… then you’ll be primed for monetizing your social media accounts when the time comes!

5. Not giving people enough time to make a decision

Sometimes people may just need some extra time to process your service offering, and the more expensive it is, the longer they may need.

Your ideal client might need to discuss the investment with their partner or decide whether or not they have the funds or need for your product or service… and that’s just real talk!

Trust us: you’re better off giving them time so they feel confident with their final decision, rather than pushing them to make a quick call that they may regret.

6. Sending mass DMs

We’ve all gotten the super generic, copied and pasted messages in our DMs. Does anybody like getting them? Say it with us: NOOOO!

Impersonal mass DMs won’t work (and are definitely pushy). What WILL work is reaching out to people individually, building genuine relationships, and maintaining those relationships.

When the time is right and your products or services are needed, those people will naturally come to you without hesitation!

7. Making ridiculous promises

True story: we’ve had social media managers reach out to us saying they can help us with our social media management. One even told us that they could help me get 50,000 followers in a month.

*Ummmm, excuse us?! That’s completely unrealistic!*

When it comes to pleasing potential clients or customers, offer them tangible and attainable results from your product or service. (If you happen to overpass your goal and give them more, that’s great!) 

We like using the method of under-promising and over-delivering. It’s an amazing way to surprise and delight your clients or customers, without making sketchy and ridiculous promises you may not be able to fulfill.

8. Not letting your customers talk

Let’s be real here: if you want to make sales, you must perfect the art of shutting up. (Too harsh? #sorrynotsorry)

We know how easy it is to quickly jump to the solution instead of figuring out the problem when it comes to talking with a potential client or customer. As business owners, we naturally want to help people!

But it’s important to hear them out first, whether on a sales call, in an email, or over DM. Let them vent and tell you what problems they’re having… then you can swoop in with your superhero cape and save the day with what you have to offer!

9. Selling without serving

The absolute BEST way to cultivate virtual relationships with people, and ultimately getting them to sign up for your services or buy your product, is by serving them first.

Think about your ideal customer and what they may need help with. Then, cover those topics on various platforms to provide them with as much value as possible.

Eventually, those people will be so used to being served by you that they’ll be ready to make the sale!

10. Not addressing objections

Many people approach sales on social media by saying things like, “Doors are open, join now!” and “I have this thing… buy my thing!” Though there’s a time and place for content like that, most people don’t realize there’s a better way to sell, and it’s by addressing objections. 

Next time you want to write a sales post, instead of showcasing your product or service’s benefits and features, answer a frequently asked question, bust a myth, or address why someone may not want it. You’ll be surprised how effective this is!

Now that you know exactly what sales tactics DON’T work, you’re probably wondering what DOES work. That’s where our upcoming live class, What I Learned Selling 7 Figures on Instagram, comes in!

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In this class, you’ll learn our 5-part social media sales strategy to help you get more eyes on your business and more money in your wallet. We’re so excited to share these tips with you, so save your seat >>HERE<< and we’ll see you then!