It’s estimated that sales reps only spend 36 percent of their time actually selling. The bulk of their time is taken up in, well, anything BUT selling. Tending to administrative tasks, cleaning up emails, managing multiple calendars, fielding requests, keeping up on the latest industry news, desperately searching for ways to create more time…

It’s easy to overcomplicate sales and the road to closing the deal. But when it comes down to it, there are really only four key things a sales rep needs to keep in mind to win: Identifying ready and willing customers, understanding the power of no, having the right people on your team, and maintaining momentum by pushing the deal through all departments. Then, all that’s left is to make sure you don’t mess it up. 

So, here’s what NOT to do during each of those four key steps and how to avoid the worst-case scenario:

1. Don’t force a lukewarm prospect to become a customer

You can tell fairly early on whether or not a prospect is interested in you. But sometimes, sales reps want to try flexing their strength by winning the not-so-excited opportunities. However, taking this course of action is often more detrimental long-term. 

If you have a customer who just isn’t ready to do business with you, it’s okay to…

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