By Troy Harrison

      It seems like inspiration for this column hits me every day. Yesterday, it hit me like a ton of bricks.

      Just to set the stage, I had accepted an appointment from a salesperson who was selling a particular item I had considered purchasing. It's something that I don't necessarily need now, but it is something that I will probably eventually need to buy. In short, I was a willing audience, and he had done a decent job of making the phone call to set the appointment.

      To make a long story short, a potentially long sales call was made short by a few factors. The guy was just plain wrong in nearly everything he did, and he was out of my office in 10 minutes.

      Thus inspired, here are his five ways to kill a sales call:

1. Dress Unlike a Professional
      When this guy showed up in my office to sell a not-inexpensive piece of equipment, I was amazed by his appearance. His shirt was both unironed and untucked on one side, and was accompanied by an equally unironed pair of pants, no tie and shoes that were glorified tennis shoes. Clearly this was a person who did not particularly care about his appearance.

      Like it or not, folks, professional appearance is part of professional presentation, and it's hard for me to buy into your credibility selling a $10,000 piece of equipment when your wardrobe could be bought for 15 bucks. I know it's summer in Kansas City, and I don't expect a banker's suit and tie, but I do expect that your presentation shows respect for me and my professionalism. If you are dressed more for a 50 Cent concert than a sales call, you're toast.

2. Marinate in Cologne
      Oddly enough, this guy was concerned about how he smelled. I was too, but in the wrong way. After a couple of minutes in my office, his cologne permeated every nook, cranny and crevice to the point that I was looking for a gas mask. After five minutes, I felt the first stirrings of a headache. I know there are people who read this that slather stuff on in the mornings. Don't! That goes for women , too; as some of your perfume can be just as toxic. Look, this is a sales call. You're trying to make a sale, not meet a mate. Leave the pheromones for the evenings. I had to open a window and run a fan to clear the air after he left.

3. Take Liberties with Your Customer's Stuff
      So, this guy shows up, dressed unprofessionally and stinks up my office. That's bad. It became worse when, in the initial small-talk phase of the call, he reached across my desk and grabbed a magazine I had been reading. This is one I had honestly never seen on a first call before?messing around with my stuff. Here's a clue: If it's on your customer's desk, and you didn't put it there, leave it be. I was very close to grabbing the magazine back, rolling it up and whacking him across the nose with it. Fortunately, the call was about over.

4. Be Unprepared
      At this point, about 10 minutes into the meeting, I saw an out. See, this guy had come into my office with a legal pad, pen and nothing else. No briefcase. So I took a shot. I asked him for a brochure on his products, guessing that there was not one in his padfolio. I was right. He responded, "I have one in the car, let me get it." Instead, I told him to get in his car and just keep going; I didn't have the time. For the rest of you, when you go into a sales call, be prepared to carry the sales process through. Going out to your car is a call-killer.

5. Take the Best Parking Spot
      I should first point out that this guy didn't do this, at least as far as I saw. It's so frequent a mistake, however, that I have to point it out. Those great spots right next to the door are for customers, not for you. Take them at your own risk. I've seen salespeople tossed out of a building for doing this. Why not park in the “south 40” and walk? The exercise will do you good.

      Hopefully, most of the people reading this know by now not to do these things; but they're still so common, they have to be pointed out. The reason that all of these are call-killers is that they force your customers to make you the center of attention. And, after all, shouldn’t your customer be the center of attention?! Go your way, and kill calls no more!

Troy Harrison is the author of Sell Like You Mean It—Outselling Your Competitors By Understanding Your Customers. He is also the owner of SalesForce Solutions, a Kansas City-based sales training and consulting company. You can reach him at (913) 645-3603 or