There are 5 big business mistakes you can make that will kill a deal and possibly even do in your business.

When you learn what top business mistakes are you are better able to avoid them and prevent them from happening in your business.  The top five business mistakes that we see are:

1. Not meeting the client’s expectations

2. Mishandling a client crisis

3. Taking on more than you can handle

4. Putting all your eggs in one basket

5. Up cash creek without a paddle

Any one or combination of these can not only kill the partnership, but have the ability to take down your company as well. We’re going to take a bit of time to talk about each
one of these, in this lesson we’ll cover the first two.

BIG Business Mistake #1: Not Meeting Client’s Expectations

It’s essential you give your client’s exactly what you promised during the negotiation portion of your relationship. If an event does happen where there is no way to meet the
client’s expectations, not only do you have to find a way to fix the situation, but you also have to find out where it all went wrong.

A couple of things could have contributed to this problem:

1. Bad salesmanship. This could mean the salesperson was trying too hard to seal
   the deal and didn’t listen to the client’s needs.
2. Lack of communication. This breakdown occurs between the salesperson and
   your operations department.

In order to avoid these mistakes, you need to put a clear plan of action into place that all of your sales staff needs to follow:

• Think before you speak.
• Give yourself a break.
• Perfect your process.
• Pre-format over-deliverables.
• Stay hands-on throughout the entire process.
• Define success.

BIG Business Mistake #2: Mishandling a Client Crisis

Crisis’ will happen, but how you respond and fix them will define your company and interaction with your clients’. You need to respond quickly and effectively. This will help
you gain even more trust and confidence from your client.

Some simple tips can help you deal with any client crisis:

• Take responsibility and apologize no matter who is at fault.
• Act swiftly and effectively.
• Step in and take control of the situation.
• Never point fingers or place blame.
• Stay in constant communication with your client.
• Stay calm throughout the situation.
• Keep your eye on the ball.

Now, that you know the top two mistakes you can make to kill a big fish deal, you’ll know better how to avoid making these mistakes in the first place and know how to put a plan of action into place in case of a crisis.

Next time we’ll talk about the 3^rd and 4^th killer mistake you can make in working with big fish clients.
And the 3rd part of the series — HERE No Cash Flow….

If you need help with any of this, try our FREE Mini Marketing Makeover to get an overview on your marketing strategies and access to real consulting help.