Businesses and consumers are tightening their belts as they brace themselves for a difficult winter period. Soaring inflation, economic recession and ongoing volatility has left organisations distinctly lacking the one thing they crave – certainty.

As decision makers are forced to take important steps under increasing time and budgetary pressures, purchasing new products and services is likely to be nearer the bottom of the agenda than in normal times.

This environment has undoubtedly made sales pitching more complex, and difficult. Conventions are being challenged. Today, sales professionals can’t afford to follow outdated “golden rules” only to see potential deals fall through. So, how can revenue teams weather the storm ahead in 2023?

A good place to start is dispelling some common sales myths. There are surprisingly many misconceptions that could be holding your teams back from converting customers and sealing all important deals. Backed by data from Gong's research team, which analyses millions of sales conversations and deal information, here are nine myths to be aware of:

1: Always try to get a meeting in the calendar

Securing time in a prospect’s calendar is always a worthwhile objective. However, when it comes to the initial cold emails, specific calls to action, such as requesting a meeting, yield a low 15% success rate as shown in a recent study by Gong Labs. The important thing to remember is that time is a limited resource, and the decision-makers you're attempting to influence through cold outreach are very strapped for it. Therefore, it’s likely that a prospective email from a stranger will be deleted. However, asking for interest is not viewed the same way - arousing a buyer's curiosity by using an interest-based call to action is more effective than requesting time. Once you have confirmation that your prospect is interested, you can then look to secure that all important slot in the diary. This approach to cold emails, according to our data, is twice as successful.

2: Short is always better when it comes to prospecting emails

For many sales professionals, brevity in email copywriting is considered key. Yet a 30-word email won’t contain much value as the messaging is likely to be painted with a broad brush. By using too general terms sales professionals risk losing the reader’s attention. You're better off writing something meaningful and unique that is 130 words or fewer. Take advantage of this – emails with at least four sentences outperform shorter messages, resulting in 15 times the number of booked meetings.

3: Avoid scheduling calls at the end of the day

Prospective customers are busy people whose meetings overrun, so sales professionals might often try to schedule calls first thing. However, avoiding penciling in calls later in the day is yet another sales myth. In fact, our figures show the opposite to be true – meetings scheduled at 9am have a no-show rate of almost 18% while this falls below 15% for calls booked in for 5pm.

4: Using slides helps in discovery sessions

Our data points towards prospects wanting to get to know the human behind the sale in the initial meeting. While presentation decks are a useful tool to present information, the initial discovery call should feel more like an in-depth conversation between the salesperson and the potential customer. Presenting slides can create a formal atmosphere which negatively impacts first chemistry sessions. In fact, we have found that discovery calls that used slides were actually 17% less likely to result in a follow-up meeting being booked than those that went slide-free.

5: Using customer references always helps to close deals

Social proof techniques such as name-dropping customers and showing case studies is a well-known “weapon of influence” for sales professionals. However, not all businesses are the same. While prospects must feel that they belong to the same tribe as the customers mentioned, social proof can easily backfire if the reference misses the mark, and they don’t feel they’re the target market for a product. In practice, customers can be turned off by well-intended use of social proof - sales professionals that use these methods on calls have a 22% lower close rate.

6: Talking price too early kills the deal

Although talking about pricing seems taboo, particularly in the early stages of the sales cycle, being upfront about the costs can help identify intent. While those eager to buy right away may appreciate the talk, window shoppers will avoid it. Customers want to know how much they will be paying for a product or service, especially during times of economic hardship. Data shows that sales reps who bring up price in the 38-46 minute window stand to generate the best results. This tends to be during the first call (42% win rate), as opposed to the second (32%) or third call onward (15%). Those who don’t mention cost at all stand the least chance of closing a deal.

7: Your buyer needs ‘time to think’ is a bad sign

Give me some time to think. We all have heard this response before. Many assume it is a polite way of saying no, but this is another misconception that sales professionals need to park to one side. Close rates are actually slightly enhanced when a buyer says they need time to think – in most cases, it is a sign that they are engaged. But beware! Hearing these words from a prospect extends sales cycles by 173%.

8: You should always present ROI during the sales process

Is proving that you can generate a return on investment a sure-fire way to secure sales? As a seller, you should appeal to people's emotions first before hitting them with facts by pressing the appropriate buttons. Decisions on purchases are often made based on how a salesperson makes customers feel. Once prospects make up their minds, they then justify the decision with logic and facts, such as ROI.

Presenting ROI at any stage during your sales process could hamper your chances of closing a deal – data shows a 27% drop in close rates when ROI language is used lavishly.

9: Cursing negatively impacts sales

Sales professionals swear on 20% of their calls with buyers. Somewhat more surprising is that it may even be helping them to close deals. Data shows an 8% increase in close rates when the salesperson and the buyer curse on the call, compared to nobody cursing at all.

The key here is to let the prospect swear first – if they do, treat this as a sign that they are willing to drop the formality and build trust through being their true selves.