Dealing with Sales Disasters

Just as in the rest of life, things go wrong in sales. No matter how well prepared you are, mistakes and mishaps are inevitable. But don't give up! The times of seeming disaster can be opportunities to show your customers what you're made of, and believe it or not, can help you close the sale
Start by preparing thoroughly before a sales call. Preparation is like playing sales offense. And since sales disasters are inevitable, you also need to have some strategies for a successful sales defense ready. Depending on the circumstances, you can apologize, joke, or leverage the mistake -- or maybe combine all three strategies.
If you are even 1% responsible for the mistake, I suggest you apologize quickly, sincerely, and profusely. I know a saleswoman whose customer's order got messed up. She called the customer right away and announced, "I just heard what happened. I'm on my way over so you can shoot me." She then brought her customer a box of her favorite doughnuts. Her quick thinking, humility, and the sweets softened the blow and got the relationship rolling again.
Open Mouth, Insert Foot
Joking is another worthwhile defense tool. After messing up, you can acknowledge what happened with a line such as, "They say that comedy is tragedy, plus time. Well, I guess someday we are really going to laugh about this." You could also say "Boy, I must be the poster girl of bad timing," or "Excuse me while I take my entire leg out of my mouth."
If you mistakenly cross two polite words and come up with an embarrassing phrase, you might say, "Now that I have your complete attention " or mention that your company doesn't let you work with electrical wires so you don't cross them, too.
Leveraging an error to help you close the sale requires creativity and chutzpah. In this case, you don't just make a joke about what went wrong, you actually use it as a reason your customer should buy from you.
All Seriousness Aside
For instance, we have all accidentally said the wrong word. You might then use the same wrong word several more times during the rest of your presentation. Or if someone falls off his chair during your presentation, you might humorously stress the safety aspect of your offering for the rest of the talk.