You signed your first deal. Then your second deal. Yes, you are on a roll. Business is booming, and you're sure it's due to your training and sales techniques. Then, the next month you don't hit the numbers. That's ok—your boss is still beaming from your last month's success. But the following month still with no results. Now you are starting to be questioned.

What causes these plateaus in sales? In this issue of Promotional Consultant Today, we share these eight pitfalls for stalled sales, as shared by sales expert Anthony Iannarino.

1. Your value proposition wasn't compelling. You can only garner interest if you are filling a need or want. Review your value proposition and make sure you are covering the basics: Who you are, what you do, value you deliver and reasons to believe.

2. You didn't identify the outcomes your client required. This is critical to the process—reviewing the needs your client requires in order to ensure there is alignment.

3. You didn't follow your sales process. Effective companies have a documented sales process that identifies and outlines the various phases of the buyer's decision-making process. Stalls can often result in veering off track from a sales process.

4. You didn't leverage the value you bring. A key to engagement is the focus on differentiation. Most likely your competitor has already walked in the door, so you must prove and leverage your differentiated value.

5. You were stuck with influencers and never engaged with the true decision-makers. You can have the best engagement with your contact, but if you don't have access to the decision-maker then you have no control over the sales process.

6. You allowed your dream client to control the sales process. Speaking of control, you must manage the client and not allow the client to manage you. Be proactive in your outreach and move the client into the next phase of the buying process.

7. You didn't ask for the commitments you needed. Sales is a two-way process, and to move forward, you must be willing to ask for certain commitments from your contact. "Can we jointly schedule a meeting with your boss?" "Can you provide me with a budget range that's right for you?" It's important to ask the right questions.

8. You didn't build consensus across all decision-makers. When you're dealing with multiple decision-makers, it's important to take the lead on driving alignment across leaders. Often times it's easier as the outsider to do this, as you don't have to deal with inner politics.

Source: Anthony Iannarino is an international speaker, author and sales leader. He posts daily sales tips and insights to The Sales Blog.