7 Mistakes Made by Fired Contestants on The Apprentice

7 Mistakes Made by Fired Contestants on The Apprentice Life as a contestant on the Apprentice isnt an easy ride. Theyre given tasks that will push them to  their limits and Lord Sugar sticks firmly to his no nonsense attitude, meaning individuals  have to  step up their game  and avoid slipping up at all costs to impress him. Though a lot of the scenarios that the contestants find themselves in on the show are a far fetch from real life, a lot of the skills and business knowledge  they have to demonstrate are highly transferrable to real life. Unfortunately, not everyone can land the job as Alan Sugars business partner, so each week we wave goodbye to one of the contestants as Lord Sugar tells them Youre fired! So where did these contestants go wrong  and what can we learn from their mistakes? 1) Dont  underestimate your customers intelligence Your customers arent stupid, so  it is unlikely that they are  going to fork out 10 times the value of your product on sale. Sarah in season 10 learnt this the hard way, when she tried to flog a bucket of sponges for a whopping £250The only way she was going to get anywhere near the asking price is if she managed to convince the customers the sponges grow legs and do your cleaning for you, and even then I think she may have been pushing her luck! 2) Dont waste peoples time Having since made a career for herself for making obscene comments and becoming Britains most hated woman, it had probably skipped a lot  of our minds that Katie Hopkins first entered the lime light in Series 3 of the Apprentice. She even managed to hold her position in the competition right up until the Final of the show, just to quit at the last minute.  Alan Sugar is probably breathing a huge sigh of relief about it today, however at the time her departure was perceived as  a huge waste of his time and she came across as highly ungrateful about the opportunity being offered. 3) Dont come on too strong Youre not going to sell your product by scaring your customers or forcing your sales pitch down their throat! Take note Jason from season 9, pouncing on unsuspecting passers by is not the most effective sales technique. 4) Dont be offensive Though political correctness may be taken overboard at time, youre not going to sell any products by offending your customers! On more than one occasion, teams have demonstrated pretty poor judgement when faced with the task of creating a TV ad. Im sure that Fat Daddys Fitness Hell from season 10 will really be a best seller! And dont even get me started on the sexist Octi-Clean ad in series 6!   5) Dont let your ego take over Over the years there have been some huge personalities on the show with even bigger egos. Remember Steven from season 10? Sure, a level of confidence can be advantageous in business, as assertion and self-assurance is sometimes required to win customers over; however there is a fine line between confident and arrogant and arrogance can be incredibly off-putting. People are more likely to buy from individuals who are likeable and humble, than someone who rates themselves a bit too highly. 6) Know your market Trying to sell fish-fingers to a vegan cafe owner was never going to work out for Mergim in Series 11! Do your research and identify who your target market are before making your approach. In fact, its probably best  for you to determine whether your target market actually exists before proceeding with your business venture in the first place, but hey the contestants had the shift these fish fingers quick! 7) Dont  bite off more than you can chew Be realistic about what you can offer customers, as to make a promise that you cannot fulfill will  reflect badly on you if you fail to meet their expectations. If something is beyond your capabilities, be honest and try to come to another arrangement. Unfortunately Shibby from Series 6 didnt think it through when he took an order for 1,900 bread rolls, only to produce 16 on the day. His answer: Tell your guests to go on the Atkins diet.