Few things are as annoying as a salesperson that’s trying to sell you something that you don’t want, don’t need and don’t care for.
Don’t get me wrong I love sales and I can appreciate it when a salesman is actually good at his job.
With that being said… I can DEFINITELY understand why sales has that sleazy annoying reputation.
It doesn’t have to be like this. You can actually sell without being annoying, without being sleazy, without resorting to high pressure guilt-tripping.
That’s what this article is about.
How To Sell Without Being Annoying
When you watch movies like The Wolf of Wall Street, Boiler Room and Glengarry Glen Ross you get a feel for how to sell by being a manipulative sociopath.
This is a conversation from Boiler Room between a customer (C) and the salesman (S):
C: I have to talk to my wife first.
S: Ok, what kind of a job do you have?
C: I’m a purchasing manager.
S: So you make decisions at your job, right?
C: Yes, I do.
S: So do you call your wife before you make every decision?
C: Well, uhhhm, that’s a bit different.
S: How is that different? Besides, it’s YOUR money. You earned it. And you’re just investing, right?
Making comparisons that are as solid as a wet cardboard box, forcing people into a ‘yes funnel’ so they agree with you, etc. etc.
It’s all classic stuff and… I’ve never liked it.
If you think about it, it doesn’t even make sense.
If you sell a good product and the client can benefit from using that… why would you have to handle 312 objections?
And that’s the real secret.
Most people spend most of their time selling to the wrong people.
The Sales Cliché That Changed My Life
My first mentor gave me a one-liner that I’ll never forget.
“People love to buy, they hate to be sold.”
He told me this after reviewing my sales presentation. It was his way of saying that the presentation was… not great.
I followed his advice and instead of trying to pitch my stuff, I started to focus on asking questions, qualifying customers and figuring out if we were even a good fit.
If it looked like we weren’t a good fit, I’d do something revolutionary.
I thanked them for their time and left them alone.
This did two things:
- It saved me hours and hours and hours of time.
- It saved me untold amounts of frustration, stress and tension.
- It allowed me to use much more time talking to prospects that were a good match.
Selling is much easier if you come from this angle.
Ask questions to find out what their problem is.
Tell them what your solution could do for them.
Ask if they want that.
Try it out for size. I think you’ll enjoy it a lot. It sure beats using high pressure, manipulating people, twisting their arm and getting stuck in endless discussions.
Talk soon,
Mikkel