A short post.
As a salesperson, it’s important to always have the sales prospect see you as “in demand”. In other words, they have to see evidence that you are someone that buyers seek out, and that people are trying to buy what you sell. Why? Because if everyone wants what you sell, it must be great…and the impulse to want to buy…what everyone else is buying is almost irresistible.
One of my favorite things to say is “We keep running out of these” and “Our problem isn’t selling these, our problem is getting them.” And in retail “We’ve had too many people buy these recently, I’ll have to check to make sure we have on left”.
Have you ever pulled into the parking lot of a restaurant…and it was empty? I have, and sometimes I’ll just pull out and go somewhere else. Why? Because evidence of low demand may mean something is wrong with the restaurant…or something is wrong with the food. If nobody is eating there, maybe the rest of the town knows something you don’t. Was there a story in the paper? What could be wrong? All these alarms are going off in your mind.
It’s the same when you are selling. Your language has to imply that everyone is buying from you…and they are next. When I was selling vacuum cleaners in people homes, on the last appointment of the day, I would sometimes say (as long as it was true) “I started with three machines in the car this morning. I hope you don’t want two, because I only have one left”
Sometimes, if I were running a little late for an appointment I would say “I had to stop by the office an pick up more inventory. I’m having a good day”.
In the video, I bring up how actors talk about getting a part in a movie. They always make it sound like they were pursued…that they needed to be convinced that the part was right for them.
Maybe some actors are really in such high demand that they can be really selective. But not most.
One of the most profitable images to put in a print advertisement is an image of the business…with a long line of customers waiting to get in the door. Why? Because “if everyone wants to get in there….it must be great”…and there is always the thought of “What do they know that I don’t?”
It’s why everyone shows up for a crowd. The bigger the crowd…the more people show up for it. (OK, that was a joke)
You can create an image that you are in demand all through your presentation. You can even imply that you are in demand..when you are cold calling. You can find out more by reading Sales Prospecting.
