The Golden Rule

Doc Holiday wrote this for RBR.com:

Have you ever been annoyed by a sales person? Who hasn’t, right? What did they do to annoy you? Perhaps they tried to pressure you into buying. Or they might have tried to use some transparent sales manipulation techniques. Maybe they were too busy talking to listen to what you were trying to say. There are a number of things that some sales people do that we find annoying. We might even want or need the product they are selling so much that we buy it in spite of, rather than because of, the sales person’s behavior. Even then, we will avoid that sales person in the future. Finally, it’s noteworthy that our annoyance is almost never related to the quality of the product or service. It’s the sales person’s words and actions that usually alienate us.

Most sales people don’t set out to purposely annoy customers. Most of the time they are simply doing what they were taught or what they were told, but the end result is the same. I can’t help you avoid being annoyed by incompetent or poorly trained sales people, but I can give you some information that will help you avoid being perceived as annoying.

You must understand that persuasion is a psychological endeavor. Customers will use the quality of products and services to justify their decision to buy after the decision is made, but product quality plays a very small role in the actual decision-making process. In media sales, if you are trying to persuade customers with things like one-sheeters, rankers, and cookie-cutter packages, you are putting the cart before the horse. The decision to buy is made in the subconscious mind and it’s based on one primary emotion...comfort. It’s not uncommon to ask someone why they decided against doing something and hear the response, “I don’t know. It just didn’t feel right.” They weren’t comfortable, even though they couldn’t say exactly why. Making your customer feel comfortable is the first step in persuading them to buy. There are a number of specific things you can do to accomplish this goal, but a good rule of thumb is The Golden Rule. You know, do unto others, etc.

The conscious mind does play a role in the decision making process, and that job is primarily to justify any decision made by the subconscious mind. This is a very important point. If the subconscious mind is uncomfortable, the conscious mind will only seek out information that supports saying “no”. If the subconscious mind is comfortable, the conscious mind will seek information that supports saying “yes”. Every medium, station, or proposal has both strengths and weaknesses. The client’s comfort level will determine which one they will focus on. Always begin by making the customer comfortable. Once their comfort has been established, you can then introduce the facts necessary to justify the decision to buy. Follow that sequence and their conscious mind will clearly see the logic in accepting your proposal.

Starting the sales process by demonstrating professionalism, integrity, knowledge, and a sincere desire to help will open your customer’s conscious mind to the quality of your products, services, and ideas. When it comes to selling, the Golden Rule is the surest path to the gold.

-- Doc Holliday/President Superior Sales Training, LLC

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