Lighten up: having fun can be a serious sales technique

Custom Home, Jan-Feb, 2003 by Paul Montelongo

A custom builder on the East Coast recently called me to complain that his closing ratio was way down compared with last year. Prospective customers, he said, seemed really tense about the economy and life in general. By the tone in his voice I could tell he was fairly stressed out about his recent lack of sales success.

He said he had as many or more leads as a year ago. And the projects he was selling were about the same size as this time last year. He thought all things seemed equal in his business except that he wasn't closing as many deals.

With further questioning, I found out that about six months ago he made a conscious decision to increase his sales to grow his company. Everything seemed right with that concept, I thought, until he said that when he began to press harder to increase his sales, his stress level rose and he wasn't having as much fun selling his services.

There was the source of his problem: He wasn't having as much fun as he had in the past. Selling can some times be a tricky deal. Do you ever really know what the prospect is thinking? Sometimes, but usually it is a guessing game. They are trying to figure out you and your motives while you are doing the same with them.

In the case of the East Coast builder, he was overthinking his sales strategies and techniques. I found out later in the conversation that he'd had sales success in the past because his customers really liked him, trusted him, and found working with him a pleasant experience because he was so friendly and easy to get along with.

And then he changed. By his own admission, he got deadly serious about selling. But it was obvious from our conversation that this was not a deadly serious guy. He really gets a kick out of life, and I suspect that his customers enjoy dealing with him.

What is the biggest problem of salespeople? They are way too serious for what they are selling. They get out of their natural character when they are selling. They are not authentic. They talk way too much and are not genuinely interested in their prospective customer. Do you think your prospects don't recognize when you're insincere and out of character? They may not know it, but they can feel it "in their bones."

You really have nothing to lose by being yourself in front of your customer. You don't mind going out on the weekend and having a great time at the ball game or at a dance. You can joke and cut up with your friends until the laughter makes you cry. But when it comes to selling, it's like the solemn walk on death row for most people. They put on a game face that repels prospective customers.

My advice if you want to explode your sales to a higher level is to get your prospects to laugh, or at least smile a lot.

I'm not suggesting that you go into your next sales call acting like Gallagher or Jim Carrey. What I am recommending is to lighten up. Have a little fun with your career. People love to do business with people they like, and most of your customers like people who are fun, interesting, and optimistic.

Could you repeat a funny story you heard on the Paul Harvey report? Could you clip out a funny comic strip that relates to your business? Or would you have the guts to say a little something funny or even slightly embarrassing about yourself?

Or could you at least have a huge, sincere smile when you greet your prospect? Let your genuine personality come out and have a little fun when selling.

Now, back to the builder from the East Coast. He called me about a week later and said he closed a big deal that he had been working on for three months. I asked him what got the customers to buy. He said he sent them a greeting card with a frizzy-haired, bulging-eyeballed, crazed scientist character on the front; inside it said, "I have been stressed out and going crazy cause I haven't heard from you lately." He enclosed his business card and then waited.

Three days later, he received a phone call from his prospective clients saying they wanted to talk to him again about the project. By his own admission, his renewed frame of mind put him in a more positive state and allowed him to come up with some creative solutions to make the project fit into his prospects' budget.

Sometimes we have to think outside the sale to make the sale.

Paul Montelongo has been a builder for more than 23 years and is a nationally recognized speaker, author, and consultant to the construction industry. Visit Paul at www.contractorofchoice.com for more profit-focused resources.