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Obviously you have to be careful with humor in sales. You don’t want to offend anyone. That’s why self-deprecating humor can be so powerful. You’re poking fun at yourself. No one else is likely to be offended. It makes you seem modest and likeable while at the same time demonstrating that you’re confident enough about yourself (and by extension your products and/or services) to laugh at yourself. In effect, you’re bragging about your own negatives.
“So there’s no question it’s the right service for the right price,” I once told a prospect.
“It’s a great service. It’s a good price.”
“And this is certainly the right time.” It was. And I’d given him any number of excellent reasons why.
“I’m still not convinced that I need to sign up right now, today,” he said.
I nodded. “That’s because I forgot to mention the best reason.”
“Oh, and what’s that.”
“Because that’s the quickest way to get my sorry butt out of your office.”
“Sold!”
That became known around the company as the Sorry Butt close. Not only did I use it again from time to time but a couple of other people started trying it as well. It worked just often enough that every new hire got to hear about Barry Maher’s Sorry Butt.
A young sales rep once had a meeting with the top executive team of his number one corporate client in the office of the CEO. He was trying to build a little rapport before they got down to business, but the others were all a good forty years his senior. The small talk soon became miniature talk, then microscopic talk, then no talk at all.
Searching for something he could use to generate a little conversation, the entrepreneur spotted a large silver picture frame on the CEO's desk. Inside the frame was a picture of an attractive young woman. She wasn't Miss America but she was certainly attractive, and he was desperate.
“Wow, she is absolutely gorgeous,” he enthused.
The CEO’s face lit up. This was the right thing to say.
Then the entrepreneur asked, “Is that your granddaughter?”
A stunned silence seized the room. The CEO shot him a look that could have frozen fire. “That, sir,” he muttered, “is my wife.”
Now it was the young entrepreneur who was stunned. All he could think about was all that business—far too large a percentage of his business—vanishing as quickly as the CEO’s smile. He glanced around nervously but no one would meet his eye. He did happen to notice a ceremonial sword resting on a shelf on one wall.
He thought for just a moment. Then he rushed over. He grabbed the sword. He snatched it off the shelf. He dashed back to the CEO’s desk. He dropped to his knees in front the desk. He raised the sword high over his head. He shrieked. Then he plunged the sword down . . . into the space between his arm and his body. He fell face down, twitched once or twice, gurgled a death rattle, and lay still.
Yet another stunned silence filled the room.
Then the place erupted into laughter. After a moment, the young rep peered up cautiously and saw that the CEO was laughing too—not as loudly as the others perhaps, but laughing nonetheless.
The tension was broken. The account was saved.
Have fun selling. Have fun with your prospects and your customers. As far as I’m concerned, he or she who has the most fun, wins. Tattoo that on your arm. Just remember laughter is a two edge sword. It works a lot better when it’s pointed at yourself.
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Barry Maher
(Visit Barry's Website)
Barry Maher is a leading writer, speaker,
trainer and motivator on sales,
leadership, management and communication.
He's appeared on the Today Show, NBC
Nightly News, MSNBC and is frequently
featured in publications like USA Today,
The New York Times, The Wall Street
Journal, the London Times and Business
Week.
Selling Power magazine declared, "To his
powerful and famous clients, Barry Maher
is simply the best sales trainer in the
business."
His client list includes ABC, AT&T, Budget
Rent a Car, Blue Cross, Fox Cable
Television, Johnson & Johnson, Merck, the
National Lottery of Ireland, Verizon and
innumerable smaller companies and
associations.
A keynote speaker and a workshop leader,
Maher is also the author of "Filling the
Glass," which was cited by Today's
Librarian magazine as "[One of] The Seven
Essential Popular Business Books.
His other books include "No Lie: Truth Is
the Ultimate Sales Tool," "The Prentice
Hall Marketing Yearbook," the niche book
"Getting the Most from Your Yellow Pages
Advertising" and even the cult classic
fantasy novel, "Legend."
Contact him and or sign up for his free
newsletter at www.barrymaher
.com.
Speaker, Trainer, Barry Maher - EvanCarmichael.com expert Barry Maher is a motivational keynote speaker and workshop leader, who speaks and trains on leadership, management, communication and sales. And when it comes to sales training, as Selling Power magazine writes, "To his powerful and famous clients, Barry Maher is simply the best sales trainer in the business."
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