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Sales Horror Story! The Ghost of Dale Carnegie

Written by: Dan Seidman

Article Overview: An old selling technique backfires on this sales rep.

Sales Horror Story! The Ghost of Dale Carnegie

THE GHOST OF DALE CARNEGIE
Carol's caring comments collapse her sale

It started out so smoothly. I had generated a good lead and called on the company to discuss handling their insurance needs. The office manager really had her act together, giving me all the
information I needed to submit to insurance carriers and get the quotes. I drafted the proposal and went to meet the woman business owner to present her choices.

Everything continued well. My numbers were good and the prospect was giving me good buying signals. I had been aware of her unusual last name and decided to add in my Dale Carnegie "How to Win Friends and Influence People" strategy. You might be familiar with the fact that Carnegie wrote that
people's names are the most precious thing in the world to them. Questions about people's names can be quite flattering. There is often a story behind them. Perhaps the family came to America from a foreign country. Maybe a famous person was an ancestor.

"I have a friend with the same unique last name as yours, could you two be related?" I asked. My big smile invited her to share some personal information.

She glared at me. "That is my husband's ex-wife."

In my mind alarm bells rang, lights flashed and a voice whimpered, "oh no."

Across the desk a voice said, "We'll get back to you."

And of course she never did.

POSTMORTEM: Poor Carol, she basically said, "hey, my best friend used to sleep with your husband, wanna do business with me?" And there she was, in first place, goal line in sight and she stumbles over an old technique. Perhaps the DNA of all salespeople is infected with these old techniques, this dinosaur disease. Here's what to do until a cure is found. You can distinguish yourself from others who compete with you by avoiding ordinary, old, selling strategies. If you sound and act like everyone else, you will teach your prospects to only buy based on price. Be determined to be unique
and prospects will remember you in a crowd. They might even look forward to your visit. Carol's strategy is good if she simply asks about the name without personal comment. Dale Carnegie's belief in the preciousness of one's name is quite solid thinking.

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Related Forum Posts
Other Great Books... - Feel The Fear And Do It AnyWay - Susan Jeffers How To Stop Worrying And Do It Anyway - Dale Carnegie ('What's the worst that could happen - the worst?' Then prepare yourself for that and reality is such a relief!).
Favourite Business Books - The November PROFIT magazine looks at the favourite business books of Canada's most successful entrepreneurs. The top 4 are: 1) Good to Great by Jim Collins 2) The E-Myth by Michael Gerber 3) Blue Ocean Strategy by W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne 4) How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
Re: Books/eBooks for Small Business Owners - Please suggest! - I have to agree with Evan in this as it was what I was going to recommend and then I saw his post, the 4 hour work week is so cool and well worth your time reading it for sure. Another great book is "how to win friends and influence people" by Dale Carnegie a timeless classic. Also anything by Jeffrey Gitomer, he is a sales authority and really offers some tremendous value in his books, his little red book of selling is unbelievable, think I paid $20 for it, but it has earnt me much much more LOL!!
a legacy - sounds like your grandfather left a real legacy. It reminds me of Dale Carnegies famous quote, 'people dont care how much you know, until they know how much you care' An interesting side bar is the idea of customer loyalty. I recently worked with a large bank on their new 'loyalty' program. I called it like I saw it, they didnt have loyal customers....they had hostages. If anyone reading wants to learn more about delivering great customer service, they should read "Raving Fans' by Ken Blanchard and "how to win friends and influence people' by Dale Carnegie Two of my favourite resources... The third resource I can always count on was my dad. Although he died almost 18 years ago, he raised me and my 5 brothers and sisters with a strong work ethic, a respect for people of all backgrounds and a healthy respect for time. In fact, I am often teased for always being early or at least very punctual and I find it sad that in today's world, we seem to have lost a lot of the basic tenets of common sense and courtesy.
Re: What is your biggest challenge? Today? - [quote="GT Bulmer":10b1rb6o]sounds like keeping one foot on the dock and one in the boat, doesn't it?) I've had suggestions of interest from other high profile potential clients but I have chosen not to pursue them at this time.[/quote:10b1rb6o] Hi GT, Who knows, perhaps you'll need to take that leap of faith and "burn your bridges" (of escape/going back) like Dale Carnegie suggests in "How to Stop Worrying and Start Living" to get to the next level and reach your income goal. Complacency and comfort can be death.


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