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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Dan Seidman
(Visit Dan's Website)
Dan Seidman collects sales horror stories
for a living. He's been designated "One
of the Top 12 Sales Coaches in America."
Dan's hilarious columns are read by over
one million readers each month.
Dan has produced The Sales Comic Book:
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possibly any planet. He has also created a
wild, new video game Revenge of the Reps –
when you’ve just had enough of pathetic
prospects and beastly buyers.
Dan speaks at national sales conferences.
His mission is to help sales professionals
and entrepreneurs to have fun and make
more money to take home to their families.
Share your most embarrassing selling
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