STRATEGIES THAT WORK

One salesperson collected humorous anecdotes to counter and work through frequent objections. When a prospect wasn’t interested, the salesperson would smile and say, “That’s what Charlie said, and now he’s one of our best customers. Charlie was sure it wouldn’t….” He would share a short anecdote illustrating the way that proposed problem proved to be no obstacle. He continued his approach in countering each objection after laughing, “That’s what…said, but he now uses our product and swears by it…” Every objection the prospect voiced became a humorous remembrance that dealt with the objection.

Another representative frequently took the polish off of a normally professional image and laughed with clients. He called it his “drop the briefcase close.” In the process of his presentation, he’d drop his briefcase and say, “It’s been one of those days. Do you ever have any of those?” He’d use the common ground to get identification and break down the distance. He found that self-depreciating humor often worked wonders.