Ill never forget the time I was invited to pitch a sales training program to the Playboy Channel. My contact was a woman who had attended one of my public seminars, and after a preliminary discussion about my onsite methodology for building sales, she leaned over the desk, toward me, and nearly whispered, Are you excited about the idea of working for Playboy? Actually, I wasnt. And it showed. And no sale was made. Dont ask me what was going on in my mind, because Im not quite sure. It wasnt visions of hanging with Hef at The Playboy Mansion, surrounded by Bunny after Bunny; that I know. Obviously, it was clear to my prospect that I wasnt gushing over the idea of having Playboy on my client list. Oddly, names like Xerox, DuPont, Kraft, turned me on, and, I suppose, it showed. If there is a moral to this story, its this: We need to show a certain level of ENTHUSIASM to close sales, and even if we dont have it, we should fake it. Yesterday, for instance, I called back a prospect and said, with real fervor, Lets get this program going on Monday afternoon, and start making you some money, okay? His response. Right, I just need to tell my boss I want to do this, thats all. Right! Right We were like two football players crashing helmets before the big game. Thats a sale Im going to make! |
