Southwestern Sales Talk

If you sell books with the Southwestern Company, you invariably hear at some point in your summer, “You’re a great salesperson, BUT…”  AAaargh!  It’s then that you realize you are selling logically, not emotionally.  No sale.

Mrs. Jones can hear a nice polished demo, she can see your product is good, but, does she need it?  No.  Does she want it?  Nope, not really.  

The sales presentation we use at Southwestern involves a great deal of logic.  Here are a few statements which will help overcome objections which deal the emotion that causes people to want your product.  I usually inserted one of more of these after I gave her the price.  They can be used as part of your demo, or to answer objections: 

“We can’t afford it.” 

“You know, Betty, it’s kinda like one mom told me.  She said, ‘Lee, There is no best time to buy anything because we always have bills.  And we spend money on all kinds of things—hundreds of dollars on appliances, like plasma TVs, xBox’s, iPhones…  A lot of the time, we don’t spend that much on good books or on educational software in comparison to what we spend on other things.’  Betty, a year from now when you look back on it, do you think you’d ever really miss the money you put into these?” 

Or… 

“One mom said, ‘We’ve spent hundreds of dollars on toys, video games, PS3 systems, …and the kids end up breaking them, losing them, or totally losing interest and they just lie around.  Getting something educational that will really make a difference in their future, that would be a worthwhile investment!’  Can you see why she felt that way?” 

And/or… 

“I was talking with one lady, and she said, ‘You know, I guess the only thing more expensive than a good education is no education at all.’  It seems like the people with the best educations get the best jobs.  Money spent on education now might seem like an expense at first, but when you think about it, it’s really an investment isn’t it?” 

Or how about— 

“One mom said, ‘Even if my kids just used them once or twice a week—just a little bit—it would be worth it because of all the times they asked me questions about their homework and I couldn’t help them.  Not a good feeling to have.  I just want to give them every opportunity to get ahead and to get better grades.’ That makes sense doesn’t it?” 

You see, if you want to get Mrs. Jones to a feeling level, you have to speak her language, remember?  We are not selling books to college students!  We are traveling to the Land of Parenthood, where they speak a little differently and respond to different things.  Try some of these phrases—with conviction!  Experiment.  Learn to tap in to selling with emotion and you’ll improve your sales.

4 comments so far (is that a lot?)