Sales Conversation That Was So Bad it was SCARY!

I admit it. Sometimes I hear or see something so bad, I have to WAIT to tell you all of the details.. so the person I’m “TELLING ON” is less likely to see my seething post about them! Lol… But not in this case…. because I can guarantee this woman is NOT reading THIS blog! =) =)

Here are the details of the scary bad sales conversation I overheard… and the last detail is what makes it UBER frightening! So, at least skim down to the last line for the REAL kicker!!

Okay. I was sitting in a Starbucks in what will continue to be an unnamed city, minding my own business.  Directly beside me was a sales conversation between two women.  The older woman was trying to sell the younger woman  on a paid membership program.

Here’s what went terribly, scarily wrong:

1) The sales person Talked the whole time, no questions asked.  It was all about her, her offer, her details, her features, her handouts.  Nothing engaging.  A one-way me-me-me monologue.  UGG!

2) She gave a deadline that was over two months out. Um… This is just TOO LONG!  A deadline is there for ONE PURPOSE:  to inspire decisive action.  For this relatively small purchase, the deadline should have been much shorter.  I wanted to shout to the sales woman: HINT:  she’ll forget all about you and your handouts in two days… let alone two months!

3) The younger woman she was meeting with was NOT a decision maker .  This is a waste of time in most cases.  So, this pathetic information dump I witnessed would then have to be repeated to a decision maker for the sales person to actually make a sale.

Now, I am NOT about going “around the gatekeeper”.  I think that’s actually a really bad strategy.  (My goal is always to engage the gatekeeper… as they often hold the keys to the organization you’re targeting… as well as a slew of insider information! In most cases, they ARE the real boss! lol…)  But, I’m not going to meet in person with someone who can’t sign a check either.

4) The sales person gave NOT ONE example or success story. All features, all benefits, and not ONE story of a satisfied client???  HUGE, possibly BIGGEST mistake she made overall. STORIES TELL and SELL.  You simply can not afford to leave them out… so don’t even try it!

So, are you ready for the real kicker??? The really scary factoid about this conversation?  The sales person was a representative of the local Chamber of Commerce selling a Chamber membership… the very group most business owners join to help them GROW their business!!

Scary, indeed! =)