In virtually every case, when they discussed writing proposals that didn’t get signed, overcoming objections, manipulating prospects, lying to make the sale, and so on, they all slumped their shoulders, bowed their heads and looked at their plates as they talked.

I must tell you, it was a damned depressing sight.

Traditional selling is a manipulative process that is designed to get someone to buy regardless of whether they want to buy. Make no mistake, traditional selling is about winning a war. It’s about overcoming obstacles, circumventing roadblocks, and tricking or trapping your enemy. You need look no further than the hundreds of books and articles that discuss traditional sales tactics to find tips that demonstrate this fact:

• Leave half a voice-mail message. Pretend to get cut off at the good part (be sure to leave your name and number first). This will get the prospect to call you back.  

• Always conduct your meetings over lunch (meaning not in the prospect’s office), because, in his office, the prospect will have the “home turf” advantage.  

• The more times a prospect says “No,” the more likely she is to say “Yes.” Don’t take “No” for an answer, or you might miss a sale.  

• When you take notes, write in big letters. This will impress the prospect, and he’ll know that you’re concerned about him.  

• When the prospect is ready to sign the contract, drop the pen as you hand it to her. Her act of picking up the pen is a minor close. This will help to solidify the deal, and keep her from changing her mind later.

How do I know all this? Because I’ve read the books and articles, and I’ve taken the courses. And, although I’m ashamed to admit it, I’ve also occasionally tried practicing some of those techniques. (I now take solace in the fact that it made me sick to my stomach while I did it.)

Speaking of sick, the worst part of traditional selling happens when you actually close the deal. You’d think a person would feel good about success. But, when success comes at the price of self-esteem, it simply costs too much to enjoy.

Lying Catches Up

In 1998, I conducted an assessment project for a company that had purchased a software system worth $250,000 two years earlier. The company had never received much of what was promised by the salesman. The president was planning to sue, and I was hired to look things over and give him my technical opinion of his case.

During my analysis, I found that the software company had sent out two sales brochures describing the features of the software. The first was sent in October, the second in December. Between these two time periods, my client had asked whether a purchase order processing system was included in the system, and the salesman had said, “Of course.” Two years later, the system still did not process purchase orders, despite the fact that “Purchase Order Processing” had been added to the December brochure.

To this day, I have no idea whether this salesman was actually a snake in the grass, or whether he simply fell victim to what he’d been taught about selling. Either way, the result was that he had lied to his client, and it cost his company a very large sum of money.

The Other Side

One of my worst sales experiences happened when I was the buyer. It was 1991, and I was shopping for a new vehicle. I was comparing the Ford Explorer to the Toyota 4Runner. I had visited both the Ford and Toyota dealerships several times and had endured many sleazy attempts to get me to sign on the dotted line. I’d also been lied to by both salesmen to the point where I was about to give up and keep my old car.

Then, I got an idea.

One sunny Saturday, I drove into the Toyota dealership near my home and told my salesman, Fred, that I wanted to go for a test-drive. He was a bit peeved, because I’d gone for several test-drives already, and he hadn’t made the sale. He asked me if I was really serious about buying, and I assured him that my decision would be made after the test-drive that day. So, he grabbed the keys, and we headed out.

Three miles later, I pulled into the Ford dealership parking lot and parked the 4Runner right next to the Explorer. I told Fred to wait a minute and ran in to get Bill, my Ford salesman. When Bill came out, Fred was looking a bit peaked, and Bill turned several shades of red after I made the introductions.

I then grabbed my notes and asked about a dozen questions – being sure to hit on all the questions to which I’d received dishonest answers in the past. By the time I was done, Fred and Bill were almost ready to come to blows.

Fred was pretty quiet on the ride back to his showroom. But, he mustered the courage to ask me if I was going to buy the 4Runner now that the test-drive was over. I said, “Yes I am, but not from you, because I don’t do business with people who lie to me.”

Three days later I bought the 4Runner from the Toyota dealership by my office. These are the kinds of relationships traditional sales tactics create.

Motivational Techniques

Salespeople who practice traditional sales are trained to lie, manipulate, cajole and do “whatever it takes” to close a sale. Salespeople are also trained in all manner of motivational techniques that are designed to bolster self-esteem.

Why is this? Why do so many sales courses involve massive doses of motivational training?

Could it be, perhaps, because salespeople who are freshly trained in lying and manipulating must overcome the personal emotional trauma and self-loathing they feel from implementing the tactics they’ve been taught?

Could it be because decent, honest people have been manipulated into believing that to stay in business they must use these underhanded techniques, and they simply need the motivational lift to keep going?

I wonder what it could be.

A Better Way

The good news is, a better way does exist. And, the best part is that it’s based in being honest with your prospects at all times (everyone say, “Yeah, right!”).

• You look for the reason you can’t do business, so you can quickly end the sales call and leave.  

• You always respect the prospect’s opinion, and you never overcome an objection.  

• You never close! Really, there is no such thing as asking for the business in this process, so you can forget all those damned closing techniques!  

• This process is self-motivating. It’s so liberating that sometimes you feel better when you don’t get the gig than you do when someone hires you.  

• You make a sale only when you find a mutual basis for doing business. This does not mean you try to create that situation, only that you work with the prospect to determine if that situation already exists.

Honest Selling has changed my life. If you want it to change yours, avail yourself of the many articles on this website. Or, to shorten the learning curve immensely, contact us.