So let me tell you what that whole exercise really stands for.
So the whole, “sell me this pen”, narrative is really,
it's a test that you give to a salesman to see if they really understand what
selling is all about. If you ask someone
who is not a professional salesman, who doesn't have the right instincts,
they'll start actually trying to sell you a pen. “This pen is great, this pen writes upside down,
it's the best value for its money, is the best ever,
buy this pen”. He does that thing.
I have one question and I'm a huge fan of your film,
so this just comes quite naturally. Can you please sell me this pen?
So let me tell you what that whole exercise really stands for.
So the whole, “sell me this pen”, narrative is really,
it's a test that you give to a salesman to see if they really understand what
selling is all about. If you ask someone
who is not a professional salesman, who doesn't have the right instincts,
they'll start actually trying to sell you a pen. “This pen is great, this pen writes upside down,
it's the best value for its money, is the best ever,
buy this pen”. He does that thing.
The only one rational thing you could do when someone says, “sell me this pen”,
and that is to start asking them questions. So tell me,
“how long you've been in the market for a pen?” “What type of pens have you used in the past?
“Is it for business or personal”. “Typically, when you buy them what
type of money do you spend on one?” “Do you buy expensive ones?”.
The key to selling is to find out, step one. What are your client's needs, values?
What pens are they looking at? What do they need?
And you'll get to fill that need at the most basic level, right?
Well, when you just go out and try to sell something,
what you're saying is,
“I don't give a shit about you, I am just going to ram this down your throat”.
I want to know what you need, I want to know what you've done in the past.
So you ask questions. If I ask them, “hey,
so how long you been in the market for a pen? And they say, “oh, I'm not looking for a pen”.
“Great, have a nice day”. I don't sell people the
things that they are not looking for, I wouldn't try to sell you a pen,
if you're not looking to buy a pen. So if someone said that to me, I’d say,
“wow, this person really knows how to sell”. Because the biggest mistake
that rookie salesmen make is they try to sell to everybody.
Versus weeding out people who are not interested and only selling to those who are.
So I ask questions but not any question, I ask pointed questions to identify
what type of pens have you used in the past, how much money you have.
Now, the pen is like a euphemism for any product, right?
By doing that, I can get a good sense of what you're about,
and then when I'm done asking my questions, and I know what I need to know, I say,
“well, based on what you said to me, this pen is perfect for you, let me tell you why”.
And now I'm actually matching my pen to what you need,
and I tell my presentation to fill that need, and it's much more elegant.
Makes sense? Yes, thank you