Disarming Techniques

Humor, surprise and confusion have one common denominator: they’re startling to the customer and often do a better job as tension breakers and mind-set breakers than Cutty and water. They move things off dead center.

A man visits a phone store in Wichita and spies a section in the showroom called “Phun Center.” Smiling, he approaches the sales desk and asks, “How can I get even with my landlord? I live in an apartment, and he wouldn’t let me keep my dog.” Perhaps he thinks he will stump the salesclerk. Instead she replies, “I’ve got just the thing for you.” And sells him a Snoopy phone. Now he can agitate his landlord by telling him he got another dog.

As a young man, a stockbroker made house calls – selling mutual funds. His interviews rarely took more than 15 minutes, because he confused his customers by coming straight to the point: “Here you see a chart showing the performance of the ABC Fund over the last 10 years. Impressive, isn’t it?” The people agreed. “What I’ve learned is that no matter how detailed a presentation I make, most people say, ‘Let me think about it.’ So why don’t you and I discuss what you want to think about, all right?” The customer would agree. “Is it the size of the company? Is it the management of the fund? Is it me? Or is it only how much you want to invest today?” It was all so different, so unexpected, that they were startled into reacting positively. It was a clean way to sell. It took few words.

A hospital-equipment salesman had but one item – an ultrasonic unit that was a latecomer to the market. He managed to have the administrator introduce him personally to the head nurse of the department and then began his demonstration. So the head nurse asked, “How many of these units have you sold?”

“Personally, I haven’t sold any,” he answered.

“What? Are you saying we might be the first?”

“Oh, no! You see I’ve learned that you nurses are much better at selling what you want to the administration than I am. Now, if you like how it works, I’ll help you sell it. I’ll be your assistant. So I guess it’s going to be up to you.” This surprising switch worked very well.

Humor, surprise and confusion are methods for changing the mood of the sales environment. There are times when no amount of product information will get the customer into a buying frame of mind. This is where humor, surprise and confusion (HSC) come in.

HSC works by changing the customer’s emotions and perspectives. Humor works by developing good feelings, positive emotions and a lighter atmosphere. Humor, by creating positive emotions, draws the customer closer to the salesperson. It helps develop rapport and trust and opens up a more favorable mutual attitude. Humor itself involves surprise or mild confusion.

Surprise and confusion show the customer that he is not as much in control as he thought. He feels he needs more information in order to reestablish his equilibrium. Exceptionally rigid people have had a lot of practice ignoring new information that is presented in a straightforward way. How to break this mind-set is the problem. Surprise and confusion do that job. Once customers are in a state of uncertainty, they become highly receptive.

Humor, surprise and confusion break tension and buying resistance. Watch your voltage, because effective as they are, they must be done in good taste in terms of your customers’ values and beliefs.

Why does humor work in sales? People like it. Think of how much money we pay for humor. Some of the most highly paid people in the world are those who can make us laugh. Good humor brings sunshine into our lives. It’s an automatic pacing system – we both laugh and share our humanity.

Customers welcome a little laughter and humor, because chances are they already get a lot of practice in keeping the lid on their emotions. They are accustomed to handling tension, pressure and difficult situations. However, laughter will break them wide open.

Another reason for using humor, surprise and confusion is that they capture the customer’s attention. Here is a case in point: during the early part of the sales interview, the plant manager became absorbed in his own thoughts. After waiting a while the salesman asked, “Tell me, Dan, why is it that plant managers are so easy to talk to?” The plant manager grinned, paid attention and bought. He was startled and appreciated the salesman’s deftness.

Customers like good surprises. Audiences like mystery guests. Promoters feature special attractions. They’re exciting. They get people to pay attention and march through the turnstiles. How many times have you heard of someone who built a better mousetrap and no one beat a path to his door? To get people to buy, you’ve got to get them to listen.

Think of the last time a customer stopped you dead in your tracks when you were selling. What can you do the next time? Try humor to ease tension, surprise to shift the focus or confusion to make him want to know more. HSC may not get you directly to your goal, but you’ll no longer be dead in the water. You will have something new with which to work. Successful salespeople are flexible and take advantage of this element of surprise.

A successful life-insurance salesman on the West Coast opens some sales calls with, “Life insurance is a terrible investment.” The customers are taken back. That’s not what they expected.

Negative Selling Techniques
In the past, sales-training specialists have cautioned against teaching negative selling. True, it can misfire in the hands of some neophytes or salespeople suffering from low self-esteem. You need a certain kind of cool. For example, my neighbor, Lees Johnson, was pursuing a successful career in financial planning. His income over the previous five years had quadrupled, and it showed in the way he walked and carried himself. I described an approach for developing achievement thinking and behavior to him, but he gave it scant attention. I wasn’t getting through to him. What to do? Negative selling to the rescue. “Of course, you, Lees, don’t need a program like that. You already are very successful.”

He straightened up. “What do you mean, I don’t need it? Maybe I want to be a whole lot more successful than you know. Now tell me about it again. I might just want to buy it.” And he did.

In the minds of most customers and salespeople, each person has a specific role to play in the sales game. The salesperson is the advocate, the customer the judge and jury. The salesperson is assertive, even aggressive; the customer is noncommittal and judgmental. The salesperson does the courting; the customer is courted. Negative selling means switching roles. The salesperson challenges the customer: “Given your situation, why would you want what I have to offer?” And the customer replies, “I’ll tell you why…” Isn’t that surprising? Isn’t it great?

Surprise
Often candor and straightforwardness can be surprising to the customer, particularly when the salesperson takes some risk by making himself vulnerable. Here is an illustration.

Dave Sandler teaches a method that sounds risky but isn’t. Here’s how it works: “Based on what we discussed, it looks as if you have some interest in what we’re talking about. Let me ask you a question. On a scale of 0-10, where 0 signals no interest and 10 means ‘I’m ready to use it,’ where are you now?”

It’s a new experience for the customer to rate a sales presentation. In doing so, he or she provides valuable feedback to the salesperson.

In another approach, Gerhard Gschwandtner, publisher of Selling Power, tells of the German salesman who begins an interview with a new prospect by saying, “Well, are you ready to buy yet?” You can imagine how this takes customers by surprise.

Humor, surprise and confusion work in helping you to be more flexible and successful. However, of all techniques, humor, surprise and confusion are the ones that must be used with most care. Like all powerful tools, they can be useful or risky, depending on the skill level of the user.

When dealing with joyless, humorless or grim customers, be careful in your use of humor, surprise and confusion. Use them only as a last resort, but use them if necessary. They may be just the things to brighten the mood. They may be just the things to create a need for new information or to break out of a circle. They may give the customer a new perspective. Don’t let the overly serious or grim customer leave your showroom or walk out of your office without first trying humor, surprise or confusion.

In a similar vein, sell highly logical customers first with logic, reasoning and product information. Sell them with what they do and the way they think. Those methods failing, you can then turn to HSC and gain a new perspective in your relationship.

If a customer has just suffered a setback or tragedy, pace his mood and be sensitive in your use of HSC.

Humor can be especially delicate. When first meeting people it’s wise to avoid it. Later, use it with restraint and know to whom you are talking. When you do use humor, make certain that the customer will appreciate it and that it serves a purpose.

Humor, surprise and confusion work best when they are well timed, presented in a sincere manner and customized to meet the need of each particular prospect. Never do anything questionable. It may get their attention, but it may also backfire.