Sales Techniques using Sesame Street
Posted by Tara Robertson on Mon, Dec 07, 2009 @ 11:32 AM
As we move into 2010, selling effectively is a key aspect to overall business growth and success. This week we decided to use a cartoon everyone is familiar with to compare the simple use of selling an "O" to some of our proven effective sales techniques.
Now that you have watched the video, let's dive a little deeper into some of the techniques Lefty the Letter Salesman is using on Ernie and compare that to modern day selling:
Qualify your prospects - As simple as this is, one of the top reasons sales personnel do not have high close rates is due to bad data or incorrect prospects. In this video, Lefty knows that Ernie is his "ideal" customer, therefore he is headed right for the decision maker. However, if Lefty was selling to The Count, (who we all know is a "numbers" man) his prospect would not be a qualified fit. Here are some easy tips to help you qualify before you start selling:
- Have a profile of your ideal customer.
- Have a set of criteria that customer's must meet before you sell to them.
A Compelling Offer - Every product and/or service usually has something more to offer than the basic sale. For example, at TSL we don't offer just leads but also a database of business intelligence gathered, additional marketing services, and service level agreements. For hardware you may not just offer a server but also a secure system, backup capabilities, or lifespan guarantees. Here are some simple but effective offers Lefty used in his pitch:
- You can sing a pretty song with it like so...
- 2 sounds for the price of 1: Olive, Ostrich or Ocean, Old, Opening
- Looks just like a donut really good enough to eat
With all of the additional offers Lefty goes through, an O really does seem like more than just an "O."
Create a Sense of Urgency - In 2009 our economy created sense of "waiting" to make new purchases and therefore altered sales stages for companies across the board. While it looks like buying in 2010 will be more aggressive, decision makers are still hesitant by nature to buy. This is where a sense of urgency is needed in order to close the sale. Lefty simply says "It's not often that I offer," which then leads Ernie to believe that if he doesn't purchase, he may just loose the opportunity to buy.
The Proposal - The last technique used in this video is the proposal stage. While we don't actually see Ernie purchase his O, Lefty uses a couple proposal techniques that intrigue the buyer to buy. Here they are:
- It will cost you just a nickel - While a nickel certainly is a small number to us think of the audience Sesame Street caters towards. A nickel when you are a kid can actually be a shiny new coin that you may not want to part with. However, by creating a sense or urgency and discussing the compelling offers behind the many uses of an O, "just" a nickel makes this out to be a great sale. This is based on the theory "you get all of this for the price of just that."
- Buy the O and take it home tonight - In any sale you should be sure that you have a timeline planned out for service and/or product implementation. Be sure that whatever you are selling (whether it be an immediate purchase or longer term implementation) you properly outline the timeline for your prospect and walk them through this together.
We hope these small steps will help your sales techniques as you move into 2010.