Post on 01-Nov-2014
description
Sales Lessons from Boardwalk Empire
I was going to write about this in the “Lessons from the Idiot Box” section of next month’s double
issue of…
Sales Lessons from Boardwalk Empire
the Marketing Made Easy Newsletter, but I wanted to get this out there while it was still
fresh.
Sales Lessons from Boardwalk Empire
Anyway, it’s about a couple of sales lessons gleaned from HBO’s
Boardwalk Empire.
Sales Lessons from Boardwalk Empire
If you haven’t seen or heard of the show before, it takes place in the
1920s, during Prohibition…
Sales Lessons from Boardwalk Empire
And its main character is “Nucky” Thompson, former treasurer of
Atlantic City.
Sales Lessons from Boardwalk Empire
Last week there were a couple of scenes that had particularly strong
sales lessons in them.
Sales Lessons from Boardwalk Empire
Without further adieu, here’s a description…
Sales Lessons from Boardwalk Empire
The scene of these lessons takes place at the Union Club in New
York where Nucky meets Andrew Mellon, the Treasury Secretary of
the US.
Sales Lessons from Boardwalk Empire
Being in the presence of such an important man has Nucky off his
game a bit, acting nervously.
Sales Lessons from Boardwalk Empire
I won’t bore you with the details—or spoil the plot—but in the end
Nucky makes a “sales pitch” to Mellon, and asks for the order, so
to speak.
Sales Lessons from Boardwalk Empire
And then Nucky makes his second big mistake of the meeting.
Sales Lessons from Boardwalk Empire
After asking for the order, Nucky jumps the gun and asks Mellon—
who was deliberating on an answer, or possibly just stalling…
Sales Lessons from Boardwalk Empire
—if his silence is to be perceived as a “yes.”
Sales Lessons from Boardwalk Empire
And after another second of hesitation, Nucky asks if the silence signifies a “maybe.”
Sales Lessons from Boardwalk Empire
The first—Nucky’s acting nervously in the presence of
Mellon—is pretty easy to see as a mistake.
Sales Lessons from Boardwalk Empire
When you’re selling anything—and you are always selling—you want to deal from a position of
strength.
Sales Lessons from Boardwalk Empire
Acting nervously doesn’t bode well for that.
Sales Lessons from Boardwalk Empire
No matter who you are, or who you’re dealing with, you are
speaking to an equal.
Sales Lessons from Boardwalk Empire
I don’t care if you just graduated from shoe-shine school and you’re
talking to Bill Gates.
Sales Lessons from Boardwalk Empire
Be respectful, but act as if you’re your counterpart’s equal.
Sales Lessons from Boardwalk Empire
People buy certainty, and nervousness is its opposite.
Sales Lessons from Boardwalk Empire
The second mistake might not appear be as obvious a mistake if you haven’t sold face-to-face or
over the phone.
Sales Lessons from Boardwalk Empire
But in asking for the order and following up with “is it a yes?” or “is it a maybe?” Nucky broke the
first rule in sales…
Sales Lessons from Boardwalk Empire
He who speaks first loses.
Sales Lessons from Boardwalk Empire
Burn that one in your memory if you haven’t already. Make sure
your sales staff knows this, understands it…
Sales Lessons from Boardwalk Empire
And most importantly, follows this rule strictly.
Sales Lessons from Boardwalk Empire
He who speaks first loses.
Sales Lessons from Boardwalk Empire
When you (or your staff) lay your case out there for your prospect and you convincingly ask for the
order…
Sales Lessons from Boardwalk Empire
Say nothing until the prospect does.
Sales Lessons from Boardwalk Empire
No matter how long the pause, or how much you desperately want
to say something, say nothing.
Sales Lessons from Boardwalk Empire
If you do say anything, you will have surely lost the sale.
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