I LOVE BEETS

How is this title as an opening line for a sale? Imagine the look on your prospects face if you shook their hand, introduced yourself, and then looked them in the eye and said, “I LOVE BEETS”.

I can imagine one of two responses.

#1) The customer looking back at you and either telling you they also like beets or telling you how much they don’t like beets.

#2) The customer looks at you like you have two heads and thinks you’re nuts.

My gut feeling is most will fall under the #2 way of thinking.

What I have described isn’t at all exaggerated, I have been with reps that have used opening lines even more bazaar than “I LOVE BEETS”. I have heard lines that have left me speechless (and I don’t usually get speechless). I have heard a rep tell a customer that the picture of their wife on the desk was an awful shot and he hoped that the customer’s wife looked better in person. I once had a rep compliment a customer on build of the customer’s girl friend (who was standing right next to us as we were talking). I guess the best all time opening line was said to a customer in downtown Atlanta. The rep walked in and asked the customer who named the business. The customer told him his father named it over 50 years ago. The rep said, I kid you not, what a stupid name for a restaurant!

I have no idea what these reps were thinking at the time, or what possessed them to say things like this, but they were said. Now here is the amazing part, not one of these reps got shot, punched, kicked, or had the police called on them. As a matter of fact the rep who complimented the customer on his girlfriends build actually made the sale. However all these reps had me kicking them in the rear end when we were finished with the sales call.

The good news is that most reps don’t use stupid opening lines like this. Actually I have never seen a rep do it all the time. The bad news is most reps make mistakes like these every now and again. (Maybe not this bad, but most will come close)

How do you assure that you won’t make a mistake like this? Have your sales presentation down pat. Rehearse until you say the words without thought. When you get this good at it the words will sound natural and you will never tell a customer that you look great in a Speedo or their mullet haircut is outdated.

Lorin