Be up front and honest with your sales pitch

"Never sell to a salesman!" So the saying goes ...and I'd add to that "...certainly not on the same day!"

The first attempt came through the letter box. One of those bells and whistles extravaganzas of direct mail from that well known subscription book.    I muttered something like "Blooming Rxxxxxx'x Dxxxxx!" and threw it back on the mat. But then I just had to open it up and view the contents  ...clearly  they had scored well on Attention and  Curiosity.  With so many goodies to investigate I felt immediately involved.  Clever display of the words "Time sensitive" ..."Official"  ..."Medically approved!" ..and "Free!" subliminally communicated  Limited availability ...Reassurance ... Reciprocity. They were getting through to me! Even an apparent handwritten letter from an ex-employee was thrown in to to press the Social Proof button. Yet despite more subliminal urging from the YES envelope ...the contents returned to the hall floor.

The second attempt came over the telephone. Friendly introduction of caller and company and successful attempts to pace me earnt them a point for Rapport. "We're carrying out a survey on media attitudes!" he said.  Yes I should have spotted the old "survey" line, but rapport was doing its stuff. And "media" triggered thoughts of recent correspondence with my MP about the News Corp and BSkyB merger ...so a simple Generalisation allowed me to misinterpret  what the caller meant.
When I subsequently found myself revealing my monthly spend on telephone and internet services the penny dropped. But a salesman has to encourage one of his own. And there was the question - do I lose face and admit I'd got it wrong when taking the call?  So I saw it out to the bitter end ...already thinking how I should reply when Sky or Virgin media inevitably call and tell me I had declared an interest in their services.
Such attempts to camouflage a pitch do of course ultimately back fire. Whether it's disappointment over raised expectations, irritation over timewasting, or annoyance at being mislead. Any of these reasons will prompt us to curtail the interview or cancel the order afterwards.
Which is why I've argued with sales colleagues over the years that upfront openness and honesty ...with its consequential state of trust and rapport is undoubtably the best policy.
It also corresponds with a life long belief that people prefer to buy ...not be sold to!
So whenever I get in front of a prospect I always start off with something like this:
"I believe what I have to talk about will certainly interest you ...but so that I can focus on the particular benefits that will be of interest ...would you mind if we first talk about  your needs."
I rarely encounter a prospect who doesn't respond well to this. I've certainly never met one who was happy to be duped into a sale!

 For more on tips persuasion visit http://persuadability.co.uk/