Did you ever lie to a sales person? Think about your answer carefully.
\nOf course you did!
\nHow about the last time a carpet cleaning salesperson phoned you at home? Didn’t you say something like, “Sorry, someone just cleaned my carpets last week.”\u00a0 It wasn’t true, but you politely dismissed the sales person’s pitch.
\nWhen an insurance agent\u00a0 cornered you,\u00a0 have\u00a0 you never\u00a0 said,\u00a0 “I just\u00a0 renewed my insurance last night, but\u00a0 you can call me next year”?\u00a0 Or, how about telling a salesperson on a car lot,\u00a0 ..Just looking”.
\nYou lied!\u00a0 But that’s really not such a bad lie, if you understand the motivation.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 It’s called, “reciprocal empathy” or the fear of rejection.
\nEveryone fears rejection, and you, as a salesperson, understand rejection like no one else. You are basically a decent person, and because you have empathy, you do not want to outright “reject” the carpet cleaning solicitor or the insurance salesperson.\u00a0\u00a0 Instead, you would rather tell little white lies to get rid of them, gently.\u00a0 When the clerk asks, “May I help you?” your immediate response is, “Just looking,” even though you went there to buy.
\nYour clients are no different. They lie to sales reps every day.\u00a0 I mean that in the nicest possible way. They don’t want you to feel rejected, so they have perfected the three biggest lies which always work. When I say, “work,” I mean these lies get rid of 90 percent of advertising salespeople without making them feel personally rejected.
\nThe three biggest lies told to advertising salespeople are:
\n1.\u00a0 Business is too good. I couldn’t handle any more.
\n2.\u00a0 Business is too bad. I can’t afford to advertise.
\n3.\u00a0 My budget is all gone, or, my plan for the year is complete.
\nThese “lies” are not a rejection of you or your company. They haven’t said “You’re too expensive” or, “You have the wrong audience”.\u00a0\u00a0 Instead, they have internalized the rejection, putting the blame for not buying, on themselves. These lies work because you still feel good and you don’t have to defend yourself or your company.
\nI submit to you that these are ALWAYS lies, however. Everyone in business wants more business. And, if they believe you can help them get it, they will add to their capacity, change their media plans or even borrow more advertising dollars from their own mothers. Always.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Did you ever lie to a sales person? Think about your answer carefully. Of course you did! How about the last time a carpet cleaning salesperson phoned you at home? Didn’t you say something like, “Sorry, someone just cleaned my carpets last week.”\u00a0 It wasn’t true, but you politely dismissed the sales person’s pitch. When […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-617","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n