I had a fun buying/selling experience that taught me something this week. I was buying some clothes at a store. The salesperson who was helping me was also the store manager and he was a pro. Knowledgeable, personable and engaging.
At one point I was trying to choose between two pairs of shoes and asked him which one he would pick. I knew that the answer would be . . . “take them both,” but here was his exact answer which I loved: “You should take them both . . . you DESERVE it!”
That is a GREAT line on several levels, but the most powerful one is the emotional connection to my ego. Subliminally, my ego is saying, “You are darn right I deserve them! I buy stuff for other people. Why not treat myself for once!” It is also a wonderful bit of phrasing which returns the power of the decision to the buyer. Finally, it endears the seller to the buyer. He is recognizing my value and supporting my position . . . he is allowing me to sell myself . . . the absolute best of all worlds.
After he delivered this line I laughed and told him that I conducted a lot of sales training and had not heard that particular phrase before and I really respected his creativity. He laughed and said that yes, he had picked it up in some of their training and had always had good results with it . . . sometimes it just generates a laugh, but of course, that too is a good outcome.
Great selling is in the details. Sometimes a little tip like this can go a long way.
