Like most people who sell, I’ve had some sales I’m pretty proud of, and a few that I’d rather forget. In this Pocket Sized Pep Talk, I’ll tell you a story about the one client that I was unable to close… and to this day, I still think I could have changed their rather public approach to selling!
Originally Published: January 18, 2023
Rob Jolles (00:00):
Like most people who sell, I’ve had some sales I’m pretty proud of and a few that I’d rather forget, but let’s have ourselves a pocket sized pep talk. I’ll tell you a story about the one client that I was unable to close and to this day I still think I could have changed their rather public approach to selling.
Introduction (00:24):
A pocket-sized pep talk, the podcast that can help energize your business and your life with a quick inspiring message. Now here’s your host, Rob Jolles.
Rob Jolles (00:36):
While working with Xerox, I became the go-to guy when it came to meeting with our more let’s say, eclectic clients. I was responsible for working with clients who wanted to understand the Xerox mythology of selling, and I wanted to integrate these concepts into their environments. Sometimes that meant meeting with conventional clients like Microsoft Black and Decker General Electric, and other times that meant meeting with clients like hostage negotiators, polygraph examiners, and some large churches. But my favorite client was qvc, not because of what I sold them, but because of what I tried to sell them. I never forgot that meeting. When I was told QVC was coming in, I had to prepare. The first step was figuring out what the heck QVC even was. Before you say Rob, you got to get out a little bit more. The year was 1989 and QVC was in its third year of operation.
(01:36)
I was told two things before the meeting. Firstly, QVC wanted to come in and have me work with their on-air personalities regarding their use of features and benefits when they sell, and secondly, I was told what channel it was on so I could watch a couple of shows. That night I went home and I caught Q VC’s version of a tool show. At that time, the host was selling electric circular saws. I heard many people call in and each call went pretty much like this. Hi, how are y’all? Great, Hank. I’m excited about purchasing this saw. Well, I’ll bet you are. You know, this saw comes with a safety slide and that means more protection for you. Yeah, I was looking for something like that. I can’t wait for my saw to arrive. I’ll bet you can’t. Thanks for calling. After listening to this call, the first question that came to my mind was this.
(02:34)
Who did this conversation appeal to? I suppose the call might appeal to anyone who was looking for a saw with a safety slide, but to me it meant nothing because I wasn’t looking for a saw. I couldn’t relate to the conversation. I could relate to the old dull and dangerous saw my dad had used when I was a kid. That thing had frightened me so much that I never even bought a saw. As an adult, I could relate to the experience I had when I was building my own kids’ Treehouse. I’d been using a hand saw to cut the dozens of pressure treated two by eight pieces of lumber. Not having an electric saw not only wore out my arm in a hurry, it extended the project from a day to a month. In other words, I could relate to the problem of not having a saw, not the need of looking for a new saw, and that’s when it hit me.
(03:35)
Q V C didn’t need a conversation about needs. They certainly didn’t need to learn the difference between a feature and a benefit. They needed to learn where the needs came from so they could talk about them effectively. They needed to learn that our problem shapes our need. They needed to learn that many more people would be interested in hearing about the problem that exists with those who didn’t have an electric saw or older or unsafe saws and how this new saw could solve many of these problems. They needed to learn that a conversation like this statistically would appeal to 10 times the number of people who were watching their show. I got up early, prepared my presentation, and gave it all I had. I laid back the conversation I had taped from my TV to the Q V C executives and then hit them with my own simulated call.
(04:34)
I had taped as well and went like this. Hi, how are ya? Great, Hank. I’m excited about purchasing this saw. Well, I’ll bet you are. Hey, what kind of saw are you using now? I’m using an old saw my dad gave me and how old is that saw? Gosh, I’m embarrassed to say, but maybe it’s about 20 years old. Wow. What kind of issues do you have about using a saw that’s that old? Well, quite frankly, I, I’m not sure how safe it is the saw kind of box every now and then. Well, with this saw and it’s patented safety blade, you won’t have to worry about that anymore. I can’t wait for my saw to arrive. I’ll bet you can, and thanks for calling. I showed them a conversation that would appeal to many more people who are struggling with making a change rather than the people who already had made this decision for change and were actually looking for a new saw.
(05:37)
When my presentation was over, I proudly turned to my client and said this, anyone can recite features and benefits. Wouldn’t you rather train your on-air personalities to have conversations like this? I’d like to say we are a little ahead of my time. Perhaps I hadn’t quite explained enough about the value to those watching at home. I’d like to think I was a little ahead of my time. Perhaps I hadn’t quite explained enough about the value to those watching at home of my suggestion on Air Q V C conversation. At any rate, I was greeted with a confused look and a question that still makes me cringe. The question the Q V C represented asked me was this, do you know of any other company who can teach on-air personalities how to incorporate features and benefits within their selling scenarios? Obviously, it was not the response I would had expected and I was just as stubborn as Q V C that one day because I could not in good conscience pivot and tell ’em what they were looking for was going to meet their needs. We shook hands and parted, and although there’s no arguing with the success of Q V C to this day, I think they can do more.
Outro (07:01):
Thanks so much for listening. If you enjoyed today’s show, please rate and recommend it on iTunes, outcasts, wherever you get your podcast. You can also get more information on this show and rob@jolles.com.