The Line That Trips Everyone Up
“Sell me this pen.”
You’ve no doubt heard, or heard of, this infamous line made famous by Mr. Wolf of Wall Street himself, Jordan Belford.
Nearly everyone we see being put on the spot tends to struggle with this question. I can also attest to having used variations of this when interviewing potential salespeople such as “Sell me this bottle of water” and this is not just something they choose to show us in the videos, I have yet to see someone convince me to buy the bottle of water or the pen for that matter!
So what is it about this line that causes people to stumble?
Well… despite how simple the question may seem, it’s actually quite complex. In this article I am going to break down the question and simplify its complexity, while showing you what someone is really looking for when asking these types of questions so you can go to one of Belford’s seminars and take over as the new Wolf of Wall Street!
At the end of this article I will show you how to sell a pen to anyone, and of course make sure you will be able to do it too.
Why Features Fall Flat
When people hear “Sell me this pen” what tends to happen is an immediate laser focus on the pen. Within seconds the seller stutters out a few things like “It writes smoother and handles better than any other pen!” or “Look at this beautiful colour!”
Now this is all well and good, but you are so focused on pointing out the features of the pen (the what) that you forget to focus on the actual perceived value of the person you are selling to (the why).
This is also as good a time as any to say that you can no doubt be a decent salesperson by knowing the product inside out and focusing on it, but you are entirely tied to customers coming to you with a pre-existing motivation to buy. For example if you work in a retail store where someone comes to your store because they have already decided they are interested in something.
This article and subsequent articles are here to take you from good to great by applying some simple techniques and ways of thinking that sharpens your focus in on the person buying, rather than the product you are selling. You want to be able to make someone see value, even in products they may not have seen the value in before (without selling anyone snake oil!).
Right, back to the topic at hand.
So how do you take it from the what to the why?
Selling the Buyer, Not the Pen
The absolute first thing you need to get comfortable with is that other people have different perceptions of value than what you do. Even if you have the exact same knowledge about a product or service, others’ interpretations may not lead to the same conclusion when it comes to assigning value. They may weigh things very differently.
In my last article, “Selling Anything to Anyone,” I spoke about the concept of value vs perceived value and no brainers. As I said there, you will often see people get frustrated when you don’t seem to see the same value in something as they do. Especially if that someone has built something that you don’t see the value of.
Just look at Shark Tank, innovators can become downright angry if the sharks rip apart something they have spent years of blood, sweat and tears building.
This all comes down to a lack of understanding of Perceived Value (and a bit of showmanship). There is a lack of understanding of the concept that to make other people place the same value on something as you, you align your selling points with where they place the most weight.
You have to find out what makes them tick, so to speak.
If you are selling a complex product, you are likely to have multiple discussions with a potential buyer to uncover exactly where their pain points are, which we’ll discuss in more detail in later articles. However, if you are selling a product like a pen, which is virtually impossible NOT to have access to, unless you are sitting naked in the desert which an immediate need to sign a contract, the product itself is essentially irrelevant.
In this case, the entire focus needs to be on the buyer and if you don’t necessarily know what they perceive as value, there are a few weapons I am going to put in your arsenal.
You see, there is no rule without exception, but overall there are some universal applications of value we all tend to fall for. Examples are if you can get through to someone’s feeling of self-worth, emotions, identity or even legacy.
Crafting the Right Narrative
Let’s get back to our pen.
Instead of talking about the lovely colouring, imagine instead if I open with:
“You’re building an exciting, growing business. As you gain more traction and contracts get bigger, the last thing you want to do is walk into the room to sign a million-dollar contract with a buyer while pulling up a generic BIC pen from your inner pocket.”
With this kind of opening, you have now set the scene and got someone thinking that actually, what you are saying makes sense.
“As your wins get bigger, you deserve to execute the final signature with something representative of your victory”
Also notice I use “you” often to reinforce the buyer thinking about themselves in the scenario, whereas if I said “the victory” it’s slightly more disconnected. Little things like this become important, but more on that later down the line.
The scene has now been set for you to actually pitch the product and take it home. Now there are a million ways you can get to that point, but all in all we have now successfully built a narrative around the why rather than the what by focusing on the buyers motivation (self-worth and success) rather than the features of the pen.
Don’t Stumble at the Finish Line
In my next article I will fill in the gap of how to go about finding perceived value as there are plenty of traps to fall into that you may not be able to get back from. For example, if you ask a potential pen-buying customer:
“What do you usually use to sign contracts?”
You are likely to lose them quickly, because even though your motive may have been for someone to say a pen of cheap make, nearly everyone will just reply “Pen” while giving you a funny look and you now have to reshape your entire narrative.
Stay tuned for the next one and let us know if you have specific examples or scenarios you would like us to break down for you.