Sales as Performance Art.
H/T @sailormac. His list on Sales questions sparked this Idea List.
1. You always have an audience.
Usually it is your customer. Sometimes it is your boss. Rarely it can even be your peers.
2. There are many mediums available.
The way your Sales are accomplished may even be greater than the mediums that Art can be performed through.
3. You are always telling a story.
4. You always have an ending or closing you are working towards.
5. You want your audience to stay until the end.
6. Your audience needs to be reminded (often more than once) that payment for the performance is expected and appreciated.
Don't wait until the very end to pass the hat or ask for the sale. Tell your customers and your audience right up front that their time is valuable and so is yours. Find a simply but humorous way to explain that you will be expecting them to open their wallets at the end. Repeat during the pitch. And make your Closing as strong as possible.
7. Make sure your customers are still with you.
Periodically ask a question or in some other way elicit a response from your audience. This ensures that they are still interested in your performance.
8. Always leave a carrot.
This is very important if you weren't able to close the sale. And even MORE important if you did. You always leave your audience wanting to see what else you have to offer.
9. Rehearse.
Practice your lines. Run through your demonstration. Know what props you will need.
10. That's Showbiz, Kid.
You won't make every sale. Every performance won't be your best. Some days you will question why you ever got into this racket. But there will be good days too. The customer isn't deciding if to buy, but how many to buy. Nobody was rude or mean. Prospects are calling you and asking for product. You finish your pitch flawlessly and the orders flow in. Your manager wants YOU to premiere the new line. And when you are a Sales Performer, these are your best days. Now on with the Show!
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