If ever there was a great example of how to close a deal on the phone, it must be Chris Varick, Vin Diesel’s character in the movie “Boiler Room”. The particular scene I am thinking of shows Varick coaching his sales team on how to sell options to an unsuspecting doctor using every 'schmooze' closing technique in the book. It truly is a master class in closing and his “students” are left completely overwhelmed at his powers of persuasion.  Of course, the only problem is that (without completely spoiling the movie if you havent seen it) the company is a scam, the products don’t actually exist, and any clients who are suckered in are eventually left high and dry.

If this kind of selling was restricted to the big screen, we could all watch and laugh. The reality is that when I ask sales audience for their reaction to the scene, the majority are quick to point out how “taken in” they felt by the approach. Many reflect on how familiar the scene seems compared to what they are often required to do in reality.

Unscrupulous sales trainers and sales managers must take some of the blame for tarnishing the image of what I believe is a profession. Selling can, and should, be taken seriously. Much of 21^st century sales training tends to be characterized by manipulative, coercive techniques that are not based on any desire to build rapport. The focus of the sales manager tends to be on ensuring that the team achieves target, no matter what. The focus of the salesperson is on the order, and the focus for the customer is on getting out of there as quickly as possible.

I have been conducting sales training programmes since 1995 and I have consciously sought to distance myself from “Boiler Room” type sales training. As an international sales expert, my team and I have made an explicit decision to refuse be part of reinforcing this repetitive cycle of mistrust, pressure selling, and manipulation. If you talk to the serious students of professional selling, they will tell you that if you don’t build rapport and qualify the client, you don’t have the makings of a relationship, and you certainly don’t have a sale.

In our company, we made a conscious decision that we would not do public seminars and throw our doors open to just anyone who wants sales and negotiation training, Instead, we prefer to work alongside management, understand the key objectives of the business, and work to develop a range of sale competencies that are designed to clearly support the company’s value proposition. This is the kind of sale training that sells. If you’d like more proof, then feel free to give me a shout and I would love to discuss how we can help your sales team improve on prospecting and lead generation, building rapport, effectively qualifying the client, and gaining commitment rather than just closing the deal. We have a track record of satisifed clients who would be happy to testify to that (without having to go in a Boiler Room!) We are based in Johannesburg, South Africa, but travel the world offering keynotes, workshops, and seminars on an in-house company basis on principled negotiation, professional selling skills, and effective customer relationship management.

andyb@andrewbrough.com