Not every sale is a good sale.
Some sales are worse than no sale. Bad sales lead to buyer mistrust and explain why buyers dodge calls from sales professionals. A bad sale can damage a company's brand. It can even cause a buyer to resist buying a similar service or product from anyone, even when they need that product!
Here's a classic example. This is a real story and, unfortunately, it's not an isolated example. At a recent conference of newspaper advertising executives, every head in the room emphatically nodded in agreement when I shared this example. In media advertising sales, this happens with alarming regularity.
While field coaching an advertising sales rep who calls exclusively on auto dealers, I was eager to see the seller's approach with a former advertiser who was described as being "right on the brink of coming back to us." The sales manager had done a good job, it seemed, of preparing the rep. They'd worked together on a customized product bundle that included mobile and print advertising. They'd role played responses to anticipated objections. They'd discussed what to do if the GM asked for a price concession. The seller was confident as we walked into that dealership.
As a field coach and researcher, I don't participate in sales calls. Sometimes, holding back is downright painful. This was one of those times.
Despite the seller's confidence and prep work, he lost control of the sales call less than two minutes into the meeting when the GM said "I know you need me more than I need you."
From there, the GM painted the bleak picture of this marketplace. One by one, auto dealers had abandoned the newspaper for "greener pastures" (his words, not mine!). Only three dealerships still placed regular advertising with this newspaper. This dealership, the largest in town, was the one others watched. If this GM returned to newspaper advertising, others would follow suit. So, in the mind of this GM, the newspaper company should pay him to place his ads in their products! (Yes, he actually said that.)
This wasn't one of the objections the seller and his sales manager had rehearsed.
I had to bite my tongue (remember, I'm contracted to conduct research and to observe and give feedback on what happens without my interference). The burning question I wanted to ask was this: "If those other pastures are greener, why did you take this meeting?" We knew, direct from the dealership's own sales manager, that market share had been lost to another dealership -- one that was advertising steadily with the newspaper.
The seller was flustered by the response. Worse yet, he was desperate to make a sale. You see, the message his manager inadvertently gave him was this: "Get that dealer back in the paper." The seller, addled by the GM's tactic, wasn't thinking clearly. He actually said "You're right. I should talk to my manager about that."
I didn't speak. But I'm no poker player, and I'm sure my expression was one of alarm. The seller noticed and regrouped. He hemmed and hawed while the GM stretched back and smirked. (If you've ever called on auto dealers, you know the look I'm talking about).
This is what the seller came up with next. He said "I know you're kind of kidding. I really need to take something back to my manager that won't get me fired. What will it take for you to place an ad with me?"
The GM was ready for this opening. He whipped out a sketch for a quarter page ad and declared the ridiculously low price he would pay for it.
The seller breathed an audible sigh of relief. Without hesitation, he agreed to the price and the one-time placement of this ad. He couldn't get out of there fast enough.
After the call, I asked him what he thought about how this had played out. He was celebrating a victory, patting himself on the back. He had, after all, achieved what he believed was the objective.
If merely getting this dealership back into the paper was the objective, it was the wrong one. You see, advertising doesn't work that way. Generally, a single ad is not effective. Frequency is what makes advertising work -- that's why you see the same ad over and over again.
By taking an ad and placing it just once, this seller did a disservice to himself, his customer and his company. He lost his credibility and future negotiating power with this GM. After this ad runs, the GM will have a legitimate objection that "the ad didn't work." He will be right, because single ads don't drive response. Campaigns do, but this seller didn't even open the conversation about how advertising really works. Ultimately, this objection will become "advertising in the newspaper doesn't work." That's simply not true when advertising is properly placed. But it is true when sellers behave badly and, out of desperation, accept single placements that are doomed to fail.
Are you celebrating hollow victories when you make sales out of desperation? The only sales you should celebrate are the ones that will truly deliver the results your clients are seeking. Anything less is a surefire way to destroy your own image and that of your company.
