HTSS149 - Why you need tension in sales calls - Scott Sylvan Bell

Why you need tension in your sales process 

You don't always have to be polite in sales. In fact, you can loose deals by being too agreeable with your buyers and or clients. Social conditioning can hurts and help salespeople. By being "too nice" you can be walked all over. Be acting like a jerk you can go too far. There is a sweet spot when you have tension with your potential client or client. Tension can actually help keep attention in the sales process.

Rapport can actually hurt sales 

You may be trying too hard with rapport and losing deals because of it. Being too nice without pushing back can prove that you will not stand up for the buyer or the client when they need it.  You could be trying too hard and it can come across as desperate. 

Sales actions can feel like flirting

Social interactions like flirting rely on good and bad tension. The conversation, the timing, and your responses can feel like fun with a twist. You can take a look at these 4 books as a way to gain insights into adding pressure and tension into your sales process:

• The Game – Mystery
• Pitch anything – Oren Klaff
• Never Split the Difference – Chris Voss
• Get inside her - Marni Kinrys

You can always go to a bar and watch the tension between people picking up on each other as a way to model your process. The best way to do this to make sure you are sober. Grab a glass of seltzer water or even a cranberry juice and discover how flirting and tension can help your sales. 

You can watch movies to model tension

Look at any good movie with 2 people who don't get along in the beginning. Bad Boys with Will Smith and Martin Lawrence is the perfect example. The Avengers Movies are about tension as well. Take some time and learn as much as you can about tension and resolution. You will find that tension keeps the appointment interesting and your buyer engaged. 

Rapport can feel manipulative 

If you use a ton of rapport in sales it can make the buyer resent you and cause them to not feel like you are genuine. Your buyers can feel like you are taking advantage of them emotionally. There is a natural amount of tension in all relationships. Rapport plus good tension can allow you to say what needs to be addressed. Being too nice can be seen as supplicant behavior. 

When you look at this combination of actions you can actually lose deals. 

• Overboard rapport (finally leads to fear of rejection)
• Fear of rejection
• Polite – Money

The problem with sales trainers 

Some sales trainers and gooroos will say to always get agreement. When you always agree with a buyer you can be seen as spineless. Disagreement can be as powerful as a well-placed "no" in your interactions.  Its ok if the buyer doesn’t like you in the beginning, the middle or the end. You can still close a deal without the “Likability” factor. It just takes more work.

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