What can we learn from Lance Armstrong?
A lot!
I’m amazed at how he thinks because he does an interview with Oprah Winfrey that we are to now forget about everything he did in the past. Sorry, but it’s not going to happen.
Here is my list of what we can learn with regards to sales from Lance Armstrong:
1. If the customer doesn’t believe you, then don’t expect them to buy what you’re selling.
2. Confidence is at the root of any relationship, including a selling/buying relationship.
3. One sales call is not going to be enough to close a complex sale.
Sorry, if what you’re selling is something complex, then don’t think you’re going to be able to make one sales call and close the sale.
4. Trust and confidence are at the core or every purchase.
If the customer doesn’t have trust and confidence in what you’re selling, then don’t expect to make a sale.
5. Customers will always do a background check on you and your company using Google and the web.
Why would Lance think that people would only listen to his interview and not read anything else about him on-line?
6. Don’t try and oversell your position.
Know what it is you want the customer to buy. Don’t expect the customer the buy everything you have to offer the first time you meet them. Lance Armstrong in his interview was trying to sell way too much from asking us to forgive him to allowing him to be able to race again and a whole lot more.
7. Customers want benefits, not features.
Lance tried to get us to believe his view but never once took the approach of trying to see things the way we, average people, see things.
8. Don’t cover up a bad product by only talking about the good product.
Customers can see through salespeople and when they fail to acknowledge the elephant in the room (i.e., the bad product), then their level of confidence is going to be diminished.
Copyright 2013, Mark Hunter “The Sales Hunter.” Sales Motivation Blog.
