Let’s settle this once and for all: Does the straight-line sales method work better than playing hard to get?
Once you become an entrepreneur, there are a few superpowers you “unlock” — well, if you so choose. One of those superpowers is to objectively observe and assess the marketing and sales skills and strategies that are working (or failing to work) all around — and even on — you. In this case, I was the (very cold) lead-turned-buyer, and it wasn’t until months after both purchases that I took the time to reflect on what tactics won me over (to the tune of 7+ figures) and why.
Looking back on these two sales experiences, I’ve come to realize the shockingly drastic differences in each salesperson’s approach. One used a strategy that can often repel on-the-fence buyers…though others swear up and down by this method, including the real Wolf of Wall Street himself. The other, however, used a very opposite approach that sits somewhere between reverse selling and playing “hard to get”. Either way, I plunked down 7+ figures both times, within a 30-day period, despite initially meeting each salesperson when I had little to no intent to buy.
This begs the question: Which strategy is better? Do they both work? Does it matter which you choose, when, and why? I’d argue reflecting on these two transactions has revealed the answers to all of those questions. Read on if you’d like to discern how best to turn cold leads into closed sales.
Hint: No, it isn’t a one-size-fits-all formula, but yes, there is a formula to determine which method works best (and more importantly, on whom).
“Come on guys…we’ve got a narrow window here for a unique opportunity. What are we waiting for?”
John smiled with gritted teeth, a thin veil of impatience ever so slightly detectable in his emphatic tone. My partner’s eyes darted from the hilltop cottage to the glistening ocean behind us, urging me to say “yes”. It looks like John’s aggressive* (*pushy) style of straight-line selling had worked seamlessly on him. Too bad he wasn’t the primary…
