Southwestern Company Difference Blog
Hi there. I’m Lucy Morton-Hicks, the Communications Specialist for Southwestern Company. I’ve run my own business as an independent dealer the past three summers selling Southwestern Company’s educational products door-to-door in their summer program for college students. I’m also engaged in the training and mentorship of students from several Florida universities.
I graduated from Florida State University in May of 2008 with a degree in communications and have successfully run my own business working with families in and around Nashville, TN, Newark, OH and Granite Falls, NC. For the past two years, I have served as a mentor and leader to other students to help them also run a successful business and gain skills beyond the classroom to prepare them for life.
Too much pressure in a sales situation... not a good move.
In a new series of posts to this blog, I will answer common questions related to the purpose of this blog. Question: AT WHAT POINT DOES “PERSISTENCE” BECOME “PRESSURE?”
Answer: Good question. Prior to my future being shaped by running my own business selling products to families door-to-door, I had two experiences with door-to-door sales people.
While a sophomore in college, a young person selling magazines knocked on my apartment door. He gave me a pitch about how the more subscription he sold, the closer he would be to winning a cruise through his school. Feeling in a charitable mood, his insistence paid off and I bought one. Another time, a persistant young man was asking for donations in exchange for a magazine he wrote about his views on politics and religion. Again, I bought.
As I think back, and knowing what I know now from my training and experiences, I am amazed I bought. I also remember the pressure put on me by these individuals.
Any sales person worth their weight will have just enough persistence to be short of pushy. Once the line is crossed, the customer will feel pressured or forced to purchase. Rule #1: If the customer has to buy to get a salesperson to leave, the line has been crossed from persistence to pressure. This is not an effective or even moral way to sell your products or yourself door-to-door.
Over time, I have become comfortable with rejection, as it is not personal. I can hear it and still leave the customer (and myself) in a good mood. Whereas, one of the young men, in all his efforts to sell, made me feel guilty for not wanting to help him win his school trip. The only reason I really bought was because I was pressured to feel sorry for him. Rule #2: If the sales person uses a guilt trip to get you to buy, the line is crossed from persistence to pressure.
The magazine seller was relentless with his sales tactics and methods of persuasion (which I now believe the trip/cruise to be a pitch to get me to purchase). I can only imagine he seldom felt wholeheartedly good after those pressure sales. When I knock on a family’s door, my primary goal is to find out how the children in the household are doing academically and whether or not the products I sell will be of use to that particular family. More often than not, if the child is present, they personally see how and if the product would benefit them. When that is the case, I know I have helped a family - pressure-free. After the sale, I feel good about it. I feel good about myself and my level of persistence, but more importantly, the family feels good about their purchase. That fulfillment is something I feel can be missing when “persistence” becomes “pressure.”
______________
Lucy Morton-Hicks is the Communications Specialist for the Southwestern Company, the nation’s oldest direct selling company based in Nashville, Tennessee. She is an award-winning, top sales person and recruiter.
Good stuff, Lucy! Probably the other factor is pressure is in the eye of the beholder, which is to say that your propect brings an entire host of feelings, past experiences, and perceptions to the sales process. What’s “persistence” to one person is “pressure” to another.
Reply
Lucy- you bought the magazines from the guys because they must have had a persuasive “sales talk”. Being in sales, you should know that’s an important factor in buying or not buying from a sales person. I agree with Lee on “…’persistence’ to one person is ‘pressure’ to another.”
Reply
Good insight Lucy!
Reply
Thanks for the comments, guys! There is a fine line between persistence and pressure which is something that I, as well as other student managers and team builders stress in our training to first-year student dealers in our program. There sometimes will come a time in a sale when we all accept that someone is not going to buy our product. And that is OK. Next prospect!
Reply
Having sold books for 4 summers now, I’ve had a chance to interact with plenty of families and have been in thousands of ‘closing’ situations. I agree with Lucy that letting the customer buy, rather than being pushy to get the sale, leaves you feeling way better about your job. A salesperson knows when they are crossing the line and when it becomes more about them then the customer or prospect they are attempting to sell to. We have a chance to change the image of the typical “door-to-door” salesperson, and I feel the majority of us are working with that in mind. Keep it up!
Reply
Trey Campbell, APR Reply:
December 14th, 2009 at 11:15 am
I think this is a great topic that could definitley warrant a lot more discussion. One thing we work in during the training at Southwestern Company is that the students who sell our products must be service-minded. If a student has the right attitude and looks out for the customer’s best interest also, they are actually more successful than the salespeople who turn off prospects by being pusshy and applying too much pressure to purchase. Nice topic Lucy, I also look forward to your future posts!
Reply
Completely true. In my experience, I have found that what you have said goes a long way in sales as well as PR in a community. Good read.
Reply
Any advice for customers on how to deal with a salesperson that they personally feel is crossing the line?
Reply
Thanks for the read Lucy. I am looking forward to your series!
Reply
Julio’s asking a good question. I had a professional salesman tell me during a very bad day my second summer that I was “Trying too hard. Talking too fast, too eager. In this neighborhood, you need to slow down and realize you are not the decision-maker: the family is.” I promptly continued and sold nothing the rest of the day, but thought about what he had said, and the next morning took a different attitude and sold 7 customers before noon. If you are dealing with a salesperson who is crossing the line, I recommend starting gently (because we want to help people improve) by saying something like: “Let me interrupt – you are getting kind of pushy.” If they don’t take the hint, just stand, and say, “Thanks for your time; my answer is no.” With a BIG smile as you say it! Not rude, not mean, just direct. So, start with the hint, then get into it.
Reply
Lucy Morton-Hicks Reply:
January 8th, 2010 at 3:30 pm
Thanks for sharing your story, Dan. Sometimes I think we, as salespeople, need to be told that we are “trying to hard, too eager” etc. in order to get the hint. Sometimes it can be tough to take that type of criticism, but given in the correct manner can have a significant effect on that person’s sales and their confidence. Like you, Dan, I also got advice from customers throughout my summers which i always appreciated. I would hate to think that I was repeatedly upsetting or being too pushy with prospects without them saying anything. In the end, I would be making all the same mistakes!
Reply
I think a good way to look at how much of this is a factor are cancellation rates! If a good sale was made, the customer needed the product or service, and the choice to purchase was individually made- you should have low cancellations!
Reply
Lucy Morton-Hicks Reply:
January 8th, 2010 at 3:47 pm
Very true! Cancellation rates are a good way to determine how many customers just bought to buy compared to those who bought for the well delivered presentation and a quality product. Thanks for the post, Deanna!
Reply
I really enjoyed reading this blog and all the comments posted by everyone. Seeing all those replies made me think of how much I really do miss seeing you all! I think there is a fine line between persistence and pressure. After selling for 2 summers, I learned A LOT about what makes people tick when dealing with salespeople. And that is when a salesperson talks too much, too fast and pushes their product. One thing that is key to earning a prospects trust and confidence in the sale is asking thoughtful and meaningful “why” questions. It was after I learned the art of questioning that I felt customers were BUYING from me instead of me trying to sell them a product.
Reply
Trey Campbell, APR Reply:
January 5th, 2010 at 12:22 am
Joe – what you said is very insightful. When a prospect is asked the right questions, they see their need for the product. Fast talkers and pushy sales people can really create a distrustiner atmosphere and relationship – in which the sale is less likely to occur. Thanks for your comments and keep reading!
Reply
Lucy Morton-Hicks Reply:
January 8th, 2010 at 3:57 pm
Good to hear from you, Joe! Thank you for your comments. If I recall correctly, I believe it was you and I during our first summer that had problems with our speed talking! It is amazing what happened once I stopped talking and just began to LISTEN. And just before i began to speak again, I would stop, and then listen some more. The “why” questions really dig deeper into the true reason for a customers purchase. Once that is revealed it becomes very clear as to whether the customer really does or does not need the product. Hence, reducing cancellations! Keep commenting, Joe!
Reply