Customers detest high-pressure salespeople. In part one, we discussed how pressure selling intensifies the customer’s resistance to buy. The win-lose philosophy of manipulating the buyer to do something she or he probably would not do without some type of deception or trickery has created an image problem that we must shake. In its place, we need to listen with understanding and not force our selling agenda onto the customer merely to fit the sequences of a selling process. Win-lose has become lose-lose. Rather than closing skills, salespeople need to acquire relationship skills.
We’ve all seen such tricksters. Instead of acting like one human being speaking to another about things both of us care about, they create an obnoxious and stereotypical image that push customers to the door. Here are some selling philosophies and behaviors that can backfire on a salesperson.