Sales Training As You Know It Is Dead

I got an interesting question from sales trainer Otis Hackett who was reading our website and asked in effect if “ethically influencing behavior” was something left over from an older age of sales training where people tried to “catch or trick” people into agreeing to buy something.

And, it is truly a good question but the answer is NO!

There is a subtle yet enormous difference between influence and manipulation. The biggest difference is how the client feels at the end of the transaction. A manipulated customer feels beaten, overwhelmed and pressured. An influenced client is one who feels knowledgeable, compelled, desirous and willing. They also are the ones who create word of mouth marketing for our businesses.

Old style sales training is dead. Today’s power players in the selling arena know that Principles of Human Influence™ are the backbone of a powerful selling engagement. There is simply too much choice and too much information available for clients to be pressured by bombastic presentations that have little content or relevancy. And relevancy is the word of the day when it comes to creating desire and trust.

Thanks for the question Otis and thanks for reading!