Selling Isn't Logical

Many salespeople take a "logical" approach to sales, thinking of themselves as engaged in forming a persuasive argument. You've probably experienced this many times: A salesperson presents you with an offer. You don't think you require the product or service. The salesperson sets out to convince you that you do with an apparently rational list of reasons.

And yet you still aren't interested. No matter how logical the salesperson's argument, you don't buy. Why is this? Are you irrational?

The salesperson thinks so. She says, incredulously, "How can you pass up this offer?" The offer might be quite good. You may even have a need for the product or service she's selling. ­But you still don't buy.

All of which leads to the logical question: Does logical argumentation work in sales?

Barriers to the Sale

One possible reason behind a customer's reluctance is skepticism. If it's really such a good deal, you may think, why is it being offered? In this case, the salesperson's enthusiasm can work directly against her, making you wonder what's really at stake. What is she not telling me? Am I being scammed? What's the catch?

Or maybe you never intended to buy. Either you're not in a buying frame-of-mind or you just don't want to buy anything from this person. No amount of rational argumentation is going to change your mind about those fundamental attitudes. In effect, you're in a different place than the salesperson. She is trying to convince you about the offer, and you're either concerned with something else entirely or with the salesperson herself!

The salesperson might attempt to address those concerns directly. "I can see you don't want to buy anything today," she says. "Am I right? Yes? Okay. What if I call later?" Again, you think, why is she so eager?

Or she might say, "I think you don't want to buy anything from me. Is that right? How can I convince you to trust me?" As we all know, nothing fuels distrust more than someone who claims to be trustworthy.

The Solution: Building Relationships

So what's the salesperson to do? She should take a step back and realize that a frontal assault, no matter how rational, isn't going to work. It's a truism that people hate to be sold but love to buy. Instead of eagerly telling you what you should do, she should instead focus on building a relationship of trust over several meetings. Instead of focusing on the particular product or service she's selling, she should instead work to demonstrate that she's smart, customer-oriented, interested in your business and dependable.

In a sense, this is more about increasing brand awareness than it is about selling anything in particular. It's about getting people to like doing business with you.