67
CHAPTER 6
VERY INTERESTED
In which we gather the vital information that
gives us power
I
n the past, salespeople were terrified that they would waste
a valuable presentation and therefore a lot of time on
someone who would not – or even worse – could not give
them a positive buying decision. They were both right and
wrong about this. The tough sales manager would become
apoplectic if he felt that one of his team had failed to speak
to the ‘decision maker’ or because the hapless salesperson
had failed to, ‘Qualify’ the ‘Prospect’. So let’s have a look at
what’s right before we get on to the next bit.
We have two big faults of human nature here, one on our
side and one on the other person’s side, but in a way it is
driven by the same touch of paranoia. This is the desire to
retain status, be loved and respected, while at the same time
avoiding a fight, confrontation, or any other kind of similar
unpleasantness. What that sales manager realized is that it
is very easy to give a good, comfortable sales presentation
to a cheery liar, who has no intention or means to buy. It
might feel safer to come away with a promise of nothing, a
smile and a warm handshake, rather than have an uncom-
fortable discussion with the subject where you learn about
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all of the flaws in your proposition. We are literally trained
from birth, when we receive a smack on the chubby little
hand that has reached out for the gas stove, to fear the word
“No” and we will do anything to avoid it – even if it means
being misled. The real persuader has to have the courage
to mine down deep to get to the sometimes uncomfortable
truth – which may even mean you have been talking to the
wrong person.
V.Int
There is a phrase that I may repeat in this book that I
never ever want you to use ever again and that is ‘VERY
INTERESTED!’ No one is ever ‘very interested’. If you are
a buyer, never torment a salesperson with it and if you are a
seller never put it in a progress report – or worse, the short-
ened, jaunty ‘V.INT’ because they aren’t. Take my word for
it. It’s uncomfortableness time again but it has to be done.
Persuasion, by definition, is a confrontational art, the skill
is to not make it appear so, but it is. Someone will believe
one thing and when you have finished they will believe
another. What they end up believing is what you have
chosen for them to believe, and if you don’t think that is a
recipe for a bit of a dust up, it might be time to think again.
First you need to find out what they believe. If it is entirely
in line with what you want them to believe then there is no
persuading to do.
Scene: The Greengrocer
“Do you have bananas?”
“Would you like some bananas?”
“Yes, I love bananas!”
“I have these bananas”
“They look good bananas. How much are they?”
“A pound a bunch!”
“Then I will take three bunches, please.”
No persuasion there then. The minute the greengro-
cer asks, “What else can I get you?”, the persuading from
“Just bananas” can start. The problem is that people lie to
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avoid the problem of pre-persuasion confrontation and the
persuader plays along because they want to avoid confron-
tation too.
The Time-Waster’s Guide
One boring Sunday afternoon, you and your partner decide
to while away a pleasant hour or two looking at those new
super executive homes that they are building in the next
town, complete with indoor pool and pony paddock. You
stroll into the show home and out leaps the salesperson,
uniformed, obsequious and fragrant. You will be treated to
an orgy of politeness, attention, and respect; after all you are
going to be spending a few million, aren’t you? “The light
switches are, of course, solid gold!”
“Very nice!” you murmur. “Who would want less.”
“I’m sure you’ll agree that the chauffeur’s flat is as
comfortable and spacious as the average family home.”
“Well, you do have to keep the staff happy,” you agree
eagerly. I bet that person suspects you are just wasting time
but in truth is unlikely to grab you by the throat, pin you to
the wall, and say, “Listen, you time-wasting pillock, I think
you are skint! Show me the money or get orf the site!” On
the other side, we tend to get a bit twitchy about saying, “I
could never afford a place like this but can I have a look
around,” because you may well be shown round but you
won’t get the champagne flute, or the nibbles, and the sales-
person will probably polish every surface you dare to touch!
But how did you behave when you did buy your house?
“Of course, the views are nice.”
You reply, “The gas works rather spoil it.”
“But it’s well priced.”
You reply, “It’s far more than I wanted to spend.”
The point is, you tend to be a lot more negative on occa-
sions when you do buy than on occasions when you don’t
buy. Why would you bother to go to the trouble of upset-
ting somebody that you have no intention of buying from,
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but when it comes to spending your money, manners come
a very poor second best?
Nice People Don’t Buy
Why are you being so horrid? It is because you want to
buy. The experienced salesperson can see that as part of the
qualification process. What we need are some qualifying
questions. Classically they would be things about budget,
position, and urgency to buy. The problem is that it is easy
to get into this lying conspiracy again.
“Well, shall we reserve this plot for you today?”
“I’m sure there will be no problem. We love this place but
we just have to go and measure the pony so we’ll probably
pop back later to tie things up!”
Both parties here have emotionally escaped. We have
escaped with our pride and a pocket full of nibbles; they get
relief from the boredom of the Sunday shift and a ‘V.Int’ in
the report sheet. The best questions to ask at this point are
indirect ones.
“Can I get you a drink? What is your favourite wine?”
If the reply is “Cider”, don’t dismiss it but store it in your
box of clues.
“How many children do you have? How nice! Where do
they go to school?” Bash Street or Eton – in the clue box.
By asking people indirect questions, you will get them
to inadvertently reveal much more than they would have
done by direct questioning which could alert them to your
motives.
You Can’t Judge a Book by Looking
at Its Cover
Be careful, you can make dreadful mistakes. There are always
stories of mad millionaires who arrive with £20 notes in
a dirty shoebox, but generally where the prospective buyer
lives, where they work, what position they hold, what makes
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them choose to view your product should all go in the clue
box. Treat them well, but when the clues add up don’t write
‘V.Int’ because you are only fooling yourself. The motor
trade calls these people tyre kickers or time wasters.
The Chimp and The Mercedes
Let me tell you a little story. When I was a youth, you
could describe me as a chimp-like, biker type of teenager.
I had a large, elderly, but very powerful motorcycle which,
due to its age, had become incontinent and left little pools
of oil everywhere. Our local Mercedes garage was famous
for two things, its elegance and the world’s toughest and
most successful salesman – a person to be feared. A new
Mercedes had just been launched at a lavish event. As a
lover of all things mechanical I had to see this car so, as the
local dignitaries enjoyed their chamber orchestra and cana-
pes, I pressed my oily face against the window as a grow-
ing pool appeared under my bike. This notorious salesman
saw me and came storming out. “What are you doing here?”
“Came to see the car,” was my reply. “You going to buy one,
then, lad?” he said with a leer. “Could never afford one, I’m
broke,” I replied defiantly as I turned to leave.
“You will one day, boy. Here, take the keys of one and
enjoy it for an hour or two, and I’ll get one of the engineers
to have a look at your bike while you’re doing it.”
Can you imagine how I felt – a kid of eighteen cruis-
ing round my hometown streets in a beautiful brand new
Merc!
Over ten years later, I was in the same dealership order-
ing my first new Mercedes from this very salesman. All he
said was, “I knew you’d be back!”
I think that was the first time anyone had shown any
belief in my ability to achieve anything. Maybe, and only
maybe, it was that little bit of belief that gave me the impe-
tus to achieve Mercedes-owning earnings? You never know,
but what was for sure was that the guy had realized that
after qualifying you should never dismiss anyone as useless.
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