Does the hard sell work?

I declare right up front that I am not, and never have been, a fan of the hard sell.  You have probably guessed that from all my previous posts. 

And if you ask most people about what they think about the profession of selling, they will often describe something akin to the “hard sell”.   Of late I have also noticed a rise in “hard sell” stories where people are being unnecessarily pressured to buy, or sales people pressured to sell at almost any cost.

The hard times may be pushing some people to do things they wouldn’t normally do, like the “hard sell”. 

The hard sell can also be described as:

• Boiler room techniques.
• High pressure selling.

To put it into perspective, the hard sell is not a common sales strategy employed by many businesses today, and for most people it is not their preferred way of selling or buying.  Most people revile from being asked to sell in this way.  And I would question whether it is deemed “selling” at all or just a form of bullying or intimidation.

Given the escalation I have seen in hard sell stories, this prompted me to have a further look at what the hard sell is and if it has any legitimate place in our world of business and selling today.  Here is some of what I found.

Hard sell: (definitions from www.businessdictionary.com)

Applying psychological pressure (by appealing to someone’s fears, greed, or vanity) to persuade the prospect to make a quick purchase decision. This approach is justified on the ground that most people are lazy and will postpone making a decision-even if it were in their best interest to make the commitment. This practice is, however, reviled when its sole purpose is the salesperson’s gain at the customer’s detriment. Also called high pressure selling.

I think the last sentence in this definition is key here. I highlighted this in I’m worried about dodgy sales tactics.   If a person is willing to be convinced and happy to take part in the process fine.  However, many people who may not know what they are getting themselves into or may feel intimidated and do not know how to say ‘No’ may be caught up in the moment and buy something they do not want or need. For example if we look at the following technique you can see what I mean. 

Boiler room techniques

Outfit where salespeople use hard-selling (often dishonest) techniques to peddle (often fraudulent) offers to unsuspecting prospects (referred to as suckers) over the phone or face to face.

These techniques have often been attributed to insurance or car sales industries, that is used car salesman, or extremely aggressive behavior by an insurance agent to convince a prospect to purchase the insurance product without due regard for the prospect’s ability to pay the premiums and/or needs for the product.

Just think of the sub-prime market in the US and you know what I mean.

Let it be said however that I am not proposing that all sales people in insurance or car sales are selling this way.  In fact more and more businesses in these industries are consciously training their people in more sustainable and honest selling practices.   See A car sales story with a difference

Some industries like time share and certain personal development courses still mainly employ hard sell tactics, bringing people in for 90 minutes pitch fests coupled with a lunch or some small incentive.  Prospects are often pressured to sign up before they leave and can be intimidated to do so as described above.    

I have had experience of this myself some years ago, and my advice is this – walk away and think about it before you buy, unless you are really certain and have done your homework. 

If the salesperson says you can’t walk away and think about it outside of the venue or call them the next day, then in my opinion it’s likely to be dodgy.   

A colleague described one such situation happening to her earlier this year.  The salesperson in question was charming and positive to my colleague up until she said that she needed to think about it and would get back to him.  He tried to convince her to part with $1000 upfront but she would not do it. 

It has to be said that my colleague had nothing against time share; she just didn’t want to be pressured to part with her money just yet.  When she did not cave in to his demands and asserted herself, the salesperson’s attitude turned from one of charm and positivity to disdain and frustration in a split second.

By contrast, the term soft selling is used to describe the opposite of the hard sell and is often defined as:

Sales philosophy oriented toward identifying the customer’s expressed and tacit needs and wants, through probing questions and careful listening. It contrasts with hard selling which promotes application of psychological pressure to generate a relatively quick sale.

I prefer to call soft selling “consultative”, “diagnostic” or “solution” selling.  Soft implies weak and insipid to me.  Those people who engage in healthy, trust-based, transparent  Consultative/diagnostic/solution selling is assertive-positive, and very helpful to customers, and understand that not everyone is in a position to buy now.  By treating people with respect and working in partnership with them then you set yourself up for a better future.

One of my clients said just that the other day.  They employ a consultative sales approach and have found it to be far more sustainable and professional.  He said it really cements them as a preferred supplier or partner, especially up against competitors who employ hard sell or price-gouging tactics. 

He should know because his business is a much smaller player at present up against much bigger businesses with a much larger sales forces. He said his sales people are well respected, well regarded, and are making good sales despite the competitions’ tactics.   He has held firm and not resorted to the hard sell, and it is paying off in more ways than one.

I understand it is tough out there for many businesses, but desperate times do not call for desperate sales measures. (Don’t get spooked.)

While the hard sell has always been around and is likely to be around for some time in the future, I would encourage you stay true to what you know is right. 

Sue Barrett is founder and managing director of BARRETT, a boutique consultancy firm. Sue is an experienced consultant, public speaker, coach and facilitator. Sue and her team are best known for their work in creating high performing people and teams. Key to their success is working with the whole person and integrating emotional intelligence, skill, knowledge, behaviour, process and strategy via effective training and coaching programs. Click here to find out more

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