HTSS72 - How to use humor in sales to close deals - Scott Sylvan Bell

How to use humor in sales to close deals 

As a salesperson you can use humor to help close deals. When you think through the common actions people have most people joke when they have nervous energy.  There is a time and place for humor in a sales presentation and when closing sales.

One of the reasons people like humor in a sales presentation is your buyer may be stressed out. Getting a laugh in is a way to alleviate some of the problems. This does not fix all of the problems but I t is a covert way to build rapport. The feeling of likeness can be developed over a few one liners or jokes.   

The case of the one dimensional salesperson:

You have met the guy or the girl who has one go to conversation and nothing else. This one good conversation does not feel comfortable after time and it actually gets annoying. Having and goo developed sense of humor shows you are not one dimensional.

Reduce the hatred for salespeople

Most people have a bad idea about salespeople that they will be high pressure, that they will be the stereotypical always be closing style or person. One of the ways to get past this is to be a real person in the discovery phase and the presentation. One clue here is that people want to be entertained. If you believe that it isn’t a sales call it is a performance this goes into the conversation.

Humor is contagious and it gets people going. One cool element of humor is that laughing seems to speed up time at the same time of relaxing people.

You can go too far with humor in sales

If you are going to develop humor in your sales presentation you do have to work on this skill the right way. Know the people you are with and know your boundaries. Most salespeople go one step too far and tell one too many jokes as they build their funny momentum.

Things you can do to get better at humor

You can get better with humor and just like any other skill this does take time, energy and effort to make happen. You do not acquire this skill overnight and crush it. Here are a few ways that you can learn and develop your ability to be funny:

• Go watch stand up live, you can do video. Live is better because you can see how a crowd can be influenced
• Take improv classes to get timing and milking the crowd
• Try stand up on your own. You don’t have to be good from the beginning.
• Associate with funny people and see what they do
• Start with one liners or zingers – know you can only use so many of these.
• Move up to kid jokes or dad jokes

The dangers of using humor in sales

Using humor in sales can go too far and you can lose deals instead of closing them. You must know when to turn it off. You can turn in to a one person comedy show instead of a sales presentation.  

You will find that sometimes the buyer will try to take over funny and sometimes you let them do just that. The sales presentation may dive into a humor competition between you and the potential client.  

The biggest hidden danger is not being yourself in a sales presentation. You cant be Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde when it comes to the sales presentation. If you go from a fun lovable person in the sales call to an animal in the closing process you will have problems. You do have to find a way to be yourself and not go too far.

Last list of dangers when developing humor in sales: 

There are some topics to be aware of that can get you in real trouble when it comes to humor and sales. Even if you have the same affiliations as some people there is a point where you will not agree. When you are in sales calls you can get too comfortable and lose the person you are with. Here are a few ideas of topics that can get you into real trouble:

• Politics
• Religion
• Socially charged conversations

When used right humor can help you build rapport, reduce anxiety in the buyer as well as close deals. You just have to take the time to develop your skills and talents when it comes to making people laugh.

Scott Sylvan Bell

@Scottsbell

#sales #closer #success #humor #podcast #Howtsellshow #Sacramento

This episode was recorded in Sacramento California