How the Salesman Appeals to the Prospect's Sense of Pride

By Gloria Whitehorn

A person's pride can dictate their motives for almost everything they do. Pride

can keep them from doing a thing just as easily as it motivates them to do it.

Pride in a schoolyard may make a child fight for their honor. Another child

who has been taught fighting is not the answer in settling a dispute, and

that it takes a man to walk away from a fight, may be lead by his pride to tell

his opponent they're too proud to fight. The child's reputation remains intact

and the other person is left looking like a fool.

When we speak of someone as having no pride in themselves, we may think

of them as being slovenly, lazy or disrespectful of themselves and others.

But how this relates to salesmanship takes on a whole new meaning.

Let's say Mr. Jones is a shop owner who is proud of the fact that he only

sells quality merchandise. So when approaching Mr. Jones the salesman

would need to offer a service, or product that is top quality. Mr. Jones

wouldn't settle for anything less. After all, Mr. Jones' reputation is at stake.

By offering Mr. Jones an inferior product, or service, the salesman would not

be appealing to Mr. Jones' sense of pride.

After selling Mr. Jones the product, the salesman approaches Mr. Brown

who lives in the same community. Mr. Brown is new to business and hasn't

built up a good business reputation like Mr. Jones.

The salesman offers Mr. Brown the same gizmo he just sold to Mr. Jones.

And he appeals to Mr. Brown's sense of pride by telling him Mr. Jones just

bought a large order of these gizmos from them. The salesperson will no doubt

make that sale too. Why? Because Mr. Brown realizes Mr. Jones is his

competitor. And Mr. Jones has a fine reputation in the community for selling

quality merchandise. Mr. Brown's sense of pride insists upon him building up

a good business reputation in the community too. What better way to do that

than to sell the same merchandise as his competitor?

A salesman approaches a housewife and tries to sell her a product. She is

hesitant at first, then the salesman tells her the president of the town's

women's social club just made a purchase. To protect her reputation and

standing in the social club, the housewife gives the salesman an order. Her

sense of pride commanded it.

In another instance, let's say a salesman has sold a product to several

women in the community. He knows Mrs. Smith is the chairman of the

women's auxiliary and several other organizations, so he calls on her next.

She is not too sold on the product and tells the salesman she thinks he's

going to have a hard time selling that particular product to the women of that

town. To burst her bubble, the salesman lets her know he just sold the

product to several women in the community.

Shamefully, Mrs. Smith asks the salesman to let her take another look at it.

After another examination of the item, Mrs. Smith gives the salesman an

order. Mrs. Smith didn't want to be the only woman in the town who didn't own

this product. After all, she has a reputation to uphold. By appealing to her sense

of pride, the salesman made the sale.

About The Author: Gloria Whitehorn is a freelance writer, business coach and an

authority on salesmanship and business practices. Check out her site that's

jam-packed with the exact information you need to start, build, and grow your

very own profitable Internet business. I highly recommend visiting her website

http://www.dovemang.com She knows what she's talking about.

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