Top tip for SuccessFactors and Workday sales meetings? Throw In The Frog!
We’ve all been there before. You have been going back and forth with someone for weeks or months, and then suddenly they’ve gone ‘Missing In Action’. No reply to your emails. Won’t return your phone calls. Nothing. So what’s your next move?
You ‘throw in the frog’ of course! Let me explain.
Here’s an example of how breaking the ice can lead to better results:
In a recent experiment by O’Quinn and Aronoff, the participants were assigned to either a “buyer” or “seller” role and were then asked to negotiate the price of a $2000 painting.
Half of the ‘sellers’ were given instructions to use the line “My final offer is $1100 …and I’ll throw in a pet frog.” when talking to the Seller.
This it seems led to relaxation, smiles, and increased compliance, with buyers using this line agreeing to pay an average price of $1200 for the painting, significantly less than the average price of $1700 that was agreed by the buyers who didn’t use the frog joke was used!
What it means: When you make someone smile and you are friendly, they relax more and enjoy the negotiations. And the deal will be a better one for you every time too!
I think we can all take a lesson from this as most people in sales (sometimes a stressful job) can often be guilty of being ‘too’ serious during negotiations! Remember – it’s meant to be the fun part of the job afterall!
Anyway, you will obviously need to use your own ‘take’ on this one – we don’t want 100’s of sales people all over the world suddenly talking about frogs every day to their clients, that would just be weird.
But humour can help break down objections, win over an otherwise unreceptive audience and lead to better figures. Something to bear in mind during those next SuccessFactors and Workday sales meetings when you are trying to win someone over.
So that’s it, your ‘tip for the day’ sponsored by Freemont Associates! Connect with us on Twitter to receive more articles like this every now and then.