Friday, June 3, 2016

The New 'Glengarry Glen Ross' is TST (Trump Selling Techniques), Here are 10 of Them

By Brett Arends

It’s been 24 years since Alec Baldwin’s legendary “coffee is for closers only” cameo in the movie “Glengarry Glen Ross.”

Now we have the sequel, thanks to Trump University.

The defunct organization’s internal documents were released by court order on May 31. And you know what? They offer an absolute master class in ruthless hard-sell techniques.

Forget what Trump U taught, or didn’t teach, its customers about real estate. What it taught the “faculty” about how to close a sale is fascinating.

And this might not be the end of Trump University. On Thursday, Donald Trump took to Twitter with a vow to reopen his controversial program once a civil suit is resolved.

If you have to sell for a living — cars, insurance, or real estate, it doesn’t matter — these tips are a must-read:

Use the right words

“The most persuasive words in the English language… are: You, New, Money, Easy, Discovery, Free, Results, Health, Save, Proven, Guarantee, and Love.”

Tell people you noticed their reactions. “The words ‘I noticed’ have a powerful subconscious effect on people, because they send a subliminal message to them that they stood out from the crowd.”

And don’t thank people for showing up. That suggests their doing you a favor. “Substitute the words ‘thank you’ with ‘congratulations!’”

Don’t waste time

Trump U estimated that only 20% of people who showed up for the sales pitch would buy into a seminar. The rest are just going to waste your time. “You need to judge within 10 seconds or less if this is someone you’re going to be able to close,” they told salesmen. And “you should be able to close someone within two minutes or less.”

Minimize the cost

That $34,995 Trump U tuition? It’s actually a “saving” of more than $13,000 from the “list price” of $48,490.

It’s not much… compared to the cost of a real estate deal, or a medical degree. And if you put it on your credit card, “you can have a Trump certified Mentor fit into your budget for less than $600 a month.”

Oh, and try to avoid the dreaded D word when discussing prices.

“Never say dollars — sounds too big.”

Control the conversation

“Be presumptive. Say, “It looks like you’re ready to enroll. Let’s get you started!”

Don’t let the customer ask lots of questions. “The person asking the question always has the power… they will begin to enjoy the power on a subconscious level… having us ‘wait on them’ gives them a feeling of supremacy.” Answer a question with a question of your own.

Read the rest here.

3 comments:

  1. To early (or late) to suggest Harry Browne's Secret of Selling Anything?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sounds a lot better than the hard sell politicians impose upon us. As in your money or your life. Perhaps a better example is the public school offer: you are forced to pay taxes to support it and coerced into attending through truancy laws. Now that is hard sell.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Frankly you can make a sale in less than two minutes because the customer has already brought the thing in their mind, not because of the salesguys patter.

    ReplyDelete