[E35] Behavior Week: Promoter Part II – Buying Is Fun and Selling Excitement

Part two of the overview of Promoters.

Now that we have covered what they fear most, how much confrontation they enjoy, and their reaction when people are in pain, let’s move into how this plays out in relationships.

When you are trying to sell to a Promoter there are definitely certain things to do if you want to help facilitate the sale. And there is a bunch of things to avoid if you want a chance of closing that sale.

If you are a salesperson that’s in the Promoter group then it is equally important you are self-aware and understand where the Golden Rule works and where it doesn’t.

Every wonder why there seems to be a certain type of person who gravitates and seems to be successful in sales? I cover my experiences as to why this is.

Episode 35 – Transcript

On this episode I am going to finish the conversation about Promoters, how they like to buy and how they like to sell.

Welcome to episode 35 of The Sales Experience Podcast. Last episode was part one of the Promoter personality, behavior group. Make sure to check it out if you haven’t listened yet. The key with Promoters is to understand that the FOMO is real and can be a big influence for their actions. FOMO is the fear of missing it out. It is when you have a feeling that there is something else going on that you would rather be doing. Its that you might have when you drive past a restaurant that has a line out of the door or a crowd waiting outside. Or the nightclub with a line of people wanting to get in that stretches around the corner. Those clubs are smart…they could let people in faster but then there wouldn’t a line. And in the club business, a line makes for a bigger line, makes for more excitement, and feeds into people’s FOMO.

Ever drove past a night club with no line outside? Did you want to stop and run in to see what you were missing out on? Nope. You kept going until you saw the club with the long line. Now…the promoters don’t want to stand in lines, they just don’t want to miss out. So when they get to that club they will work their magic and do what they can to skip the line. Since they like confrontation, the unknown, and making things happen, they will be the one who is trying to talk their way in past everyone else, or grease the palms of the bouncer to be VIP. Promoters don’t like standing in lines about as much as they don’t like missing out.

So that’s my little FOMO lesson. Why does that matter? Because like I said, it’s the main driver for Promoters. Let’s first talk about how Promoters act as a prospect and how to help them buy.  Since they are okay with confrontation, they enjoy some higher-pressure sales tactics/experience. If you are soft or weak, or quiet, they will either move on or chew you apart. They have no problem going toe-to-toe with a sales rep in the same way that they have no problem making prank phone calls and rolling with whatever happens in the conversation.

The best way to sell to them is to point out what ‘everyone else’ is doing relative to your product/service, to play into their FOMO. Make sure to share lots of testimonials and social proof of how lots of other people are using what you are selling, and how they are having fun. They don’t want to miss out on something that others are doing. They don’t want to be left out.

Also, they really don’t like buying something that isn’t ‘fun’ – so you have to make sure that somewhere in your pitch is how your product/service helps them have more fun. Example: Selling Vacuums – which are definitely not fun, unless of course you are an Analyst that wrote vacuuming on their to-do list and are excited to check it off – ‘I know vacuuming isn’t fun, but the great thing about this vacuum is that it is cordless and bagless so you can take it out, vacuum your house, and be done as quick as possible without tangled cords to deal with or messy bags to replace, so you can get on to the other things in your life that you would rather be doing – that are more fun!’.

If you hit the Promoter with lots of stats, data, research, spreadsheets, and boring data you will lose their interest and they will move on to something else. And remember, I am an Analyst by nature so I love data, research, spreadsheets, and boring data. But that is why it is so important to be a sales person who can adapt to the other person and not just what you prefer.

Now, if you are a Promoter sales person, then keep in mind that you will default to all the fun reasons that someone should buy. You will talk about fun, what everyone else is doing, with a good amount of confrontation. This wont work on all the other personality types – it will turn certain people off. If you go at the Analyst with stories about how everyone else is doing and just push them to buy, they will go the other direction. You will want to give them some data, stats, and testimonials that help them see that other people made good choices, not just had fun.

Also, if you are a Promoter salesperson then you already know that the only part of the sales process you like is talking to people and making the sale. You don’t like follow up. You don’t like paperwork. You don’t like admin stuff. Those areas are unfun to you. And you are all about fun. Sales managers – I know you have seen this with your team. The Promoter reps on your team are good at closing, but probably very resistant to complete applications or paperwork, making follow up calls, or anything else that gets in the way of fun or happy hour.

Yes, I know these are big sweeping generalities, but they are also accurate for a big percentage of Promoter type salespeople. And please know that I appreciate all the Promoter people in my life. Being an Analyst, as I covered in two episode ago, I like to have fun as long as its planned out and scheduled. I am thankful for the Promoters in my life that push and pull me to have more spontaneous fun and have shifted my comfort zone over the years to where I am now totally okay with spontaneous, unplanned activities. Everyone has their strengths and bring wondering aspects to every relationship.

So don’t take any of what I am covering as my feelings of which personality groups are better than others. Its not about better or worse, its about what is effective in various situations and relationships. And in particular, in sales. The key is to know who you are, how you show up, and then what works best with other people and how to show up for them instead of just running on auto pilot and struggling to close deals or be effective in relationships.

That’s if for this episode, and week one of discussions on Behavior Groups. I appreciate everyone listening to this because I hope it means you are wanting to create more or different in your life. I hope I have shared some nuggets of value that will help you in your journey in this life, and in your sales career. If you are enjoying the podcast, please go on iTunes and leave a 5 star rating and a comment. It helps other people discover what they are missing out on.

And until next time, always remember that everything in life is sales and people will remember the experience you gave them.