You're an aspiring salesman, and the first task your interviewer told you to do is to sell a pencil/pen. You take a look at the one interviewing you, and you take a look at the object. What will you do?

Last time, we dug deeper from a Quora question - let's do it again with this question-and-answer:

Read John Kaufman's answer to What are some of the best responses to "Sell me this pen/pencil" in a job interview? on Quora

If you noticed, the "pen" isn't just a pen - it could be a stapler, a scissor, so on and so forth - but what mattered in the answer posted is that good salesmen know what they're selling, but asks their customers first on their needs.

Filipinos are much more shy nowadays that they'll go online to check the reviews and how-tos before going to the place itself and ask the thing directly. But, in some cases, their research might have its faults and they end up with the wrong product still. This is the bright time for salespeople to explain the product well.

Considering the lesson in the answer, let's get back to the question. How will you sell a pen to a potential customer? If you have any other ideas aside from the answer posted above, let us know in the comments section.

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The Sales Leadership Masterclass is now open to accept future sales leaders aiming to exceed their targets this 2017! Led by its resource speaker, International Sales Expert and Author Tom Abbott, this Masterclass is the top sales seminar you need to see!


The Sales Leadership Masterclass will be held on Friday, March 31, 2017 at the Tower Club Makati. Reserve your seats by calling Ex-Link Events at (02) 633-0153 or 643-3887. You can also contact them by texting 0920-924-2532 or 0920-981-4376; or through email at info@exlinkevents.com.

...and not the other way around - especially in elevator pitches.

We stumbled upon this question on Quora, where someone asks the best way to shut down a sales call quick.

Read Craig McClarren's answer to What is the best way to quickly end a sales call? "I'm not interested, but thank you," rarely works, and I'd prefer not to be rude if possible. on Quora

The one who answered the question ended up getting annoyed, and resorted to entertaining himself by entertaining the telemarketer and not the other way around.

For the telemarketer, we understand that it's hard to haggle with people who, chances are, shut themselves up whenever there's an offer. For the customer, it's bothersome most of the time.

We can apply the same context to the elevator pitch, where you get to introduce your product or service to them in a short span of time. You'll know from their faces or emotions that they're not interested.

One of the things that can attract their attention is to actually entertain them, as plain words are not enough. Here are the usual tips in entertaining the potential customer:

• Show them something. Flyers, are effective: It saves time to explain things, it contains the things the people need to know, and they can easily share it.
• Try a different approach. "It's not what you say, it's how you say it." This phrase has been said and done in marketing, customer experience, so on and so forth. Your idea might be great, but it can be better with a different approach. 
• Generate a happy vibe. Before you get in touch with your potential contact, make sure that you have a positive vibe running within you - so much that it can be passed to your contact, which might increase the possibility of them getting back to you.

With the right tools and a positive attitude, you are now ready to entertain your customers. Just so you know, in case you persist to those specific targets and they just won't give back, it's time to look for another set - you don't need to keep looking at the usual doors when there's a million of them.

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The Sales Leadership Masterclass is now open to accept future sales leaders aiming to exceed their targets this 2017! Led by its resource speaker, International Sales Expert and Author Tom Abbott, this Masterclass is the top sales seminar you need to see!


The Sales Leadership Masterclass will be held on Friday, March 31, 2017 at the Tower Club Makati. Reserve your seats by calling Ex-Link Events at (02) 633-0153 or 643-3887. You can also contact them by texting 0920-924-2532 or 0920-981-4376; or through email at info@exlinkevents.com.