By Eric Young, Director of Sales & Sales Trainer.Like many sports fans, every day I go to Joe Posnanski’s blog and hope that he has posted one of his great ruminations on sports, life, the frustrations of being a Royals/Cleveland sports fan, pop culture, and snuggies so I have something to entertain me when I want to goof off at work and am tired of checking Facebook "between sales calls." Joe is widely acknowledged to be one of the best if not the best sportswriters in America and he is my personal favorite.
Here is the intro to a recent, "typically long-winded" (Joe’s words) and extremely well written as always (my words) essay on Mike Sweeney making the playoffs with the Phillies for the first time in his career after years of futility in Kansas City. If you are a baseball fan and wondered (like I did) why Mike Sweeney was snapped up by the Phillies when the Mariners released him even though his usefulness as an everyday player is limited (especially for a playoff team; he could probably bat cleanup for my O’s) go to Joe’s blog and read the whole thing:
| A comedian friend told me this once … I’m paraphrasing: "People think the punch line is the most important part of the joke. But it isn’t. The punch line is nothing. If you tell a joke right, you can say 50 different punch lines and all of them will be funny. If you tell a joke right, you can grab a kid out of the crowd and have him come up and give the punch line. It isn’t the punch line. It’s the setup. Everything is in the setup. You ever hear about the biggest laugh in the history of television? They say it was Jack Benny … you remember he was famous for being cheap. Simple gag, a mugger holds up Jack Benny, which already is funny. Then the mugger says, ‘Your money or your life.’ And Jack Benny just stands there. Doesn’t say a word. The laughter grows louder and louder and louder. He just holds it, that look on his face, and by the time he gives the punchline — “I’m thinking” — everybody’s howling. Nobody even HEARD the punch line they were laughing so hard. Why? Jack Benny had been setting up that joke for 40 years. The punch line had nothing to do with it." |
This really resonated with me because one of my pet peeves when I lead trainings is when salespeople ask me "Eric what sorts of ‘closing techniques’ do YOU use?" And my answer is always "none" because "closing techniques" are what door-to-door Ginzu knife salesmen use to trick people into buying worthless junk (see Snuggies, Slap Chop, Sham Wow, Couch Blanket, and all of the other great “infoco” products Joe has told us about); they are not what top Business Development Professionals use because they are cheesy, ineffective, and turn off your clients. Just like Joe’s point about the humor of the joke being in the setup not the punch line, the sale happens during the preparation (from your very first interaction with your prospect). A professional, highly-trained salesperson knows that they are always “selling” but they never “close” because the decision becomes so self-evident there is no closing to do other than asking "When do you want this implemented?"
Joe closes with:
Now Mike Sweeney’s finally in the playoffs. That’s the punch line. But of course, the punch line isn’t important. That’s the secret of a good joke … and a good life. The punch line is just the punch line. The setup, that’s what matters.
Well put Joe. Next post will be some important tips to master this skill.
UPDATE: If you made it this far, you deserve a reward. Per the title:
>> Part Two
Posted by on 10/29 at 12:37 PM
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