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Be Careful When Using Humor on a Sales Call

Do you use humor to break the ice on a cold call? This can be a great tactic — if properly executed. David, a sales rep, misused this approach on one call and, as a result, did not find laugh all the way to the bank.

Here’s David’s story:

When a dark-suited sales rep appears at a bank to make a cold call, he fits right in. If the next stop on his peddling trail is a small sandwich shop, a different approach is needed so the sales pitch is not prematurely interrupted with a “No thanks. We know you are a sales rep, and we are scared to talk to you.”

My approach? I walked into the sandwich shop and said, “Hi, I’m David with the Health Inspectors’ office. We have received several notices about your establishment. Is the owner in today?”

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This method worked most of the time to cut the tension and allow me to get on with selling my valuable goods and services. One time it did not; the entire staff behind the counter had frightened looks on their faces. The laughter I was suspecting never surfaced, even after I let them in on my little joke.

Needless to say, I was tossed out with words that cannot be published. When I got back to the office, my sales manager had some additional stern words of wisdom to share with me about my inappropriate tactics.

Postmortem

From the staff’s reaction, we might assume that a problem related to health conditions already existed or had occurred in the past. David had the right idea in using humor to sell, but he chose a joke that made damaging suggestions about the prospect’s business. If you want to insult someone with humor, you should only insult yourself.

Another tactic David might have used is to buy a little food and, if true, compliment the owner on taste or quality. This would set up the conversation by making the prospect feel good about his business. Figure out how you can do this early on in a sales call and you will likely start your meeting on an upbeat note.

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