Many of us have read Dr. Seuss’ infamous Green Eggs and Ham countless times throughout our childhood or have read the story to our own kids, but did you know that the book is more than a children’s story? In fact, many companies have given this very book to their sales teams as lessons on selling techniques. There are many subliminal lessons in selling from Dr. Seuss that we can draw upon, including:
- Persistence is key. No matter how many times Sam-I-Am is told no, he doesn’t give up. Successful salespeople never give up after the first few signs of resistance (in fact, successful salespeople keep trying after 7 or 8 times).
- Don’t get too technical. Throughout Sam-I-Am’s sales process, he uses words the buyer can understand. He doesn’t get too technical; instead, he makes it easy for the customer by using terminology that they can understand. In fact, Sam-I-Am uses a vocabulary of no more than 50 common words. We also need to make sure that our buyers can understand what we are telling them.
- Overcome objections. Sam-I-Am didn’t just give up because his prospect wasn’t interested in his green eggs and ham. Instead, he thought of alternative ways to offer his product, i.e., “Would you eat them in a house? Would you eat them with a mouse?” Sometimes the customer needs help envisioning the various situations in which your product or service can be used. It’s important to offer different services or products to fit your customers’ needs.
- Believe in your product. In selling, we all encounter objections. They can be challenging, but if you believe in your product you will not let initial objections stand between you and closing the sale. Sam-I-Am realized that his potential customer was rejecting the product only because he was uninformed. Since Sam-I-Am knew he had something good, he could say with all sincerity: “You do not like them so you say. Try them! Try them! And you may. Try them and you may I say.”
Thanks Sam-I-Am, not only for your great story but for your invaluable sales lessons.
