The humour close
Written by Jamie May
Not everyone is funny all the time and I’ve certainly had several jokes in sales situations fall flat and even lose me the deal. Any comedian will tell you that not everyone receives the same information in a funny way, a joke is usually at someone else’s expense and you can certainly split the room with something inappropriate.
Humour is a great way to make friends, if you are a funny person it can help to build fundamental human relationships. If your prospect is nervous it’s a great way to make them comfortable with you. In fact humour is used all the way through sales marketing and advertising. Products that are marketed with humour have better retention rates and campaign success.
Throw some curly stuff in there. Showing you have the confidence to laugh at your customer or yourself works a treat. Don’t in any circumstance be racist, or sexist, or too edgy.
“Don’t worry, I’ll only call you every day for updates after you sign.”
or
“If you don’t take this, I’ll have to sell it to your competitor, and I don’t think you’d forgive me.”
It works because humour lowers defences. You shift the conversation from tension and evaluation to a moment of shared laughter. If they laugh, they’re with you. From there, it’s much easier to ask directly for the business because you’ve already crossed the hardest barrier: getting them to like you.
Remember: You have to also be prepared that a lot of people just aren’t that funny and you need to be prepared to have egg on your face.
