7 Indicators of High Pressure Selling

The vast majority of salespeople working today don't want to be high pressure sellers. In fact, some have a fear of using pressure to gain sales and avoid assertive, professional selling techniques because of their hyper-sensitivity to high pressure selling.

I also have a disdain for high pressure selling. But I know that professional salespeople need to be assertive, to be willing to put themselves out in the public's eye, to be able to take control, to drive their prospect's decisions, and to bring in the orders.

High pressure selling is something completely different. But what, exactly, is the high pressure selling that most of us dislike so much?

I think high pressure selling can be identified by the following seven indicators:

1. When the salesperson hasn't generated sufficient rapport with, or trust from, the prospect.

2. When the sales representative dominates the sales conversation and does not create customer engagement. 

3. When the salesperson lets the product dominate the conversation rather than the prospect's needs and desires, and their unique circumstances.

4. When the salesperson displays behavior that is disrespectful, rude, or offensive.

5. When the sales representative attempts to close the sale too early or in the wrong way.

6. When the salesperson crosses the line from being assertive (a valuable trait in selling) to being aggressive (attempting to dominate the prospect).

7. When the customer has incorrectly implied or communicated a high level of interest of commitment in the salesperson's product, and then feels taken advantage of when the salesperson acts congruently with that interest or commitment.

You'll see that six of the indicators listed above are the responsibility of the salesperson, and the last one is the responsibility of the prospect. Go ahead and hate aggressive selling. But don't let that keep you from selling.

Are there any sales behaviors missing from my list that you think is an indicator of high pressure or aggressive selling?

If you like this post (or don't) please click on "comments" below and share your comment. Skip Anderson is the Founder and President of Selling to Consumers Sales Training. He works with companies and individuals who sell to consumers in B2C, retail, in-home selling, in the financial, real estate, and insurance markets, and other consumer-selling industries.

Contact Skip | Join Mailing List

Follow on Twitter | Connect on Facebook | Connect on LinkedIn

Comments

[Chuck Overbeck]

Skip,

I think you indicators are dead on. I have been looking at this from the root cause perspective. I think you have provided a excellent check list for knowing when something is wrong.

[twitter.com/heykeenan]

Great list Skip,

Sales is almost always more about the execution rather than the definition. This post does and excellent job of pointing this out.

It's like anything else. Be aggressive, but play by the rules. This is a good list of the rules.

[Mike Landfair]

Two more sales tips:

1. Never beg for the order.

2. No matter how much you need the sale, never let the customer see you sweat!

[Jan]

A few more indicator of high pressure sales -

~Encouraging the customer to make choices and purchases that are not in their best financial interest (i.e. taking out a loan they can't afford to pay back.)

~Suggesting that the customer do something that they may regret in order to afford the product (sell a car, or family jewelry)

~Using a person's children to add to that pressure - this is just below the belt.

Both of these tactics were (unsuccessfully) used on me. The below anecdote is a completely true store and it amply describes how my second and third indicator work, and the consequences of using them. Be warned, it's rather long...

When I was around 35, my husband and I were invited to a TimeShare presentation. We would have never gone, were it not for the promise of free tickets to Disney World for the whole family. Having three children, and not much money, this sounded like a wonderful opportunity to give my children a vacation we could not otherwise afford. Fortunately, we lived within driving distance of the Magic Kingdom, so we saved our pennies and made the arrangements.

When we arrived at the presentation, the children were whisked away by the event's staff, and taken to a game room where they were offered an array of junk food and treated to hundreds of tokens to an entire arcade's worth of video games. They were treated like royalty and told that if "mommy and daddy bought the package, they would have access to this arcade WHENEVER THEY WANTED." Of course this excited my young children, who had no idea of our financial situation - when they later saw my husband and me, all they could talk about was the games they had played, the fun they'd had, and wondered aloud when they'd be able to return. Hearing that we had not, in fact, purchased the Time Share didn't go over very well. For an entire week, my husband and I were forced to listen to crying, wailing, "You're so MEAN!" and "I hate you!" before they eventually forgot and moved onto the new interest in their lives.

Back to the presentation: As my children indulged in hedonism, Mike and I listened to a 90 minute presentation on the values of a Disney timeshare. While the package looked lovely, one glance at the price tag showed me that Mike and I could not afford it. Not one for dishonesty, I waited until the end of the presentation and then informed the salesmen that I simply did not have the finances for a purchase this large and asked for my children. They told us the kids were watching a movie and that we should "at least let the children enjoy the rest of the movie" before leaving (I later found out they never watched a movie at all). I agreed and say down to wait, while they began their sales tactics. At first they were kind and understanding about our financial situation, but then they began to pile on the pressure, suggesting that we take out a loan or a second mortgage, sell our car and buy a cheaper one, even going so far as to glance at my wedding jewelry (which happened to be family heirlooms) and suggest that we either sell it or take our a loan on it. We shot down these ridiculous suggestions, one after the other, and again asked where we could collect our children. That's when they started to get nasty and insulting, hoping to shame us into a purchase, I expect. They implied that we had ripped them off by accepting the Disney World tickets, knowing that a TimeShare purchase was almost 100% unlikely. I shot back that they must know that a person willing to sit through a 90 minute presentation for a couple of free Disney tickets is unlikely to respond to such an offer in the first place - after all if one can easily afford an expensive timeshare, Disney admission tickets should be no problem. Who would voluntarily take time out of their short vacation to listen to a sales pitch? They know very well that the tickets were the draw, and they were counting on people less assertive than myself being afraid - or too embarrassed - to say no.

Angry, I demanded to know where my children were. I was informed they were in an area of the building that only certain personnel were allowed to access. After waiting 20 minutes, I was again told to wait. At this point, I was furious and told that if my children were not brought to me right then, I was calling the police. Miraculously, my children showed up 2-3 minutes later. They had been in a room right down the hall. My kids immediately started talking about their amazing time, and asking when they could return. Not willing to ruin our Disney Vacation by telling them "no" right then, I decided to wait and tell them later. I told them we'd discuss it later and to get their stuff. However, that is when one of the salesmen decided to pipe up and nastily inform my children that "mommy and daddy can't afford it." My kids immediately started crying and begging. I had to keep my husband from punching the guy, he was that mad. I asked for our Disney tickets, which they reluctantly handed over after an alarming hesitation -- I thought for a few minutes there that they would refuse to give us the tickets. They handed them to me, then, along with a fifty dollar bill for my children's use of the arcade room - which we had been told was comped. I informed them that we would NOT be paying for that. They threatened to call the cops, at which point my husband said that if that happened, we would start picketing outside their establishment, file a lawsuit, and get the media involved. They hastily backed off, I grabbed my children, and we left.

Suffice it to say, it was a nightmare all around. I have never again responded to "free gift with presentation" offer and when purchasing high ticket items (like real estate, new cars, and furniture) I go in knowing exactly what I want and how much I can afford. The slightest whiff of high pressure and I am out of there. Salesmen can be bullies and I refuse to allow myself to be bullied.

P.S. I'm 59 now, and guess what? We have a timeshare at Disney. Of course we didn't buy it from that company. From what I understand they are no longer in business. Gee... I wonder why.

[Aaron]

Thanks for the reply Jan...Hey I just started a new sales job and wanted to know your opinion on whether or not this is high pressure...I've never had a sales job but some of the closing techniques are making me nervous...some require financing and pulling out a loan....can I have your email to ask you what you think? I will give u more info.