Robin Sieger Blog

Three months ago I was in a small town 300 miles south of Mumbai in India called Panjim, about 90,000 people live there, and like all Indian towns I have visited one gets a keen sense that everyone is hard at work. I was visiting it with my old High School buddy Patrick, who is spending four months travelling through India. We had made this trip 30 years ago together, so I thought I would visit him for a week, to revisit the scene of our youthful adventures.

We had been out for a walk and stopped to sit in the town square, when my friend and I were approached by two boys (about fourteen years old if I had to guess), who like many street vendors are out to sell their wares to anyone who they think will buy them, and in India like countries the world over, tourists are always hot prospects, who have money.

In 30 years of travel I have experienced just about every type of street vendor, from the in your face aggressive young men, to the laid back ex-hippy who appears disinterested. They all want you to buy, and have found the technique which works best for them. It is a great shame they did not attend the sales masterclass I experienced in Panjim.

To put things in context, they faced every objection, from difficult prospects who though not hostile were as cold as cold gets in a selling scenario, they had a product we didn’t want or need. One was selling belts the other a travelling miniature chess set.

They did however do six things I believe make a huge difference.

1. They made eye contact and immediately smiled. This may sound like Selling 101, but you would be amazed how many people who sell for a living miss this ice-breaker. Before I knew it we had both smiled back.
2. They introduced themselves in a friendly manner and asked our names, and repeated them to make sure they were pronouncing them correctly.
3. They put their products in our hands, asked us to look at the quality and craftsmanship.
4. Their product knowledge was complete, no question unanswered or hesitated upon.
5. They told us the price then started to negotiate on the price.
6. They never gave up on the sale, even when we both sat arms crossed saying, “not interested” repeatedly, without being boring or insensitive, they kept a positive friendly manner about themselves.

I know that every selling scenario is different, and I am not an expert on selling. I am however an expert in being a customer, and these guys treated us like long lost friends, and made us feel respected and valued, which at the end of the day is what all customers want.

In case you were wondering. I didn’t buy anything. Patrick however got himself a very nice miniature travelling chess set.

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