I got some bad news for you. When you’re just getting started in a sales job, your sphere of influence is most likely to be the LAST people to buy from you. Friends and family are our toughest critics. Sure, they flock to you for help later on in your career, but in the beginning you can expect nothing more than the cold shoulder. While this isn’t the case 100% of the time, it is 99%.
The sooner you realize this and start looking for real business, the soon you’ll close deals and get paid. I know it’s hard to believe. Especially since the sales manager has been telling you that’s how HE got started. Trust me, he’s just saying that because that’s what his old boss used to say. He’s just carrying the old torch.
There’s a myriad (not sure if I’m using that word right or not, but what the hell) of reasons why complete strangers will trust you with their business over those who know you best. I’m going to take a few minutes here and break down the top 5 reasons why your friends and family will NEVER buy from you.
It might be confusing and you may even be in denial, but rest assure, this applies more times than not. Maybe you’re getting the run around right now and don’t even know it. Nothing is worse than looking on Facebook and seeing someone you know, post about buying something you sell, from someone else. OOOOOHHHH THE AGONY!!!!
They Know Your Past
Those that know you best, know your faults best too. They’ve seen your ups and your downs. If you’re like most of us, you’ve had more downs, and they’ve been there to see them all. This makes them skeptics by nature. They ask themselves Does he really have it together now? You be sure that until THEY are sure, they will not buy or even entertain the thought of it. Most likely, they’ve been your scapegoat before. They’ll be damned if it’s gonna be them again.
Where you come from won’t matter to strangers. As a two time convicted felon who wrote a whole bunch of mortgages, I never had a client bring up what I did before mortgages. Any time one of my friends would show up, they’d always want to know if I was legit and really a LO. It was annoying that they just assumed I was doing something wrong. Strangers only care about your ability to solve their problem.
Their Ego Won’t Let Them
Maybe you make more money then they do. Maybe they don’t have any money or bad credit and the last thing they want is to let you know their deep, dark secret. Besides, what if you find out all that fancy stuff they own is all financed on credit cards and they are in deep ass trouble. Whatever it is, ego plays a big part, in who people decide to give their business to.
You know how nervous you get when you’re waiting on finance for a car, when you got questionable credit? Your friends and family don’t want to sweat bullets in front of you, the rookie. It’s a situation that could embarrass them and the ego hates being embarrassed.
They Don’t Want You To Know Their Situation
I remember one time I was at the family get together, and I found out my cousin had just bought a home. I had been doing mortgages, a lot of them, for 3 years at the time. He knew I was the man for the job, and probably overpaid elsewhere. Yet he didn’t even ask me for advice. He’d seen my cars, my house, happy clients and all that. When it came time to buy it was crickets.
Turned out, he had some credit issues and his wife’s parents had to come up with the down payment. It was a whole situation I was glad I avoided but until I got the details, I was mad AF.
They Are Scared You’ll Tell Your Mutual Friends
We humans are secretive beings. Most of us hate people knowing their business. Partly because most people are shady and do dumbshit. You know what I’m talking about. The friend that runs up a credit card bill, acts like a baller, then charges the card off to collections. Friends don’t want you to know about that, you might tell someone. Someone who will have one more reason to scold or judge them.
What if you didn’t know Jon owed Tom money. You just sold Jon a brand new car and you run into Tom in town. You casually mention to Tom you just got Jon into a car with $500 down and he should get one too. Tom is furious because Jon should have paid him $500. Now you’re caught in the middle on accident. This is the type of situation shady people lose sleep over.
They Don’t Want To Ruin The Relationship
Worst of all, what if the deal goes bad? Who’s side are you going to take? You bet your @ss they’ve thought about it. Most folks live in a worst case scenario world. Especially those that don’t have their sh!t 100% together. If the situation gets sideways, and we all know that happens ONLY with those we know, they will test the limits of your friendship and job. There you are again, caught up in the middle. The fear is real yall.
I’ve been in a situation where some relatives did some funky stuff on a mortgage deal I did. It ended up costing me $6,000 on top of the lost job and commission charge back. All because they had the attitude that it was just me and it would be ok. Well it wasn’t and we haven’t spoken since.
The best way to get prospects and clients is via cold prospecting. This can be done via advertising or cold calling. It doesn’t matter what you do as much as much as who you are doing it to attract. Strangers care about solutions, familiar folks care about your past, their ego, their faults and fears being known by you or others. Focus on building a good funnel that gets you people who want to hear what you have to say.
If you’re already generating leads and you or your team needs an easy to implement sales process that you can plug and play, simply check out my program at www.inboundleadcloser.com you’ll find some free training there waiting for you.
If you’re not a kangaroo, and you’re ready to invest in yourself via one of our training programs and you just want to know which one is a fit for your needs, fill out the form below and I’ll reply via email or phone call with the information you’re looking for. I just ask that you don’t waste my time. It can be used to help someone who is ready and committed.
