When was it the last time that someone failed to sell you something? Why did he fail?

[MikeS]

Recently, I have seen a post on the Facebook from @Fox about how someone has failed to sell him a personal training.

I thought it was interesting and realized that it could be a great idea to turn it into a thread on this forum. We can all learn from the mistakes of others.

So tell me:
When was it the last time that someone failed to sell you something?
Why did he/she fail? Why wasn't the offer interesting enough?

 

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[Fox]

Thanks - glad you got some value from that post.

For context...

 

[ZF Lee]

Good thread idea!

Lemme see:

STORY 1: 'I WANT NOODLES'
I was standing outside an Indian food stall in my university.

I had went there a few times before because the food was prime.

I saw one of the servers there, so I ordered a plate of fried instant noodles, Indian-style.

He looked at me, and I thought that he looked unconfident and whiffy.

Then he started mumbling about 'food not ready' or 'come back later' or something.
Which didn't make sense because it was already lunch hour.

I struggled to make him understand I wanted noodles, and even rephrased my query several times, but he just kept mumbling.

I still haven't come back to that food stall.

TBH I don't think he was an Indian. Must be one of those foreign workers....my country has issues with them. And yes, any employee on the forefront IS a salesman as long he or she provides the customer experience.

Terrible for regular employees to think otherwise.

STORY 2:'

I was looking for clients to write copy for.

One stood out, requesting for copy aimed towards a Facebook audience to promote an upcoming webinar.
I'm not going to name this client and his business.

I decided to check out his online personal development biz and social media pages.
The personal development space is grossly overcrowded, so I went to see if he had specific offerings, such as masterminds with renowned experts or books or multiple-day plans.

None of that.

I just saw a membership and consultation scheme. So I looked at the copy write-up. It was basically just a cut-and-copy ramble on how he helped so many people be happy and smiley.

What do you offer?

Are you cut and dry? No-nonsense? Do you have intense online discussions? Tony Robbins fire-walking? How?

I still didn't know after reading the copy.

And why are you doing this? What's your back story? Did you fail in your past 4 years of business? What industry did you do? Did you hate your 9-5? Did you saw your broke parents struggle with a living?

No backstory. Zilch. Zero. The copy just bounded into, 'I am a famous, well known entrepreneur who helps people overcome life barriers and achieve success.'

How in the F*ck do I write copy for that, when I don't know who you are and what do you stand for?

The reviews left much to be desired as well.

'Mr .X inspired me to go beyond my dreams!'

'He's given me new meaning to my life!'

I'm like:



What do you offer?

I wouldn't buy from this guy.

 

[ZF Lee]

Thanks - glad you got some value from that post.

For context...

View attachment 21047

I usually hate meeting people, but when I realised that folks represent INFORMATION, teaching you how they sell and all, I bucked up on meetups and paying more attention even to regular coffee shop cashiers.

 

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[MikeS]

I usually hate meeting people, but when I realised that folks represent INFORMATION, teaching you how they sell and all, I bucked up on meetups and paying more attention even to regular coffee shop cashiers.

Yeah, exactly!
People often don't realize how important it is to listen. Just listen. You can learn a lot.

Even the body language can affect the sale. You can clearly see when someone isn't confident about what he's selling. Would you buy from someone who clearly doesn't believe in their product? Hell no...

 

[rollerskates]

There's very little that makes me spend money. MJ wins because I bought his first book when I had 12 bucks to my name. I literally spent half of what I had on that book.

The loser in my own personal contest here is a neighbor who came over to let me know a pipe had burst and my side yard was flooding (turns out it was the other neighbor's) but while I was investigating the gallons and gallons of water gushing through the yard, she says "By the way, I'm selling a nutritional supplement now and if you need to lose weight, it's great for that". Well, I had just come off about 6 months of GIs/tests/nutritionists, and finally had a diet that I could eat, and I just have to say that that not only did she fail to close the sale with me, but it was

THE WORST SALES PITCH OF ALL TIME.

 

[Process]

Acquaintance from high school heard what I do. He wanted me to code him a reddit-type site for craft beers from scratch for $200 and half of the "stock."

The only execution or follow up I've ever seen him accomplish is sucking the smoke out of a bong like its a you know what...

 

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