Let Them Sell Out

Selling out is not always bad.

I’ll explain what I mean in a sec.

Remember when I talked about the smart sell vs. the soft sell?

Today I want to talk about another key sales technique: the undersell.

I learned it from my old high school friend, Cliff Savage. Cliff is a seasoned sales executive; in the 90s, when I was just starting Steiner Sports, he helped me out a lot by hooking me up with sporting goods stores he had connections to. He was invaluable.

Cliff is a great salesman, but his style is very different from mine. While I’d try to sell an A-Rod meat puppet to a vegan from Boston, Cliff goes with more of a “soft sell.” In that way, we’ve learned from each other.

My favorite sales lesson from Cliff:

“It’s not what you sell the customer; it’s what the customer has left.”

In other words, don’t oversell.

If you convince someone to buy more than he needs, there’s a good chance his inventory will be overstocked the next time you call on him. He won’t buy from you on that call, and he might even look for a new sales rep – one who is more attuned to his needs.

Better to sell the client just enough, or even a little less than that.

Give him a chance to get that “It sold out!” feeling.

You know, leave them wanting more!

Not overselling is an underrated very underrated part of selling.