AVOIDING THE NFL (No Friends Left Syndrome) Early in my sales career, as a young man, I went to work at a local Chevy dealership. One of the good things about this experience was I had the good fortune to have a manager who spent a great deal of time trying to help me realize the mindset imperative to survival in a sales environment.
One of the things he impressed upon me was how to deal with rejection, something I had a great deal of trouble with in the first sales position I had, which was Life Insurance.
Rob always told me, "Remember, they (the prospect) are not rejecting YOU! They are rejecting what they THINK you have to offer." "If they really KNEW what you have to offer, they wouldn't reject it." "Your job is to provide them with a clear view of all the information, and when you do, they WILL want to buy from you!"
That's just as relevant today. With the information overload most people experience in the business world, we have to be providing a solution that will be decreasing, not increasing, the overload.
In other words to create satisfied customers, and avoid the NFL syndrome, we use the same solution my Boss taught me 25 years ago: Provide a Solution to a Problem they already have. This cements friendships.
I think many times the NFL syndrome is created through an incorrect approach. ie: "Man you gotta see what I'm doing....(launch into presentation)"
However, if you wait for the conversation to turn towards a common problem, (not enough time, not enough money, etc.) something you have a solution for, then just make your presentation a simple: "I solved that problem by doing..................."(how your opportunity solved that same problem for you) you can get your information in front of them without creating the NFL syndrome.
Remember to present it as if you are telling a story about yourself. The 'sales pitch' is just that--pitching something into their face! They WILL duck! D
