Sales in “Modern Family”

For those who watch, Modern Family is an American sitcom about three diverse families and their livelihoods. One of the characters is Phil Dunphy who is a real estate agent, or a salesman. His career is dedicated to selling homes to people and throughout the show he shows the audience some interesting sales techniques that may or may not work. In an episode I watched recently, Phil was trying to sell a home, but it was taking a long time for him to do so. When he thought he had a interested buyer, he and his daughter researched everything they could about the buyer. Phil found out the buyer loved cage fighting, a specific hockey team, and dogs. So, he thought it was a great idea to make a room in the house a cage fighting room, hang the banner of his favorite hockey team in the dining room, and put in a doggy door. If you know the show, it’s typical Dunphy fashion to screw the whole thing up and Phil ending up looking like a hopeless stalker.

However, I think it’s important to note that Phil started off doing the right thing. When it comes to sales techniques, there is value in researching your client, knowing what he/she likes and knowing what he/she doesn’t like. That way, you can use this information to create small talk, earning their trust, and then talking business. I think it’s important in tailoring specifically to that individual because it sets you apart from competition. It is necessary to connect and build rapport with the individual, in a way that doesn’t look like you are stalking them like Phil did!