Sell Me This Pen

The classic sales test in which a person pulls a pen from their jacket and challenges their friend, associate, coworker, or truly anyone to sell it to them is found in several movies but is most iconic to The Wolf of Wallstreet. The objective of the test is to identify a true salesperson from an overly confident person who is mistaken about the key to effective selling.

The first several people in The Wolf of Wallstreet who took on the task of selling Leonardo Dicaprio a pen failed. In fact, just after a second of them talking, it was clear that they did not have the selling technique that would lead them to a successful sales interaction. Instead, they all began going on and on about why the pen was so great and what made it far better than any other options around. They simply began to ramble about all of the never-ending features and benefits of the pen that they could come up with, barely even stopping to catch their breath. These individuals perfectly illustrate one of the most common mistakes amongst salespeople when going about engaging with their target client/customer.

The key to effectively passing this sales test is actually to flip the conversation. Rather than you, the seller, wasting your time talking about every possible positive aspect of the pen you can of think, hoping at least one thing will appeal and stick with the client, you should focus on discovering the specific wants/needs of the individual. How do you do this? Asking questions is the key to narrowing down your customer’s focus, which will in turn, narrow down your focus as the seller. Rather than being handed a pen and immediately jumping into what the pen can offer, instead begin with a question, such as “What is the most important factor to you when looking to purchase a pen?”. The truth is, it is not about you as a seller, and why waste time giving your client information when you have absolutely no idea what they’re actually searching for? Once you do establish what they’re focus is, however, you earn the right to speak, and can give them a focused and specific idea of why the pen is something they should purchase and assure them it is the best possible option for them.