Selling in Mad Men – Part 1

We have spent much of the semester talking about how sales has evolved. No longer do men in plaid suits with slicked-back hair knock on your door open a suitcase of knick-knacks.

Selling is a subtle art, a mutually beneficial exchange that cures deep pains and forms relationships. However, just because the stereotype got its start in decades past, does not mean that all sales pitches from previous eras are ineffective. Don Draper, prominent New York advertising man from Mad Men, proves how selling techniques have been used since the 1960s.

In the clip, Don Draper seems to easily give up the lipstick account after the executive turns down the “mark your man” pitch. He stands up, attempts to shake the executive’s hand, and essentially closes the file. He realized that the executive did not think the pitch was a good fit. His goal was to highlight the many shades his brand of lipstick had, but Don’s team focused on the one shade at a time a woman could wear.

Don saw that the executive did not want to refocus their brand, so he decided to close the file. In explaining that the executive did not understand his customer — “women don’t want to be one of a hundred in a box” — Don shifted the executive’s point of view, eventually winning him over to continue the conversation. Is Don’s method risky? Absolutely. In this case, though, it was calculated. However, even if the executive did not see Don’s point of view, Don still knew when to close the file. He even said himself that it was not worth the time that the ad company would put in if the lipstick company did not want to refocus. Knowing this, would save time and money and allow Don and his team to move to a new account where they could offer real solutions to their clients.