This scene from the Wolf of Wall street is iconic. Everyone has seen this classic picture of a smooth talking sales person pulling a fast one on an ignorant consumer. People expect to be told a lot of great things about a product that aren’t necessarily true when being pitched to, just like in this scene. This is why bonding and rapport is so crucial in the sales world. Most people are going to distrust what you say just by virtue of you being in a sales situation. The idea is that a sales person will do whatever it takes to sell and that the consumer will lose in the end. It is incredibly hard to get over this perception and it will take a lot of work and carefully chosen words. People want to buy from someone that they can trust, and trust does not come easily. Many of the techniques that we learned in this class revolve around putting the client at ease and getting them to trust us. I really agree with coach DiDonado when he says that the cornerstone of sales is trust.
BoweryJE22
Good post. It is sad how many people nowadays still perceive salespeople in this light. This approach to selling is lucky no longer effective now that there is information symmetry. If there is no trust then there is no sale.
Bonding and rapport is certainly important in establishing trust, but once trust is established, it needs to be maintained. For example, it we earn someone’s trust in bonding and rapport and then break it in budget with hidden fees and other price manipulation, we haven’t done ourselves any favor. Thanks for this reminder of the importance of trust.
I think it is upsetting that some people still think the salesman is out for himself and self-centered. I think that has to do a lot with the character themselves to help destroy this stereotype. Great Movie though!