How Does Revealing a Weakness Increase Your Chance of Closing the Sale?

We know that business is driven by sales. We understand that sales is driven by people. And we have all heard that every person in the company who ever meets a customer is in sales. Right?

What you may not know is how do you get people to be better at sales without expensive sales training for the whole company?

The key is connection – but how do you get an instant connection? Great question – I’m glad you asked.

Think of people you feel most connected to. Have they shown you their vulnerability and authentic selves? Now, in a sale, whom do you buy from? Someone you feel connected to or someone where there is no connection?

An example of vulnerability might be saying (as a member of my board did when he was starting out in sales "Look, I'm new at this so I might mess it up, but I really don't mean to and this is actually quite a good product so I just hope I do it justice?"

It might mean admitting "This product isn't perfect. It has its weaknesses. For one, it will not have feature x for another 6 months. However, you will see during this presentation that the strengths outweigh this weakness 10-fold".

Are you starting to see how an authentic declaration makes them more likely to believe your pitch that follows, before you even start pitching? That's a compelling result already.

This works because we all buy from people you connect with. So, here you are spending all this time hiding parts of your personality in order to be “professional”. That has the net effect of disconnection. By trying to speed up a sale by doing everything right, we are slowing it down by being less vulnerable or authentic. The flip-side is that if you are both authentic and vulnerable, you actually speed up the sale. You have everything to gain and little to lose by being authentic. Vulnerability is not that old Budweiser commercial where you break down crying while saying, "I love you man!" Vulnerability is a state of mind. It is a clear signal to your prospect or person you are talking to with, "This is who I am. This is real. I’m not hiding anything." If you’re new to a situation, then be honest. If you don't know the answer, say so (then make a point of finding out). If you disagree, tactfully do so (It shows you have a spine and are not the sort of person who will say anything to get a sale). If you messed up, cut the excuses. Simply acknowledge you messed up then move on. If you think you have salmon stuck between your front teeth, say "before I start, I just have to know - do I have salmon stuck between my front teeth?"?"

If it is authentic and honest, then your vulnerable will deepen the connection. And connection is the foundation of all business. This will take you further and faster. People appreciate that in the Age of Speed.

So if this is so simple, why aren’t more people doing it? Simple. Because most people have been taught a style of selling that places the emphasis on "what you say" not "who you be".

Being is more powerful than saying.

Sincerity is more powerful than slickness.

And vulnerability trumps technique every time.