Sales Advice from the Movie Hitch

Good Tuesday morning everyone. I hope all of you had a great Memorial Day weekend. Over the Memorial day weekend I happen to come across the movie
Hitch while channel surfing. Hitch is a 2005 romantic comedy starring Will Smith, Kevin James and Eva Mendes,  The premise of Hitch is “Date Doctor” Alex Hitchens aids his clients in sweeping the women of their dreams off their feet. Below is one of my favorite scenes about the definition of  perseverance. And yes it applies to selling merchant services.

Now as a merchant services salesperson I was curious if any of the advice he gave his clients about dating could be applied to the merchant services business as well as dealing with prospects and merchants. I’ve come up with 5 tips that translate very well.

Hitch says “Even a beautiful women doesn’t know what she wants until she sees it.” Can the same be true of your prospects and merchants? Often times our prospects may have a general idea of what they want, such as “I need a point of sales system ,” or “I need a mobile app,” but they don’t really understand why or what it needs to do. As a sales professional, this is your opportunity to shine. A potential merchant is coming to you because they need your creative expertise. Step up to the plate and be an expert. Get to the root of the basic needs of your prospect, and then wow them with what you can deliver. Make them fall in love with the process and the end result.

Hitch reminds us that in the moment we should “listen and respond.” This is actually true of all relationships and all forms of communication in life. But let’s focus on the merchant services business. Often we get caught up in the full range of quality services we can offer a prospective merchant, that we automatically assume they want a certain kind of POS or terminal or another certain type of bundle that we offer. That is actually rarely the case. In practicing the concept of really listening to the prospect you start to hear what their concerns are, and you also hear what their ambitions are in terms of what they’re striving for. Pull that information out, and then find the skills and services you offer that match it.

Hitch also says, “A woman’s best friend must sign off on all big relationship decisions.” Well, its not quite your prospect’s best friend, but it’s usually a spouse, partner etc. Help equip your prospect with the information they need to sell the deal to their company. Do this within reason of course, but if you have case studies, or examples of similar projects, or even write ups from other satisfied merchants, that information should be readily accessible so it can be used to your advantage.

Hitch also points out that, “60% of all human communication is non-verbal, 30% is your tone; so that means that 90% of what you’re saying, ain’t coming out of your mouth.” This is true. A potential merchant can pick up on your behavior and non-verbal cues. Are you confident in the solutions you’re presenting? How do you feel about that number you told them (your fees, services, etc)? If you are not confident in what you’re selling, it doesn’t matter how great the presentation is, it could effect the outcome. Remember, a prospect is looking for you to be the expert, while also embodying the ability to assess their needs and deliver something unique for them. Own it.

Lastly Hitch also tell Albert that “8 out of 10 women think that the first kiss will tell them everything they need to know about a relationship.” Well, you probably won’t get a first kiss in a business relationship, but that first phone call or in person meeting is a very critical part of the process. And just like dating, it plays a huge role on whether or not you make the cut and move on to round 2.

Use the natural sales talents you have, and the elements of your personality that make you shine. As a sales professional you have the advantage to make thing happen.The best advice is really establish that human connection and rapport allowing you to go above and beyond the sell with confidence.

After all, Hitch is just a movie, but often times pearls of wisdom come from some very unexpected places. I also watched the football movie The Replacements with Keanu Reeves maybe there is some wisdom there as well.