Nobody wants to be sold to, but everyone wants to buy. Start working on the right side of the equation, by not looking or acting like a sales person. Tool #1: Sandler’s Negative Reverse.

“People like to buy things, but nobody wants to be sold to,” says Mark Kirstein, co-owner of Sandler Training by Mercury Professional Development. “So how can you enable people to buy  and lead them to go where they want to go anyway instead of trying convince them?”

Kirstein shares that a key sales strategy that Sandler Training uses is the negative reverse tactic, which is going in the opposite direction of where people expect you to go to elicit a response and hopefully make a sale.

The negative reverse tactic is about testing a proposition, Kirstein says.

“Potential customers can either take you up on it or not, but we don’t come off as a traditional salesperson when using the negative reverse tactic,” Kirstein adds.

Sample negative reverse questions include:

• “I’m a little surprised you like it so much. How do you see it helping you again?”
• “It may not be the right fit for you; how do you think it might help you?”
• “If it is not the right time, then it might not be best to go forward. There probably wouldn’t be a right time, would there?”

To learn more about Sandler’s Negative Reverse sales strategy, watch this video. And in no time you’ll be selling without selling.

Sandler trainer Mark Kirstein is the co-owner of Sandler Training by Mercury Professional Development. Mark possesses a unique combination of corporate and entrepreneurial experience, across sales and management roles. For over 15 years, Mark was CEO/General Manager of In-Stat, a Scottsdale-based market research firm with revenues between $5 and $10 Million. He led consulting and analyst organizations that advise and help clients optimize market development. Mark has a BSEE degree from Cal Poly, and an MBA from ASU.