The Donald is an icon. His hair has spawned a thousand memes. His empire spans the greatest cities in the world. His name is synonymous with “rich and successful.” Love him or hate him, Donald Trump knows how to win. And what do sales guys like better than winning?
Let’s get it straight by saying that The Donald is coming off as a bit of an asshole in his run for the presidency – just a bit – with all the racist, xenophobic, sexist remarks and what not. But there’s still something to be learned from his disruptive antics that every legendary sales guy needs to recognize on his or her road to glory.
The Donald Is Authentic
The Donald has a diehard base of supporters despite being a grade-A douche. Why? Because he says what they’re thinking. Even if his claims might be half-baked, knee-jerk, or just wrong, people will rally behind him as a refreshing departure from the carefully orchestrated sales pitches of most politicians. We at Spiro are all for ditching the tired salesperson facade. No one’s buying that shit. Start talking to people like a real person and lose the canned pitch – you’ll build trust and rapport by talking to people on their level and being authentic.
The Donald Uses The Negative Close
To the Donald, everything is a high-end, impossible-to-get-into old boys club based on exclusionary appeal. If you don’t like what he stands for or what he’s offering, it’s probably because you’re not good enough or smart enough to hack it. We call this the negative close and it’s very effective when used correctly. Let’s face it, reverse psychology totally works in sales. We can tell people they don’t want or need what we have and then they’ll talk themselves into the reasons they do. People are better at selling themselves on something than any salesperson ever could be.
The Donald Uses The Authority Principle to Gain Influence
The Donald is a rich man. So rich that no one really knows how rich he actually is. He takes great care to keep up the image of being a titan in business right down to his cufflinks because he knows that people respect great wealth as a sign of authority. The Donald uses signals like his appearance, the way he speaks, and his wealth to persuade others to listen to him while he makes his case about how great a president he would be. If you ask his critics, The Donald is just a huckster with no real plans for America, but if you ask his supporters he’s the second coming of Jesus. It’s just an example of how powerful a psychological tool the authority principle is.
The Donald Knows How to Get People’s Attention
Donald Trump has put his foot in his mouth many times, beyond a doubt, but he really knows how to get people riled up. He’s parted the Red Sea like Moses – one side is full of passionate fan-boys and the other side is full of haters. The division fueled by his crazy larger than life personality and take no prisoners attitude has pulled people who wouldn’t normally have an opinion into the debate. If he were in sales, this guy would be ringing the bell A LOT.
The Donald Doesn’t Take No For An Answer
Donald Trump was recently called a “fabulous whiner” and totally acknowledged it as one of his best qualities. “I whine until I win,” he said. While whining isn’t an approach I’d recommend in sales, not backing down or taking no for an answer is. Tenacity and hutzpah go hand in hand.
With all the above stated, Donald Trump is a very controversial dude. Controversy is his thing and it always has been. Even though he’s mastered The Art of The Deal, I’m not sure he’s the right role model for salespeople to full emulate. Learn from him, take a page from his epic book of experience and use the fundamentals of getting things done is sales and in life to become a legendary salesperson. Who knows maybe you’ll even run for president one day.
Image courtesy of Flickr user Gage Skidmore
