Peter F. Drucker, renowned management consultant and my professor, was fond of warning us against being “too clever.”

This is very sound advice generally, but it is especially on the mark with respect to designing our sales approaches. Sometimes we try to cleverly disguise the sales purpose of our calls, masquerading as people who are doing “marketing studies,” surveys, and the like.

Most prospects see through such shams, and they become worse than useless—they impeach our credibility.

Instead of using cleverness, try to sound utterly guileless.

Let the prospect teach you how to sell him!

For example, one of my most successful sales campaigns—actually, I’m more inclined to call it a marketing campaign—anyway, it is built on the most straightforward platform, imaginable.

I call prospects, announce who I am, and say:

”The reason I’m calling is to determine how we might move forward with developing a business relationship.”

Then I shut up, which as you might appreciate, takes a lot of self-control.

Guess what happens, next.

The prospect: (1) Either asks me a little more about my background and experience in his industry, or (2) He asks if I can send him some information.

If he asks for literature, I say:

“Sure, I’ll be happy to get that out to you, and it will include X, Y, and Z.”

But the conversation continues, with the immediate attachment of a very powerful question:

“That should reach you in a day or two, and assuming everything is in order, what will be the next step?”

In other words, I qualify the person, to see if there is a spark of interest, and I get the prospect to set forth a sales track, a plan for acquiring my services.

Often, this involves the tentative scheduling of meetings and seminars, and sharing more details about such significant matters as my compensation.

What is amazing about this kind of conversation is the fact that it is relatively stress free.

While the prospect is saying we “would do” A & B, toward the beginning of the chat, he tends to change the language to we “will” do certain things by the end.

In other words, commitment forms in him, and it feels natural, organic, and not imposed by hard selling.

He still feels he has an “out” if he receives the information and changes his mind, but that seldom occurs. Usually, my follow-up conversation isn’t about persuading, it’s about confirming the commitment that has already been made.

Try this, and let me know how you do!

Dr. Gary S. Goodman, President of Customersatisfaction.com, is a popular keynote speaker, management consultant, and seminar leader and the best-selling author of 12 books, including Reach Out & Sell Someone® and Monitoring, Measuring & Managing Customer Service. He is a frequent guest on radio and television, worldwide. A Ph.D. from USC's Annenberg School, Gary offers programs through UCLA Extension and numerous universities, trade associations, and other organizations in the United States and abroad. He is headquartered in Glendale, California, and he can be reached at (818) 243-7338 or at: gary@customersatisfaction.com.