Selling Lessons from Howard Stern!

You either love him or you hate him but either way you've got to admit that "shock-jock" Howard Stern, the self-proclaimed "King of All Media," is amazingly successful. Over the years he's gone from one radio station to another, steadily growing a legion of millions of rabid fans, and finally ending up at Sirius satellite radio with a Five Hundred Million Dollar 5 year contract. That's right, One Hundred Million dollars per year! Is he worth it? I don't know, but I do know one thing, Howard Stern can teach us all a few things about selling so if you want to increase the number and size of the sales that you're currently making, take heed to the lessons from the master!

1) Honesty - Howard has built his career on one main premise, honesty. He's brutally honest, some might say too honest sometimes, with his audience. On a daily basis (okay, four days a week) Howard gets on the radio and shares his innermost thoughts and feelings with his listeners. He tells them the truth of what's happening in his world. He shares stories about his parents, wife, friends and family. Often these are deeply intimate details like the time his (now) ex-wife had a miscarriage, things the average human doesn't share with the rest of the world. Howard has become known for being honest about all aspects of his life with his audience. What about you? Are you honest with your clients? Do you tell them the truth about your products or services? Do you give them realistic expectations or do you tend to over-promise and under-deliver? It's crucial that our prospects and customers view us as completely upfront and honest in all aspects of the relationship we share with them. My personal and professional experience is that people always appreciate it when you set expectations properly rather than promise the world and not be able to deliver. If you expect your customers to answer your questions (the KEY to selling - asking the right questions and getting good answers) honestly, doesn't it make sense that you should be honest with them?

2) Enthusiasm - When Howard reads a commercial it often includes him telling a story about how he used the product and how much he liked it. In fact, I recently heard him tell of a product he discovered that he was enjoying. The manufacturer of this product, a deodorant, is not an advertiser on his show but Howard shared his joy in using this product like it was something spectacular and something that everyone should be using. It's hard to get excited about deodorant but I couldn't wait to get home and check out the company's website after hearing Howard rave on and on about how great it was. The company called his show a couple of days later to say the product was selling out and that retailers were placing huge orders. Enthusiasm is contagious. Do you state the facts about the features and benefits of what you sell or do you share your unbridled enthusiasm? If you're not excited about what you're trying to sell, why would you expect your customer to get excited and do business with you?

3) Rapport - Listening to Howard Stern is a lot like watching the TV show "Seinfeld" for me. Again, you may not have been a "Seinfeld" fan but if you were you know that watching Jerry, George, Kramer and Elaine each week was like hanging out with old friends. You learned their personalities, their quirks, their likes and dislikes and what made them tick. You shared in their dating lives, their financial or job situations and everything that happened to them. Same thing with Howard. Listening to his show each day is like hanging out with your best buddies. Howard and Robin, Fred and Artie, Gary (his long-suffering producer) and the rest of the freaks on the show become a family to his listeners. We learn of their triumphs and foibles, their positives and negatives. We come to "know" them in a way that we do not with most "celebrities." I'd bet that almost any of Howard's listeners would jump at the chance to hang out with him in person, even though Howard describes himself as miserable and annoying to be with. We feel like we know and love him, like a best friend. Do you create relationship with the people you do business with? Do you share information about yourself or do you expect them to do so simply because it will help you to sell them? I can tell you from personal experience that my best customers learn about me and my life and I learn about theirs. If it's true, and it is, that people buy from people they like and trust are you doing everything you can to establish and nurture your relationships with your prospects and customers?

4) Humor - While many might disagree, Howard is (if nothing else) funny. You might not appreciate his sense of humor but he is a funny guy. He's vastly intelligent and understands what his audience is looking for and Howard attracts listeners (customers) with the same sense of humor that he has, sophomoric. Howard seems to be stuck at the age of about 16 or 17, when expelling gas was still among the funniest things you could imagine. (Yes, his audience is made up of far more men than women but women love him to!) He's clever and has a quick mind which is augmented by a staff of writers who think much like he does. He also appreciates the humor found is most of life and is often cracked up by what goes on around him. While I'm not suggesting you tell "fart jokes" to your prospects I am suggesting that a smile every now and then goes a long way. Lighten up and have a good time with the people you're trying to sell and there's a good chance that they'll lighten up too. When you make dealing with you an enjoyable experience you dramatically increase the odds of a sale.

I was recently wandering the frozen food aisle in my local grocery store and passing the ice cream I decided to pick up some Klondike bars, a type of ice cream. I got them home, stuck them in the freezer and a few days later I ate one. It was okay but I didn't love it. I remembered having Klondike bars when I was a kid and not liking them then either. "Why did I buy them?" I asked myself and suddenly realized that Howard had recently done a commercial for Klondike bars. Do you have that type of influence with your "audience?" Can you help them choose to buy products or services from you simply because you recommend they do? Whether you like him or not, take some lessons from Howard Stern and watch your sales soar!

Make It Happen,

Jeff