I used this as part of my introduction, where I gave a brief outline of my career and sales history.
It is an excellent brief story that can be used to illustrate the traps that many sales people fall into – making assumptions, relying too heavily on some sort of ‘script’, not asking questions.
It was very useful, also, to show that we have all been customers and that we can recognise poor sales techniques when we hear them as a customer but we don’t notice ourselves making similar mistakes when we are ‘caught up’ in the pressures of the job.
It also prompted some discussion around the participants’ experiences of receiving good and bad sales calls.
The simple story is a great prompt and opening for any sales training course and can be used at different points during the workshop.