It started as one of those normal late nights at the pizza shop. Nothing special or especially busy about it. The night was fine with a little wind in the air and slightly cloudy, but the kind of evening that would give you a calming feeling rather than sinister one. Little did I know this would not be the case and one of the scariest sales of my life.
Here are some spooky sales tales from real people to help you get over your sales fears.
The Scariest Sale
During the final preps to close up, a couple of new customers walked in to order some pizza at Little Caesar's. I was the manager at the time so I quickly got up to help them with their purchase. I made suggestions and small talk to upsell and generate a little extra revenue before we closed up.
The customers place their order based on my recommendations and even paid for it upfront so they could just pick it up when they came back. I obliged and got started on making their pizzas. While I was putting things together I started to get a weird feeling in stomach. I couldn't quite place it, but it was almost like a six sense.
I made a call to my girlfriend while the pizzas were cooking and told her my feelings. Something kept telling me that I was in danger so I was alert. I mentioned that I had a bad feeling and thought I was about to get robbed.
The pizzas finished in the oven and I packed them up to give them to the customers. The customers came in to get their pizzas and this time they asked to get a drink with it, but my instincts were high so I didn't want to ring anyone up and was ready to close. I offered to give them the drinks for free. This is when things got real.
Realizing that I wasn't going to open the register, they got shocked and decided to pull out a gun and point it straight at me. Within a second they hopped over the counter and threw me to the ground while hitting me in the head with barrel of the gun asking me to give them the money.
There wasn't much time to think, but my only thought was to calm them down and give them what they wanted. I nervously opened up the register and safe because I wasn't sure if they would just shoot me and the other employee once they got what they wanted. Luckily, this was not the case. What they did do was tie both of us up with ropes and locked us into the freezer. We were locked in there for about 20 minutes before someone came in and open the door to let us out.
The good news was that the call I made to my girlfriend is what saved us because when they jumped the counter she was still on the phone and could hear everything going on. She was able to call the police and get help for us so that we didn't get hurt from loss of oxygen. In the end they got their guy. With the fingerprints they got from the place, along with testimony from myself and others, both suspects were caught and found guilty for their crimes.
For me, it was a shocking experience and one that I will never forget. It didn't deter me from what I was doing. I was back at work closing the same store within 2 days and was ready to keep going. It's not that I didn't feel scared, but I didn't want that fear to run my life.
Pro tip: Sales can be scary at times, but nothing as scary as this story so whenever you get down, just remember you don't have a gun to your head. Also, let your instincts guide you.
No Paint for You
A contributor shared this story about their experience doing paint sales for Sherwin Williams.
There was a big sale going with lots of customers coming to buy things. The card readers went down. We could only take cash or check.
A secretary came in from Doug Parr homes complaining we wouldn't take her money. I tried to explain to her that we could take cash or check, which she had both because I could see them.
The whole time she cried about how she had to drive 30 minutes to the next town to see us and we couldn't even help her.
She created a huge distraction for people and made the entire experience a nightmare. We ended up losing a couple of other sales because this.
Pro tip: There are times when the sale is not as important as the impression it gives. If getting one sale causes the loss of other deals then it's not worth it. Also be prepared for things to go wrong.
Money for Nothing
There's nothing scarier than selling something that doesn't work or even exist for that matter. This was the case for the team at Theranos.
The sales executive, Todd Surdey, realized that the projections provided by the company were sorely exaggerated. He was not confident on hitting the numbers based on the fatly equipment and lack of working product so he voiced his concerns.
This outcry internally led to the board ousting then CEO and now convicted felon, serving time in prisons, Elizabeth Holmes, who along with her then significant other led this lie to the company and board, for whom they were generating sales or investment revenue from.
In the end, the company that was once estimated at a $10 billion dollar worth, is now valued at nothing. Holmes, who is serving her time at a Texas prison where is slated to get out of jail in 2032.
Pro tip: Do research on companies you want to sale for and it helps to believe in the product. Also, never hurts to ask questions and challenge the norm if it makes sense.
Top 5 Scary Sales Facts
- Over 50% of sales people don't meet their yearly quotas - Action item: Don't fret about volume but rather focus on building relationships that will grow over time
- Only 3% of people trust the sales person they are working with - Action item: Build trust by actively listening and asking questions to get to know them
- It typically takes at least 8 attempt to reach a cold prospect - Action item: Don't give up after the first try
- 92% of sales happen over the phone - Action item: Don't just send emails or expect to get every message opened
- 79% of marketing leads never convert into a sale - Action item: Getting rejected is part of the game so don't give up and go on to the next
Regardless of which scary scenario you find yourself in, just remember that there are tools that can shed light on the darkness and help you achieve your goals, reach more contacts, and increase sales.
Seamless makes it so easy to do find and target the right contact that it's never a scary situation.
When sales are this easy, it's Seamless. Happy Halloween!
