Give the a copy of the movies and u have sold them a pen

The problem with an average Nigerian has always been too wise to adopt other people's mode of operation, sales differs from client to client so does products and it's pitching mode. Selling a physical product is quite different from unseen products if you care to know. Back to the pen's question. Selling a pen can be done with different techniques and this will be based on your on-site observation. Some buyers believe every professional pitch is a scam while some will buy anything from a white collar job seller. don't be surprised what an office sales man could not sell would attract a mass sales by a mere inside danfo sales man. I have seen a car selling an herbal product with well packaged site of sales however no patronage for the spent 10minutes of my time at the spot and same product was marketed by a clown who took his time to study the comical part of the product and also observe the danfo persengers who were super stressed out and needs a relief of the weight. He sold at 2x the price to 70% of the persengers plus 80% took his contact. Sales comes with alot of decision making and it differs depending on state and situation of the buyers. Do much of human psycology, body language and ice breaking study and sales will never be the same for you. That's my opinion as an entrepreneur.

Famouson:
Brilliant!!

Guy! Haha. I just talk say make I look the username o!

U no go church?

From a sales expert: you can actually sell anything. Just point out the benefits, like saying its durable, high quality and affordable compared to others in that cat......Who no like better thing?

Afonjashapmouth:
The problem with an average Nigerian has always been too wise to adopt other people's mode of operation, sales differs from client to client so does products and it's pitching mode. Selling a physical product is quite different from unseen products if you care to know. Back to the pen's question. Selling a pen can be done with different techniques and this will be based on your on-site observation. Some buyers believe every professional pitch is a scam while some will buy anything from a white collar job seller. don't be surprised what an office sales man could not sell would attract a mass sales by a mere inside danfo sales man. I have seen a car selling an herbal product with well packaged site of sales however no patronage for the spent 10minutes of my time at the spot and same product was marketed by a clown who took his time to study the comical part of the product and also observe the danfo persengers who were super stressed out and needs a relief of the weight. He sold at 2x the price to 70% of the persengers plus 80% took his contact. Sales comes with alot of decision making and it differs depending on state and situation of the buyers. Do much of human psycology, body language and ice breaking study and sales will never be the same for you. That's my opinion as an entrepreneur.

Your analogy is flawed, sales should be effortless. More of conviction less of persuasion. There are a few factors that affect consumer purchase behaviour, and as a sales man you need to quick to listen and access.
The coy that couldnt obviously dont know their market and tilt strategies towards the direction.

Finally, the demand for every good product is in abundance, unlock the abundance.

I remember my ex boss called a meeting and ask few of us to sell him a pen.

Well after most of us have blown grammars explaining how d pen can change his life n blah blah blah.

He just laughed and said:

We should ask if he owns a pen cos no matter the grammar or how sweet we describe it is non-effective if he owns a pen at the moment...

Also investigate the current product n see how your new product can beat that ...

ylaa:
Thumps up
nice one

you know i will buy anything as long as you are the one selling it!

charles009:


You are so correct, see scenario below, be the judge.
Selling a bottle water

Eg 1 xyz water is unique,its odourless, its tasteless and it has been certified very safe having gone through the purification process. Its surely the best ma.

Eg 2, Addition to the above eg remind the consumer that the bottle water contains zinc, which aids digestion, diabetes, cancer, etc.

Which would prompt you to make a purchase my friend?

Great! That's why a good salesman should know his product. A Salesman who stutters and uses confusing word will get the customer boring and also confused.

When I was very young I normally follow this dude that goes to big manufacturering companies and banks to sell cheap products to big men at exorbitant prices.
Well, usually, when we've sealed the deal and the buyer asked to test the device we're marketing, it turned out it doesn't actually does whatever we claimed it does.
I was often humiliated.
Since then, I've promised to always know everything about what I'm selling and make sure it actually does whatever I'm claiming it does.

Dyoungstar:


I don die....LWKMD

See Ilitrate advising somebody

EmpresFIDEL:
lolz... nice and funny

Thanks ma'am

charles009:


Your analogy is flawed, sales should be effortless. More of conviction less of persuasion. There are a few factors that affect consumer purchase behaviour, and as a sales man you need to quick to listen and access.
The coy that couldnt obviously dont know their market and tilt strategies towards the direction.

Finally, the demand for every good product is in abundance, unlock the abundance.

Quote me only if you are intelligent and steer clear if you r ignorant plus full of sentiments ..... I am not here to lecture you since you know it all, so bruff swallow your knowledge or teach your own crowd. I have been selling IT products which are unseen via cold calls and FYI the best sales man in my coy so save me your blah blah blah. Don't mention me again plz

Youngetskilz23:
nice

Thanks boss

Afonjashapmouth:



Quote me only if you are intelligent and steer clear if you r ignorant plus full of sentiments ..... I am not here to lecture you since you know it all, so bruff swallow your knowledge or teach your own crowd. I have been selling IT products which are unseen via cold calls and FYI the best sales man in my coy so save me your blah blah blah. Don't mention me again plz

Forgive my indiscretion Sir. Its for a learning purpose ok

charles009:


I will resist the urge to use harsh words. Sell features of a pen and you call it sales? Utter ridiculousness. I advise you understand truly the meaning of sales.

Nobody pays attenrion if you aint ready to sell benefits, why your product is different relevant. A true sales man knows value is what you need to communicate.

Thanks

I'm amazed how you said basically the same thing(almost... considering yours wasn't even as concise) as the person you quoted and believed you were right and the other peson was wrong. Now tell me, what are 'features' and what are 'benefits'? Aren't features an encapsulation of benefits. The primary benefit of any pen is that it should work(write) the features of a pen can be to' work and be reliable'among others that set it apart. Even the illiterates who sell water have added a 'feature' to their product by calling it 'pure water'. Now tell me how does one sell a product without stating it's features?

Afonjashapmouth:
The problem with an average Nigerian has always been too wise to adopt other people's mode of operation, sales differs from client to client so does products and it's pitching mode. Selling a physical product is quite different from unseen products if you care to know. Back to the pen's question. Selling a pen can be done with different techniques and this will be based on your on-site observation. Some buyers believe every professional pitch is a scam while some will buy anything from a white collar job seller. don't be surprised what an office sales man could not sell would attract a mass sales by a mere inside danfo sales man. I have seen a car selling an herbal product with well packaged site of sales however no patronage for the spent 10minutes of my time at the spot and same product was marketed by a clown who took his time to study the comical part of the product and also observe the danfo persengers who were super stressed out and needs a relief of the weight. He sold at 2x the price to 70% of the persengers plus 80% took his contact. Sales comes with alot of decision making and it differs depending on state and situation of the buyers. Do much of human psycology, body language and ice breaking study and sales will never be the same for you. That's my opinion as an entrepreneur.

This is the best answer for me so far.
And the reason is... it's not stereotyped. Effective sales I believe is more of psychology and personal based on what is available at the time.

Helo,Goodmorning. This question was asked you just to test your sales skills.

Kindly note,for you to sell,you must be ready to ask relevant questions. Do not start by telling your boss the features of the biro and what the biro can do(it is called argumentative sales which is wrong).

Ask questions like:

Do you have a biro Sir?(You can sell Biro to someone who already has)

What made is your Biro Sir?(i.e if he confirms that he has a Biro)

If he tells you the made(this is when to start asking questions as it relates to the features of your biro).
Cheers

lilfreezy:
I've read quite a number of opinion on various website and I'll like to get opinions of nairalanders who have encountered this question in a sales related interview and how they managed to answer it excellently. I once attend an interview in a real estate firm and they threw this question at me and I was there looking at the pen like which kind wahala be this . This was because I least expected that question and I ended up a flop in that interview.

I've read some articles that pointed out that the best way to answer this question is by asking the interviewer more questions instead of describing the pen.

So I'm asking the sales experts on this forum to give details on how they answered theirs.

For career counselling and application tips(Also for your Professional CV and Cover letter,buzz me on whatsap: 08134657689)

Omotayor123:
They are actually expecting you to Show your sales skill by canvassing them to buy the Pen.


one of my friend was asked this question in an Interview...

"Apart from writing, what other thing can you use a pen for"

Abeg who knows the answer? pls. do tell

A pen can be used for drawing
Signing a check or document
Just for fun..u can use a pen to itch that part of back you finger can't reach..

olasclef:
It's very simple, just talk about those qualities that makes the pen stands out. Example. If you use the pen to write on a paper and water pour on the paper, the ink will not look blur and the content will still be readable.

FAIL

Laurele:
I actually asked someone this exact question for an interview i conducted for my company.
Just tell the interviewer the qualities of the pen, its durability, its unique color n physique wether or not its a refill etc.. Basically y its different from other pens... As a sales man u shld b able to sell just about anything

And as the interviewer you accepted that as an answer?

If what you said up there is true, I'm quite disappointed.

Think about it this way. Why the hell will I want to sell you a Pen when you can get one down the street for dirt cheap.

If I'm selling you a pen, I wont be badgering you about some unique feature. Whatever feature it has the fact remains that its just a pen.

Now instead of boring you with features, I probably will start with a few leading questions to see what I can home in on. I will rather home in on who you are and what you probably will be using the pen for. I would speak about the fact that your pen needs to show your class. Pretty much like you step out of a flashy car and people smell class from a mile away. You pull this pen from your pocket and people don't see a pen, they see class. Suddenly the rich ink of the pen with which you sign the lines is not just a signature, its a statement of power, class and style. You don't just want to put your acknowledgement in cheap ink. You want to do it in a way that reflects who you are. When they see that ink on the paper they see class.

I I'm selling a pen, I had better be selling it on a self gratification level and not on a logical level of features and benefit.

Intelligentdude:
Helo,Goodmorning. This question was asked you just to test your sales skills.

Kindly note,for you to sell,you must be ready to ask relevant questions. Do not start by telling your boss the features of the biro and what the biro can do(it is called argumentative sales which is wrong).

Ask questions like:

Do you have a biro Sir?(You can sell Biro to someone who already has)

What made is your Biro Sir?(i.e if he confirms that he has a Biro)

If he tells you the made(this is when to start asking questions as it relates to the features of your biro).
Cheers

Great Start

.

jollymizzle:
I'm amazed how you said basically the same thing(almost... considering yours wasn't even as concise) as the person you quoted and believed you were right and the other peson was wrong. Now tell me, what are 'features' and what are 'benefits'? Aren't features an encapsulation of benefits. The primary benefit of any pen is that it should work(write) the features of a pen can be to' work and be reliable'among others that set it apart. Even the illiterates who sell water have added a 'feature' to their product by calling it 'pure water'. Now tell me how does one sell a product without stating it's features?

Please, read books and stay informed. Someone above has a more intelligent answer.

This is a very simple question indeed. If an interviewer asked you to sell a pen to him in the point of interview. Firstly have the pen and ask the interviewer to write down his name Case closed when he don't have a pen to right.

EMIOMOADEOYE:


And as the interviewer you accepted that as an answer?

If what you said up there is true, I'm quite disappointed.

Think about it this way. Why the hell will I want to sell you a Pen when you can get one down the street for dirt cheap.

If I'm selling you a pen, I wont be badgering you about some unique feature. Whatever feature it has the fact remains that its just a pen.

Now instead of boring you with features, I probably will start with a few leading questions to see what I can home in on. I will rather home in on who you are and what you probably will be using the pen for. I would speak about the fact that your pen needs to show your class. Pretty much like you step out of a flashy car and people smell class from a mile away. You pull this pen from your pocket and people don't see a pen, they see class. Suddenly the rich ink of the pen with which you sign the lines is not just a signature, its a statement of power, class and style. You don't just want to put your acknowledgement in cheap ink. You want to do it in a way that reflects who you are. When they see that ink on the paper they see class.

I I'm selling a pen, I had better be selling it on a self gratification level and not on a logical level of features and benefit.

Brilliant!

It's good to see different perspectives on sales strategy. A wise person will analyse these perspectives, aggregate them and add his own innate skill to become a better sales man

the interviewer gave you the pen right, just tell him to write something down for you and he will see the need for a pen. I think that should answer you question.

1StopRudeness:


A pen can be used for drawing
Signing a check or document
Just for fun..u can use a pen to itch that part of back you finger can't reach..

Ask him to write his name on a paper, he will say he does not have a pen, then u tell him he needs to buy the pen.
it's all about creating demand by showing neccesity

all yu av to do is ,,sell him/her a story nt d pen ... telling him hw yu fell in luv wit dat pen nd why it stil remain ur choice..
note: be brief as possible ,,u dnnt wana bore a prospective buyer.

i have interviewed over 400 applicants. This is one question that we loved to ask especially if we are filling a sales/marketing there is no direct script for answering this question. The best approach is to look at the features of the pen/items and use that as your selling points