Jerry Seinfeld and the Importance of Keeping Attention

"You Have to Keep Things Moving."

One thing about sales is that you have to “keep things moving.” It doesn’t matter when you call, you’re interrupting them, so you need to grab their attention and you need to keep it. When a product or a transaction is being discussed, the salesperson always needs to own and keep the momentum. This means knowing your business inside and out, and having all pricing and information easily accessible.

This is also true in your sales pitch. As soon as you go down “cold cognition” paths (too much data, unnecessary details) you’ll lose them and they’re checking their watch while you’re looking at your powerpoint.

In 2002 a movie came out called “Comedian,” which was a documentary about comedians on the road, including Jerry Seinfeld. During an interview with Seinfeld, he was asked how the process is different for him, given his status as perhaps the most famous comedian in the world. He said that he felt like his stardom and celebrity mega-status buys him about three minutes of stage credibility when the show begins. Meaning the fact that he is America’s most powerful and recognizable comedian earns him the audience’s undivided attention and agreeable mindset for just the first three minutes of the performance, and after that, he needs to be just as funny and entertaining as any other comedian.

The same is true in sales. Say you live in Pittsburgh and you are selling suites for Heinz Field. When you call a business and identify that you’re with Heinz Field, a reputable and well known city landmark, that probably buys you about 15 seconds with the client. 15 seconds of credibility and after that you need to keep it interesting and keep the momentum in order to maintain the client’s attention.

Too many salespeople think that who they work for can buy them 30 minutes, an hour, or even the entire sale. All you are is in the door. If you want to stay, keep it interesting and keep it moving.