Ever watch the old sitcom “3’s Company”?
The show with Jack Tripper and the gang?
My favorite character is Mr. Furley — the dorky landlord.
He was played by Don Knotts and wore obnoxious leisure suits with loud colors, thought he was a “ladies man” and was always bumbling around making a jackass of himself.
Anyway, I recently got to thinking:
Mr. Furley may have been a social leper… but I bet he would’ve been a selling stud.
In fact, there are LOTS of lessons Mr. Furley can teach us:
1. Confidence
At least, when it came to women.
He loved referring to himself as a “macho man” around the ladies (with his characteristic loud sniff.)
And he had no problem letting people know he was God’s gift to women — despite not having a date in years. (Kinda like the consultant who tells you 300 ways to make love but can’t get a date himself).
Anyway, confidence is key in selling.
And in this area, Mr. Furley had lots of it.
2. Bad Dresser
Let’s face it, Mr. Furley’s loud colors (and that dopey neck scarf) don’t exactly scream “sales man!”
Which actually works in his FAVOR.
There’s something about people TOO polished that’s hard to trust.
Yet, many of us have no problem trusting the poor slob who doesn’t match his socks, wears his pants a size too short and butchers every other word out of his mouth.
3. Un-Okay
Mr. Furley is nothing if not “un-okay.”
And people who are un-okay are VERY easy to talk with (and buy from).
A perfect example is the TV show detective Columbo. Columbo does NOT look like the world’s greatest detective. In fact, he always appears to be bumbling and struggling. And it’s an act to get people to lower their guards and reveal information.
But it’s no act for Mr. Furley.
No sir!
He really IS a buffoon.
But he’s also approachable and easy to hang with. Just like that weird uncle who shows up at family picnics everyone loves being around.
Which, of course, makes selling much easier.
4. Land Lord
Finally, as the land lord, Mr. Furley knows how to get paid.
And not only get paid… but get paid over and over and over each and every month by dozens of people.
If Mr. Furley were an Internet marketer, I bet he’d have a great continuity program running on virtual “auto-pilot” that requires as little effort as possible.
After all, he’s too busy being a mac daddy with the ladies to spend a lot of time on it 😉
And that’s all there is to it.
Mr. Furely’s world-class tips for closing sales.
Learn ’em, use ’em, and profit from ’em.
(Just don’t dress like him, necessarily.)
Ben Settle
P.S. And speaking of continuity programs…
This is probably a good time to mention my upcoming continuity program about selling (ANY kind of selling — copywriting, marketing, face-to-face, phone, social media, PPC, SEO, setting up JV’s, the works).
Don’t worry, it won’t be outrageously expensive.
And you will get a free copy of my new book about 101 easy and ethical selling secrets (which will cost $97.00 on Amazon soon) just for trying it.
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