Ever watch the show “Supernatural”?
It’s by FAR one of my favorite TV shows.
In fact, it’s 1 of only about 4 or 5 I watch at all.
Basically, it’s about two brothers who travel around in a cool car listening to classic rock and killing evil supernatural beings — like vampires, werewolves, ghouls, monsters, demons, etc.
Total “Generation X” TV show.
And it’s especially cool when they snag demons in a “devils trap.”
This is a special circle drawn on the floor (or ceiling) that, when a demon enters it, they cannot get out. And the two brothers can basically do whatever they want to them while the demons are in there — torture them, exorcise them, beat the crap out of them, whatever.
And you know what?
This exact same thing goes on in business, too.
This is where, instead of persuading people to buy, scummy businesses try to “trap” people into buying.
But instead of a magic circle… they use “tricks” and games.
Like (for example) suckering people with bait & switch to get you in the door… keeping you waiting purposely (to make you feel like you’ve “invested” time and won’t want to leave)… or (and this is a doozy) matter-of-factly asking you to “just initial real quick” some innocent looking (but binding) contract… etc
All VERY common customer traps.
But all extremely dumb, too.
Because even if someone does buy, they’ll NEVER buy from you again, and will almost certainly tell OTHERS not to buy from you either.
Which kind of sucks, doesn’t it?
Especially in the age of social media sites — where one bad comment zips around the globe with a few taps on the keyboard and a push of a button.
Bottom line?
We don’t need to trap people into buying or listening to us. We don’t need “tricks and tactics.” And we don’t need to play games with anyone’s heads.
I’m not saying that stuff doesn’t work.
But it’s like losing weight by snorting cocaine each day instead of exercising and eating right:
It may work SHORT term, but in the end it’ll kill your sales.
For 101 easy and ethical ways (no shady tricks required) to sell — online, offline, or on the sideline — check out:
Ben Settle
