Tag: selling

“Stupid” Selling: Let the client lead the way

When I was a broker at Merrill Lynch in the late ’70s and early ’80s, I was trained to sell stocks using classic cold-calling techniques. My colleagues and clients were tough and fast-moving and wanted only answers. Quickly. I had to know my product and have my sales skills down pat. Smile and dial. Come in with a great opening. Wow them with sexy stocks and great numbers. Be clever and charming, and let the buyer think he was calling the shots. My opening line was “Hi, Mr. Jones. I’m Sharon Drew Morgen with Merrill Lynch, and I’m a broker. I’d like to take three and a half minutes of your time to tell you about a stock that’s going to go up in the next week. Do you want to make some money?”

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