SalesGiants Interviews Hank Trisler, Author of No Bull Selling

Hank Trisler, author of No Bull Selling

At 73, Hank Trisler has seen it all. And he tells it how it is.  According to Hank, selling isn't very complicated. It's not exactly nuclear physics. We all know people less intellectually gifted than we are who consistently sell at high levels. Selling is hard work, but it's simple. People selling well know that customers buy based on two principles:

1. People buy on emotion and justify the purchase with fact,
2. People buy for their reasons, not ours.

In this interview Hank Trisler, author of No Bull Selling, shares with us what he’s learned with all his years of practice.

About your book:

1)      Hank, let’s start by talking about your book No Bull Selling. 

       Who should read it?

NO BULL SELLING is written in large print and little bitty words. People new to selling will find the examples clear and the assignments manageable. Assignments? Oh yeah, you start selling on the first day. Grizzled veterans will get back in touch with techniques that made them great in the first place.  That’s more than one sentence, but there’s a little something there for everyone, even non-sales folks.

2)      On the other hand, who should’t read it? What will salesprofesssionals NOT find in your book?

Those looking for easy answers and “canned pitches” will be disappointed. The pay is far greater for asking the right questions than for knowing the right answers, so I have not attempted to include the answers in my book.

3)      What is the book’s greatest lesson?

There are two primary lessons in the book. The first is to shut up and let the customer buy. The second is that this is not brain surgery. You have to forgive yourself your stupid mistakes and keep on keeping on.

4)      What should people do after they finish reading the book and put it down?

Don’t put the book down. There are exercises at the end of the chapters. You’re talking to suspects, prospects and customers the first day and every day thereafter. Never stop doing that.

5)      What are your favorite sales books?

Tough question, as there are so very many good ones. I have long loved, How I Raised Myself from Failure to Success in Selling by Frank Bettger. People Buy You by Jeb Blount and Snap Selling by Jill Konrath lead the list of current offerings.

       

    

  

About you:

6)      How did you start your career in sales?

I don’t think I really ever had a choice. My Dad was a salesman and I just always assumed I’d sell.

7)      What was your most memorable sale?

Damned if I know the most memorable sale. I’ve long since spent all the commissions I’ve earned and that’s what was most memorable. I don’t look at selling as some sort of art form, but rather a business. I don’t have any of my customer’s heads on my office wall, either.

8)      How about your first sale?

I sold my first big truck to a fellow named Ralph, who owned a lumber yard in Renton, WA. I didn’t know that HD springs stood for Heavy Duty springs and didn’t want to get surprised when the truck came in, so I didn’t order them. When we put a load of lumber on the truck, it just squatted. Wouldn’t roll an inch. The whole story is in NO BULL SELLING, if you need it. There have been countless other disasters, but there’s little point in dwelling on them.

About your work as an expert:

9)      What is the biggest mistake you see as a sales consultant?

No problem here. Talking too much is the runaway winner. Salescritters fear silence and run their jaws to keep from seeming stupid and prove just the opposite. Talking too much leads them inexorably into a whole string of problems, many of which can simply not be overcome.

10)  What project are you working on right now that makes you feel energized?

Your question is a good one and makes me realize that, at 73, I have pretty much run my race as far as acquisition is concerned. I’ve been most of the places I wanted to go and have owned most of the things I really wanted. You’re absolutely right, I need a project and I’ll get one week after next.

11)  What is the best testimonial you have ever received?

I have a wife and children and grandchildren who all claim a certain affinity for me. I guess that’s my greatest testimonial.

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To know more about Hank Trisler’s work, you can visit www.nobullselling.com .