Sales Rep Confessions: 8 Weird Things They've Done to Close a Deal

August 08, 2015 at 02:00PM

This post originally appeared on HubSpot's Sales blog. To read more content like this, subscribe to Sales.

What would you do for a Klondike bar? Well, I guess it depends on how badly you want an ice cream sandwich at that moment. Most of us probably wouldn't stick our neck out all that far.

A slightly different spin on the question: What would you do for a closed deal? Now there's a proposition bound to get sales reps' blood pumping. 

Salespeople are well-acquainted with the thrill of receiving a signed contract and the pressure attached to quota. And these two emotions can sometimes prompt unusual behavior. 

For instance, if the prospect is this close to signing but still wavering a bit, your salespeople might get creative. In the spirit of such "creativity," I present to you the eight weirdest things reps have done to either close a sale or advance the sales process, complied from interviews with real salespeople and internet testimony.

Disclaimer: Stunts like the below are not legitimate sales tactics. In fact, if you find your team is resorting to cheap tricks to close deals on a regular basis, you need to overhaul your sales process ASAP. The best way to close a deal is to provide value throughout the sales process and build an ironclad business case for change -- no tricks necessary. Then when it comes time to decide, your product or service is the obvious choice.

But every once in a blue moon, you might pull out one of these moves ... 

8 Weird Things Reps Have Done in the Name of Sales

1) "I once gave someone my t-shirt, so I was sitting there without a shirt!"

2) "One time I bought a small shovel for a prospect and sent it to him with a note that said, 'It's time to shovel all the other *&^% off your desk and get to my contract!' Forty-eight hours later I had a signed contract."

3) "I sat down to negotiate with a customer. I started at $35k, and he came back with $32k. I then proposed to meet in the middle at $34k, but he pointed out that the middle would actually be $33.5k. I laughed and said, 'Well, yeah but I'm bigger than you and I weigh more, so the extra $500 lands my way.' He chuckled and signed the paperwork."

4) "A client was having a Halloween party. Being in inside sales, we rarely get to leave the office, let alone dress in costume. Long story short, I closed the deal in a purple and black witch costume, and closed two more deals with same client years later!"

5) "While working as a car salesman, I was trying to close a deal with a young man who did not have his driver's license yet. I drove him to the DMV and let him use my personal vehicle for his driving test so I could close the deal."

6) "I once drove two states over to a client's house and helped them paint it!"

7) "I wrote an ebook for a customer to help close a deal. They've been a growing customer ever since and the ebook still lives on their site."

8) A few business development reps and I were at a summer event, talking to a prospect. He said he would agree to a demo if one of us went in the dunk tank. It seemed like a no-brainer to take the plunge."

Have you ever done anything weird or funny to close a sale? We're not judging. Share your story in the comments.

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