3 Secrets of Sales and Marketing I Learned From the Apprentice

It went fast. Two of the competitors on the Apprentice were in a match to see who could sell the most on the TV shopping show QVC. Each participant had 30 minutes to sell. One of the challengers was Marilu Henner the all American girl from Taxi, the other was Trace Adkins, the 6’ 6” rugged and rough cowboy.

Marilu was good. From the beginning she thought winning this task was a done deal. She was comfortable with the format, she would be selling to people like herself, and she was experienced with this type of selling. She couldn’t lose! Or could she?.......

Trace was not exactly the poster child for this format. Based on his image, selling beer would probably been a better fit because of his everyday man, country boy appeal. But looks can be deceiving and they aren’t everything.

So what happened? Trace stole the show! But how did he do it? Considering Marilu was made for this environment and wanted to be on the show to demonstrate her skills, here are 3 things Trace did that we can all remember when it comes to sales, marketing, and persuading others.

1. Confidence: Trace was relaxed. He came across as the guy next store. He wasn’t rushed and in a hurry. People felt a connection because he was cool under fire. Marilu, despite her enthusiasm, appeared nervous and fast paced and it worked against her because she came across as over-selling.

2. Storytelling: Trace told stories. He created vivid pictures of his children and how using the vacuum was so easy, his own children could use it. Marilu, unfortunately never did that.

3. Easy Pay: Since Trace and Marilu had to come up with their own pricing, they worked out payments plans. Marilu sold her product, a user friendly ladder, for one price. Trace, on the other hand, offered his vacuum for one price AND easy payment options. By doing this, he catered to the needs of the customers better.

At the end of the day, Trace won by a significant margin. Marilu despite her high energy, passion, and genuine excitement, had lost. Even though on the outset, Marilu seemed like the perfect person to pitch a home shopping product, the real success came when the elements for success were in place.

Trace, handily nailed 3 big influential factors that made the difference. He sold with confidence and sincerity, he told stories people could relate to, and he made it easy for the customers to purchase.