Sales Strategy is Not Debate Strategy

Too many salespeople think that sales strategy and debate strategy are the same. At the very least, they tend to blend the two styles of communication in ways that make their results messy. As a result, many salespeople get frustrated that their strategies aren’t working and customers don’t buy from them. Hopefully, what you read in this article will shock you awake and empower you to make more sales, far more easily!

Okay. Let’s start at the very heart of the problem…

Salespeople get the wrong impression about the relationship between the salesperson and the client.

In fact, salespeople tend to confuse overpowering the client with possessing good sales skills. These salespeople lose sales left and right, then shrug it off, saying…

“Oh well, sales is a number’s game!”

While it is true that not every client will be a good fit for what you sell, that doesn’t mean that you should throw away perfectly good clients by stirring up arguments with them.

Where does this argumentative style of selling come from?

Well… it has roots in classic debate strategy.

And there are some real useful principles of debate that you can use when selling.

But—and this is a BIG but—you MUST know what debate strategies DO and DON’T work in selling.

That’s what this article is all about: the major similarities and differences in Debates vs. Sales.

What Happens When You Try to Debate a Client in Sales…

The main problem with relying on debate tactics in a sales call is that the conversation becomes adversarial really quick.

When you use debate tactics wrong in sales, you force your prospective client to become your enemy.

The point of a debate is to make the other person’s argument irrelevant and overpower them with logic.

When you trap a prospective client in a corner, they will feel disconnected, get turned off, and become angry at you. You may even inspire them to shout in your face and call you wicked names…

Prospective clients come to you hoping that you can solve their problem… the last thing they want to do is argue with you!

Every Client Wants a Solution, Not a Debate

Consider this… Why is the other person on the call with you?

What inspired them to get on the call?

And if they don’t have a problem or an intense desire, it is worth finding out…

Why are they on the call to begin with?

The answer you find to that question will revolutionize your ability to sell.

Once you understand the your role as a salesperson and their role as a client, you can approach the sales process with much more confidence and ease.

What is Your Role as Salesperson?

Now, when I say “your role” as salesperson, what do I mean?

Well, this opens up a whole world of things for you to consider and learn.

There are several key responsibilities of a salesperson.

Your primary role as Salesperson is to Lead.

Leading is WAY different than arguing or debating.

Think of a person in your life who you would consider a great leader. It is best if this is someone who you know or used to know personally.

What qualities did they have that made you consider them a leader?

How did they interact with other people?

How often did you find that person in an argument?

It was probably pretty rare.

See, leaders—like great salespeople—focus on finding a mutually beneficial solution.

Debaters, on the other hand, try to destroy the other person’s sense of reality by brute force or deception.

Are you starting to see the major difference here?

Now, there is one massive mechanism that great salespeople and strong debaters BOTH use.

This is one of the core principles of effective selling (and persuasion in general)…

Debate vs. Sales – Main Similarity: Setting the Frame

Whether in Sales or a Debate, setting the frame is everything.

Where salespeople go wrong is the way in which they try to set the frame.

In debates, you must set the frame with brute force. In fact, you can think of debates like one long war between Frames.

In sales, you must set the frame more smoothly, more covertly. I want to emphasize that when I use the word ‘covert,’ I do not mean to imply any trickery or manipulation in the traditional sense of the word.

Setting the frame covertly simply means that you set the frame elegantly.

Setting the frame covertly implies an artful mastery of the craft of selling. At Turn Words Into Dollars, that is what we’re all about.

So how do you set the frame in a way that is smooth, elegant, and artful… all while keeping the other person so engaged they can’t wait to move forward?

We will cover this extensively in further articles.

For now, let’s look at the core of what Framing is all about.

Framing is about Defining, Labelling, and Setting the Context.

The core mechanism of framing is what both great debaters and great salespeople leverage to their advantage.

To reiterate, the main difference between debate and sales is the way in which you deliver this core mechanism of framing.

Hopefully, you can see the major difference much more clearly now.

Let’s look into the tools that we can use to frame things to our advantage.

Defining an issue is, in fact, framing.

If you language an issue the way that it benefits you, you’re putting forth your point of view, your frame. You’re essentially creating a perspective that supports your own interests.

By doing this, you increase the chances that others will see the issue from your point of view and be more likely to act in ways that benefit you.

Let’s look at an example.

What Does Framing Look Like in Action?

Let’s say that you are speaking with someone and they express this concern…

“The rich need to pay their fair share”.

This is a frame that’s prevalent in our world, I think you’d agree. Let’s say you don’t agree with that frame.

How could you language it to express your point of view?

“Fair needs to be equally fair across the board. Everyone, rich and poor, deserves to be held to the same rules.”

Then you could expand on that.

“In the Bible Jesus suggests that one tenth of what one gained should be paid. Here’s the thing, a family of four living at poverty levels earning say just 20,000 dollars per year with both parents working would pay only 2,000 dollars in taxes, while a wealthy family earning say 750,000 dollars per year would pay 75,000 dollars. On the surface, I agree, that appears unfair to the wealthy as their family is paying nearly 40 more times more money to the government, but on closer inspection both are paying the exact same percentage. In other words each according to their means.”

In this example you’re defining the argument your way. You have put forth the frame.

If the other side comes back with, “But the rich have to pay their fair share, they have to pay more,” you respond by holding your frame and showing how they are in fact paying almost 40 times more and yet are still paying the same fair percentage.

Labeling

Here we’re really talking about labeling, aren’t we?

In this conversation we’re discussing the label of fairness. We’re saying “fairness equals the same percentage for all” and they’re saying that the rich don’t deserve being treated fair; that they should in some way be penalized because they have either through luck or smart strategic investing or whatever, created more wealth or income than others.

Note that even in the example above, you’re sticking with your frame. In doing so, if they try to use your frame to explain their thinking they are entering your frame and thus have a much higher burden to try to carry.

We’ll have a lot more to say about frames in future articles, and you absolutely will find them useful when selling, but you’ll need to use them in a completely different way – keep checking back on the site to find out how.

What you absolutely will not be doing in a sales context is using them as they’re used in an argument – to stamp down and bury your opponent’s point of view. As soon as you start picturing a sales prospect as an opponent, you’ve already lost the sale – even if you win the argument.

Example: Forcing The Other Person Into Your Frame

The most prominent Debate strategy is to try and force your opponent into your frame by insisting on them using your terms and explaining how what they’re trying to say works inside your frame. It’s easiest to learn this by taking big concepts and creating your own frame for them.

What does this look like in action?

Well, let’s say you have a conversation with a good friend, and it is a really good friend. You ask them to take the opposite side as you, and you practice seeing if you can insist on them using your frame to explain what they’re trying to get across.

Basically it would work in a pretty simple way.

Just say, “I want to practice with you and I’d like to talk about something a little controversial, a social issue. I’m just practicing so that I can improve my skills. I want to practice so that I can learn more and become better at what I do. I just need someone to help me.” Do not say anything more than that. Do not add any additional information or try to explain the situation further. Just stick to the bare minimum details so they’ll respond naturally.

Then you say, “Here’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to take the side of what I’m going to tell you and you take the other side. This way, we can debate with each other and see who has the stronger argument. Here we go.”

Forcing an Aggressive Response

You set out your frame, as you have thought it through or written it out, and then ask them to take the other side and try to counter you. But you insist that they do it the way you want them to, using the terms of your frame.

Once you have a little experience at this, you’ll see firsthand how this doesn’t work effectively in a sales context.

You will begin to detect yourself (and others) who try to force their frame onto you.

That’s right, you’d be arguing yourself out the door pretty quickly.

Powerful rhetoric does not always make good salesmanship.

Powerful salesmanship is about setting the frame covertly and leading the other person to a mutually beneficial outcome.

Conclusion

Now that you know the distinctions between effective sales strategy and debate strategy, you can use this information to drastically improve your selling. No more stepping on your own feet by creating conflict where there doesn’t need to be any. Remember that the goal of any sales conversation is not to invalidate the other person’s argument… it is to help them see the possibilities that exist as they work with you or your company.

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