The Best Sales Advice I Got From a Magician

Years ago, I asked a magician to tell me something about being a magician that most people would not know.

His answer surprised me.

He said if he could make someone laugh, they would stop trying so hard to figure out the trick.

I remember thinking, I do not know any magic tricks.

But I can make people laugh.

So I started trying it in sales conversations.

Nothing scripted.

Nothing forced.

I just looked for a genuine opportunity to get a laugh early in the conversation.

It worked like a hot damn.

If we could laugh together in those first few minutes, something changed.

The conversation got easier.

They relaxed.

I relaxed.

We stopped feeling like a mortgage broker and a prospect sitting across from each other.

We started feeling like two people having a conversation.

That was a big lesson for me.

When I first got into sales, I thought trust came from proving how much I knew.

Having the right answer.

Looking professional.

Knowing my stuff.

Those things matter.

But people also need to feel comfortable with you.

That is part of why I have always believed sales is really service.

The goal is not to impress someone.

It is to make the conversation easier and help them make a good decision.

I have carried that magician’s advice with me ever since.

Before your next meeting, do not worry so much about being impressive in the first five minutes.

Try to connect.

Make them smile.

Find something you genuinely have in common.

Be a person before you try to be the expert.

Then get to work.