Tomorrow is Valentine’s Day. Men, you are duly warned. On Valentine’s Day the colour red means the exact opposite of danger; it means safety, love. Then again it means danger for the hapless husband or boyfriend that forgets it! To date, men, still wonder, ‘Why is Valentine’s Day celebrated?’ Valentine’s Day makes a curious study in selling. Here are three lessons in selling from Valentine’s Day.

Lesson One

Sales for Valentine’s Day’s gifts virtually ride on emotion. The price of a rose, for instance, will increase with every passing hour from ten shillings to easily hit one hundred, tomorrow. It may even be bought at two hundred shillings by the husband who, coming from the ‘Men’s conference’ late tomorrow evening, is gripped by panic when he remembers The Day on his way home, especially if he possibly had had a tiff with the wife. For him, bereft of Valentine’s Day gift ideas, paying twenty times the normal cost, is a small price for a stab at peace at home. Doesn’t sound as romantic as Valentine’s Day history tells us I suppose, but alas!, that’s the truth about Valentine’s Day.

So, when pressure for time is intense, exploit it. Confidently tell the pressured contractor as you show him where to sign that, “Importing a lift takes six weeks. If you are to deliver the project as per your schedule we have to order it today.” In a negotiation, be aware of which party is pressured for time and respond accordingly to the request for discount. Don’t be too smug about it though. You run the risk of being left with a withering rose no one wants because the price you asked for was more intimidating than the sulking wife. That’s the first of lessons in selling from Valentine’s Day.

Lessons selling Valentine's day

Selling lesson two from Valentine’s Day

Valentine’s Day also brings out the love for last minute action by any bona fide Kenyan. For all the pressure he feels, you would imagine the day is sprung on him, and not that he had 365 days’ notice.  For the past week reminders of Valentine’s Day have been trending on all media. But still, even some reading this will still be caught flat-footed tomorrow when it dawns on them, “Shucks! I haven’t bought a gift.”

What’s the Sales lesson from Valentine’s Day, here? Well, understanding the Kenya buyer, progressive sellers like All and Sundry have ready-to-dispatch gift packs. They will send an image of such via WhatsApp to you for approval; you will then pay via MPESA, text the address, and the delivery is made to your ecstatic lady- a physical and clinical transaction on an otherwise emotionally charged day. So, when the buyer says, “I want this”, and you know ‘this’ is what he needs, just ask for payment, without insisting on making a presentation because you had painstakingly prepared it.

Read: Limit your pitch to only what is necessary to close

Lesson Three

Finally, for the chosen few that have planned meticulously for Valentine’s Day, kudos! She will love you for it and quickly forgive any of the countless relationship landmines you will certainly step on over the year. (Maybe, just don’t forget her birthday). Equally, keeping your clients continually wowed makes it easy for them to forgive you defending you thus: “You know you are our go-to guy. It’s unlike you to make that mistake,” when you goof, as you most definitely will at some point.

Happy Valentine’s Day


If you would like to have your sales team sell more, we can help. In order for us to do so we propose a free consultation meeting or a call. If in agreement please complete the form below and we will get in touch after receiving your details, none of which will be public. Thank you.

Views – 496

About Author

Related posts

Avoid high pressure selling: Use this 10:80:10 doctor’s prescription

To avoid high pressure selling, salespeople should take a page from the playbook of doctors when it comes to engaging with customers. Think back to your last visit to a doctor. As a percentage of the duration you took, what would you give for how long he took to prescribe? Better still, split the engagement

Read More

3 Reasons for sales resistance and what you can do to overcome it

Embrace resistance from prospects as a norm in selling. It is the rare prospect who opens his arms wide to be sold to. Even when wearing the prospect’s hat, a salesperson acts in that precise fashion-he resists. Examples of sales resistance include the customer avoiding you, or declining your request for appointment. It can also be

Read More

How to handle an angry customer if you are a salesperson

“If they are not there by the time I arrive, cancel the contract!” So fumed the Operations Director of the shipping line that was also this travel agent’s largest client. The salesperson knew the consequences of losing this contract. He’d lose his job too. (A (non) fun fact. If you are a salesperson, there are

Read More
Stay ahead in a rapidly changing world with Lend Me Your Ears. It’s Free! Most sales newsletters offer tips on “What” to do. But, rarely do they provide insight on exactly “How” to do it. Without the “How” newsletters are a waste of time.