RE: Can’t get financing (Salesmanship is the KEY!) - Posted by Jeff Bliven
Posted by Jeff Bliven on February 12, 2001 at 12:18:42:
Thom,
This is where you need to be a creative story-teller, you need to distort or stretch the truth a little!
Some would call it lying, I prefer to call it an “Alternative Reality”!
Tell them that you are working for your parents:, tell them you are an employee of an Investment Co. (set one up), tell them that “yes I am young, and mature & extremely confident in my business dealings, however if you still have concerns, ‘so-n-so’ is going to guarantee my business dealings!” (find a backer)
A little story that may help you??
My first job out of college was as the "Asst. Controller for a National R.E. Investment & Management Co. I interviewed with the president, only because when I went on the placement interview, he was the only one there that day of the partners / upper-mgmt!
On one hand, I was more nervous than I normally would have been! The interview went well, and I could tell he liked me and what he was hearing from me… However, I could tell I was not going to be considered because of my lack of practical experience and my young tender age of 21! (I did 4 yr. in 3!)
SO, thinking fast, I laid it on the line… I said, “Mr. Rogers, I get the impression that you would like me to work for your company, and I also get the impression that you are concerned about my experience level & age, an I correct?” Praying for the right answer…YES! As I continued, I had to overcome these ‘deal breakers’, so I said, "Let me say this… #1) I would love the opportunity to work for you and your company, #2) I am extremely confident that I can do this job, not just to a satisfactory level, but I am confident that I can & will do whatever it takes to do the best job this company has ever seen! And, to back these words up with action, LET ME MAKE YOU A DEAL… I will work FREE of charge for one month for you and your company, and if you are not completely satisfied with me in any way, shape or form I will leave without you owing me a single penny! And I’ll be happy to put in writing. However, if you decide at that time or BEFORE (confident here) that I AM THE RIGHT PERSON for this position, I ask that… #1) I get paid for the month that I just worked! #2) That I get paid at a level that is EQUAL to my abilities & performance, regardless of experience or AGE!
He scratched his chin, leaned forward, extended his hand to shake mine and said, “You’re Hired! Forget that deal you just mentioned, and how about $$$ per month to start?” (2X the top rate the job was offering) He later went on to say that they weren’t just looking for an ASST., but really a replacement for the current Controller that was retiring in about 6 months!
Sorry for the long story, but there aren’t too many times when I can use it as a good example!
BOTTOM LINE is… Prove that your AGE isn’t a LIABILITY to your prospects! You need to work on SELLING yourself and exude CONFIDENCE, both in yourself as well as your ideas!!
Good Luck…
Jeff Bliven
TraderGuy@bigfoot.com
PS. Thom, what part of the country are you doing this in??
I’m 19 years old, so I don’t have a very elaborate credit history, but I do have extremely good credit for my age. The sellers require that I prequalify before they will finance me. Any advice on getting around that?