In this episode, we unpack a powerful concept: the way you buy often mirrors the way you sell. Are your own habits holding you back from closing deals? Lance Tyson breaks it down with real-world examples and actionable insights. Plus, discover proven sales techniques that top performers use to adapt, influence, and win in today’s market. Whether you are a seasoned pro or just starting out, this episode will challenge your mindset and sharpen your approach.
Lance is the bestselling author of Selling Is An Away Game and The Human Sales Factor.
Check out Lance’s Bestseller Books:
The Human Sales Factor – https://tysongroup.com/books#thehumansalesfactor Selling is an Away Game – https://tysongroup.com/books#sellingisanawaygame Check out Tyson Group’s Open Enrollment Programs: https://www.tysongroup.com/openenrollment
Download our playbooks: https://www.tysongroup.com/sales-playbooks Schedule a call with one of Tyson Group’s member: https://bit.ly/41YJW7K Subscribe to our Newsletter: https://tysongroup.com/#weeklynewsletter
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In-Sights: You Sell How You Buy
Selling Techniques That Actually Work
Who Hates To Be Sold
Who hates to be sold? Raise your hand. I’ve never told my wife this. I had my Journeyman Plumber’s card in Philly, going through college, and stuff like that. I’ve never told her I can do any plumbing at all. I swear I’ve never done any in my house at all. There is no way. I worked for my uncle for a little while. In Philly, you have to use black iron pipe. He used to make me cut it, not with one of those rigid tools that were automatic, but by hand. That sucked. As I did that, I used to watch him sell a lot. He didn’t like to use the word sales at all. I learned over time. I would always get a maintenance contract.
I have one with Atlas Butler. One of their guys came in for a maintenance contract. They come in with their maintenance contract, they look at your air conditioner, and everything else. As soon as he walked in, I looked at him. I said, “I know you’re going to tell me something is wrong with my heater. You’re going to tell me how old it is. Before you start and bring your little pictures to me and show me where it’s cracked or where it’s starting to crack or seam, I don’t want you to try and sell me anything.” He looked at me, and he stopped.
I went, “They didn’t teach you one for that, did you? I’m assuming you’re going to sell me something.” He went, “No.” I went, “Do you want to know how to get around that?” He went, “Yes.” I went, “Why don’t you just tell me that you’re here to identify problems, potentially some prevention, and maybe some opportunities? Why don’t you plant some seeds with me instead of hardcore selling to me?” He went, “That’s a good idea. That’s what I would do anyway.” I said, “It’s all about the opening at the end of the day.”
If something were wrong, I would probably buy from them. I like to be first in line. Some pump went. One guy came in. We have two sump pumps. I live over in Dublin. One sump pump went. The other guy came to me. He went, “What do you think about the other one?” I went, “What should I be thinking about the other one?” He went, “They’re probably the same age. If one goes, the other one is going to go.” I said, “Are you saying I should get the other sump pump?” He went, “Yes.”
That’s what you all do, but nobody wants to be sold. If nobody wants to be sold, do you want to be a buyer, though? You don’t want to be sold. You want to be able to buy something. Would you all agree with that? Let’s think about this a little bit. Think about your business. I was talking to Sean. I’ve had my roof done twice at this point, living on it just off insurance work. A storm comes through and flips up one of the shingles. I have had a buddy for a while who was in the roofing industry. He came in and said, “I’d get you a new roof for almost nothing.” That was his pitch.
That’s what you all do, but nobody wants to be sold. If nobody wants to be sold, do you want to be a buyer, though? You don’t want to be sold. You want to be able to buy something. Would you all agree with that? Let’s think about this a little bit. Think about your business. I was talking to Sean. I’ve had my roof done twice at this point, living on it just off insurance work. A storm comes through and flips up one of the shingles. I have had a buddy for a while who was in the roofing industry. He came in and said, “I’d get you a new roof for almost nothing.” That was his pitch.
Sell How You Buy
As we walk through this, most of you probably sell how you buy. Sometimes, there’s nothing wrong with that, but sometimes, there is something wrong with that. I’ll say it again. Most of you sell how you buy. For instance, in your personal life, if you look for a bargain with things most of the time, and there’s nothing wrong with looking for a bargain, you approach things that way, too. If you’re sensitive to price, and you should be frugal with your money, you probably pitch that way, too. I want you to consider a couple of things.
There is nothing wrong with looking for a bargain.
Let’s go here for a second because I switched my opening. We’re talking about donuts. Sean was talking about coffee. We’re talking about the Der Dutchman and things like that. Let me start with coffee. Let’s start here. Who here has ever been to Starbucks? Raise your hand. Who has an addiction to Starbucks, or knows somebody who has an addiction to Starbucks? There are some zealots out there. You got your order. Sean, what do you order? Do you know somebody, or is that you? My wife was sick. She would send me to Starbucks to get this thing called a medicine ball. I’m like, “Do you think this thing for $15 is curing you because it’s called a medicine ball?” It has steamed lemonade in it. I’m like, “Dude, it is not solving anything in life.”
Let’s go here for a second. Let’s tee off on Starbucks. Let’s go opposite of what they tell you to probably do in sales school. What do people hate about Starbucks? Let’s tee off on that right away. What do people hate about Starbucks? They charge you for everything, like the price. Somebody else way back here, what do you got?
It is the long line. They do have a good mobile app, though. Every time I ask this question, everybody is like, “Their mobile app is solid.” What else do they hate about Starbucks? They try to play you that they’re not corporate. Anything else? They do spend a lot of time. Let’s flip it over. What do people like about Starbucks? It could be you in the audience here. What do you like? It has a good feel. It has a good vibe.
They try not to be corporate, but you get the answer that it is corporate. That was the whole play to begin with when they formed the company. Let’s have this cool Seattle vibe. Let’s listen to Pearl Jam and do our thing. Let’s listen to Soundgarden, or whoever we’re listening to. What else do people love about Starbucks? Some people say it tastes good, but you know what? Over time, I started drinking wine, and I act like I know what I’m doing. I’m like, “It tastes good.”
I still think all stuff tastes the same. At the end of the day, some people say it tastes good if you’re a connoisseur of coffee. I like my Timmy Ho-Ho’s at the end of the day. I flew in from LA. My wife and I tried to skip some traffic around 270. I drove through Westerville. I did see a Dunkin’ opening up. I was like, “Let’s go. Now, we’ve got some competition,” but I still don’t like Dunkin’. I’m all Timmy Ho’s at the end of the day. What else do people love about Starbucks? They have a good loyalty program. They certainly do.
A Study On Opportunity Cost
What else? It’s like McDonald’s, the Catholic Church, and Starbucks on every corner. I have three sons. They all played college hockey. One played pro. Hockey moms used to have like a Starbucks logo, but it was hockey sticks or whatever. You can affiliate with something. People recognize that brand. Somebody said earlier what they don’t like about Starbucks. Somebody said the line.
A few years ago, Starbucks did a study on lost opportunity cost. We’re going to get into it later because all you have to think about is how many times do you go out to somebody’s house? You do a pitch. You spend some time. What’s your closing rate? Out of four, how many do you get? Do you get one out of four? Do you get one out of five? Do you get one out of ten? You all know if you’re going to take the time to go to somebody’s house, knock on their door, do a presentation, or meet and greet, maybe some of you have a better closing ratio than that. Maybe some teams here have some closers.
We’re going to talk about that. What’s that closing ratio? Who are the owners here in the room? You know what your lost opportunity cost is. We send people out all of a sudden. I do. We have seven salespeople all in. I know who my closers are. One of them is back here, John. He’s one of my closers. He needs more appointments, but he’s one of my closers. I need him in front of more people. That was just a sales management shot for the back room. It’s always good when you do it in an audience.
Starbucks is looking at lost opportunity cost, too. It comes around the line. There’s a Starbucks in Sawmill. There’s a craft store over there. I can’t think about it. My wife’s always in there. It is Michael’s or something like that. I went in there one time. My mom was in town. I was getting my mom something. I was getting my wife something. They were in a store like DSW down the street. I sat in line. I said, “I’m not sitting in this line. You guys are going to have to be good with Tim Hortons because they can get me through quickly.”
Sell: The marketplace wants to feel that your product or service is custom-made for them.
What Starbucks realized was that in a busy Starbucks like the one over here at Polaris, they would lose almost 10% of their line who would just walk. That’s the opposite of what we had happen. We have people go out to folks’ homes. We lost a sale. We don’t know why we didn’t get it. They had a lost opportunity cost. It was interesting. They didn’t know how to solve it. What causes their long lines? In general, they have an effectiveness problem.
What about their business? They are doing a lot of business, but they do something every time they take an order. What do they do to the order? Every single time, it’s custom orders. FYI, for every single one of you in here, you’ve got to think about your business this way. The marketplace wants to feel that your product or service is custom for them. When you go see a doc, you don’t want to hear that the doc has 10,000 patients. You want to think you’re the only one.
Important Links
The Human Sales Factor Selling Is An Away Game Open Enrollment Programs | ASO – Tyson Group Sales Playbooks by Tyson Group – Elevate Your Sales Strategy Schedule a Call with One of Tyson Group’s Members Weekly Newsletter Lance Tyson on LinkedIn Lance Tyson on Instagram Lance Tyson on X Tyson Group Podcast: Insights, Tips & Industry News
