Funny Sales Ideas

Using humorous sales tactics to tickle your prospective buyer’s funny bone is likely to make your presentation memorable. Sales tactics that solicit a few laughs during a presentation or promotions also help you stand out from competitors who rely on the same old traditional sales strategies. Before you put your comedic sales material out there for the whole world to see, test it on a few people. If they don’t quite “get it,” you may need to rework your idea to make it truly funny.

Ask your customers to relay funny stories about how they found your company or how they use your products in an unusual manner. Set up a contest to encourage customers to enter their stories by offering a prize for the best one. You can also talk to your sales staff to see if they have any interesting stories to share, as long as the stories do not make fun of customers or prospects. Once you’ve obtained a handful of stories, recite them during sales presentations to make your talk more personal and down to earth.

Add a short, humorous handwritten note to the top of a sales letter or on the outside of the envelope. The short line helps personalize your sales efforts while making the recipient more inclined to take your marketing effort seriously. This idea works best when you’ve met the person before, whether at a networking function or during a sales call via phone or in person. You can also use a funny note in the margins of a letter or thank you note as a follow-up to a sales presentation.

Using funny and attention-grabbing promotional marketing products helps leave a strong impression after a sales call. Pass out the items at trade shows and other events where you want to leave an impression on prospects. Using funny slogans on promotional products is another way to make the item even more memorable. Hand out novelty items that tie into your product or service, such as creating a humorous message that goes inside of a fortune cookie. If you sell services that help other businesses succeed, give out items such as a foam bungee rocket that suggests things are taking off. The key to using promotional products is to tie the item to a slogan related to what you’re selling so the prospective buyer understands your point and feels more interested in what you’re selling.

Hire an illustrator to create a cartoon related to the product or service you’re selling. Grabbing attention by putting a cartoon in a print ad also helps draw attention to your company’s offerings. Cartoons also work when enclosed with a sales letter. Brainstorm ideas with your staff to come up with the message or a script to go with the illustration, and then ask your cartoonist to create a one-panel cartoon or strip that highlights that message.