Consider that my friend is sitting on the other side of the desk, in a purchasing role. If anyone doesn’t believe this is good for both parties – read my friend’s reaction to my explanantion of priming.

“Awesome Ray. Thanks. Thinking about this we get a lot of supplier visits…sometimes they prime us sometimes not…and it does go better when there is priming!”

I was working with an associate on my team in South Bend this week. Over dinner we discussed priming. I could tell she wasn’t sure about it. On the first call we made the next day the customer came out and asked “Are you just checking with me or did we need to meet today?”

The customer was also surprised to see me. She had not planned for the meeting because she hadn’t been primed. She had to go secure a conference room at the last minute.

Despite the missteps at the beginning the call went well and we actually secured a significant piece of new business. However, the point was made. Given that this representative is a professional, she quickly said “Excellent Advice for a more prepared & successful sales call. A technique that I bought into today…..great coaching advice. Thank you for sharing.”

So you see, good sales techniques aren’t manipulative. Priming makes the sales meeting better for everyone. Well, everyone except the competition!