Don't Talk Politics!

The presidential election is coming up. No matter what clients think or say about it,

don't talk about politics on sales calls (or job interviews)!

Sex

Religion

Politics

These are three subjects that people have a hard time covering up true feelings about in conversations.

You might be the most middle of the road person, but somebody at some point will say something that you really agree or disagree with. Stay away. Don't respond. Keep your cool.

You might be thinking, "but Ev, I'm supposed to relate to my client so they will like me and buy from me and if I say I'm of the same political views as they are they'll like me and buy."

That is potentially true and something that after you know your client well you might be able to cross that line. I'm talking about the first few meetings with them. It might take several meetings or even years before you're comfortable talking about politics where your views will not be held against you.

In the first few meetings though it might be a trap.

The client might want an excuse to not buy from you.

As soon as you start spouting your opinions they now have their reason.

So how do you avoid talking about politics without seeming rude?

I was in meetings with business owners or company presidents they would say things like:

="I don't know what side you're on"

="If our (governor, mayor, president) did __________ everything would be great."

="That @&*#  is an a@@! I don't know how you feel about him."

In these cases sometimes you can usually try three things:

1. let the comment go away on its own without a response

2. Other times you can change the subject back to your product. This works well when your client says something with a lot of passion and often times when they are finished they are a little embarrassed and apologize for getting too hot under the collar.

3. Ask them how their business would be affected if both candidates got elected. Sometimes that leads to more insightful information .

Politics can be fun to talk about, just don't ever do it with a client or in an interview for those of you looking for a job now.

Thanks for reading!

Ev

A Heck of A Nice Guy