Consider The Sales Skill Of The Extraordinary Collector

This rather unassuming shop in London’s Chelsea hides a secret salesman to the stars. Gordon Watson is an upmarket art dealer with his own BBC reality tv show.

He is, we are told, renowned for his refined eye. An expert on contemporary art. Indeed, he supposedly bought Damian Hurst before anyone else.

It’s perhaps difficult to binge watch our Gordon. We certainly move in different circles.

Yet one half-hour in his company is enough to share some of his selling tricks of the trade.

We learn he is often taken aback with how much “naff” art adorns the homes of the wealthy. He sees his job as improving tastes.

In the case of spotting something that is not of his requisite standard, he has a trusty line;

“would you consider changing that?”

He stresses that the unspoken addition is “not necessarily ‘would you buy something from me?’ “, although that would be “an added bonus”.

Confronted with this again, or when there is a glaring gap to plug in a room, his next well-worn question is;

“would you consider having something extraordinary there?”

I was struck with how such disarming delivery would fit neatly into many a b2b solution sales call.

What is also good selling, is allowing his natural ebullience to come through in his selling. Despite trying to appear “poker faced”, his clients lap it up.

His language for what he sells includes referring to them as;

“these delights, treasures…”

Can you say something similar about yours?

And he uses the famous tag statement-question to close;

“Fantastic, isn’t it?”

As a sales visit ends, he simmers with a genuine enthusiasm;

“I can’t wait to see you again because I’m really excited and I hope you will be too.”

He knows that “sales negotiations can be many things; flirtatious, a dance, a boxing match”. So deploys the good old puppy dog close. He likes to leave pieces in place and come back to clean up.

He loves this tactile sell. Always looking to hand an objet over and lather on the many different facets that have gone in to the craftmanship of it. Drawing out desire building up each and all the elements that have gone into producing it.

Precious knick-knackery. Valuable solutions. Where’s there crossover in your Sales?