"Spaw, Amen about shut the fuck up and not talk your way out of a sale. That's probably the second biggest mistake I've seen people make in sales. The biggest? Not asking for the order.

I went looking for a TV years ago. Keep in mind that salesmen are the easiest people in the world to sell to. I went to one store, the guy gave me a wonderful demonstration, features, quality of the product vs what else was on the market etc., determined that it was in my price range and then handed me his business card and said to come see him if I came back.

I went down the street to another store, stood in front of the same model. A salesman came up to me and asked if I needed help. I told him that I was interested in this TV (same price as the other store). He said, "yeah it's a great TV, do you have any questions about it?" I told him "no". He said "do you want one?" I said "yes" and was out of the store ten minutes later. I felt like a bit of a schmuck after the fact because the first guy had sold me ON the tv, but realized that the second guy had SOLD me the TV.

I have told that story countless times when I've trained new salespeople. And anytime I'm in a slump I ask myself if I'm asking for the order, usually the answer has been "no".