Customer Comedy Central - Be Careful
Welcome. If you like what you see, you can automatically receive these free semi-weekly posts by email or RSS feed. See the right side of the screen for instructions; it only takes 10 seconds. You will receive a verification email if you choose to receive by email. If you don't immediately receive this email, please check your spam folder. We will never sell or misuse your email address.
Humor can get us in big trouble with our customers. “But Scott, my customers just love my jokes.”
Don’t be so sure you are brightening their day every time you rip off a joke or launch a one-liner. Here’s what to be careful of.
“…the joke will be on us, and we won’t even know it.”
Sales Blog Comedy 101
Humor is centered on two basic principles.
- It is unexpected.
- It is based on some truth.
It’s that second item above that can get us in trouble. Simply stated, making short jokes about a 6′2″ person is going to fall flat. Why? There’s no element of truth to it. It won’t be funny. However, making a short joke about a man that is 5′2″, “in the spirit of good fun,” might garner some laughs.
While the short person is probably laughing with everyone else, I can assure you with 100% confidence that you have hurt his feelings deeply. You might think everything is cool because he doesn’t seem upset. Wrong. He’s laughing with everyone to cover up the tomahawk you just planted in him.
There Are Always Consequences
What are the consequences of the wrong kinds of humor with customers?
- If you’re careless enough to aim jokes like this at a decision maker, you will ultimately lose their business.
- Comedy that is even targeted at non-decision-makers will result in lost respect, at the least. For you that is, not the one targeted.
- Inappropriate humor aimed at people or groups that aren’t employed at your customer will still cause your customer to lower their estimation of you a notch or two.
Sales Tips on How to be Funny
So what kind of humor is appropriate?
- If you feel the need to make a joke at someone else’s expense…make sure it’s at your expense. Customers love when sales professionals make self-deprecating jokes. You’ll find instances where I’ve taken a few shots at myself in this sales tips blog. Doing that is not only legal, but appreciated by everyone.
- Just about any kind of humor that is not done at the expense of others, including persons or groups outside of your customer, is okay.
- I’d be careful about any verbal clowning that is rated much stronger than PG too. You never know when going too far - is going too far. Play it smart and safe.
Sales Blog Wrap-Up
Here are some sales tips that I know are true. Our words are our strongest and most powerful tool in sales. If we use these words to construct jokes with the intent of laughing at others, the joke will be on us, and we won’t even know it.
Further reading:
To receive this sales tips blog by email <click here> to receive by RSS <click here>. © 2008 Scott R. Sheaffer
Tags: language
We'd like to hear your feedback on this post - feel free to comment below!
November 11th, 2008 at 9:21 am
Scott, I have seen this play out in person, and you are definitely correct. Along those lines, sarcasm is so engrained into many of our day to day converstations, we need to be consious of the fact that this does not fly well many times, especially on introductory calls.
By the way is that Don Rickles or Mel Brooks as the pit bull? Trevor
November 11th, 2008 at 9:51 am
This is basically good advice for life. Jokes at the expense of others are just a bad idea, period. Well, unless you’re with your beer and wings buddies, then it’s ok.