Sales Skills Series: Selling Intangibles

I want to use this space to reinforce the heart of our conversation around selling intangibles — especially in retail and design environments.

In this session, we focused on how appointments, financing, protection plans, and services are not “extras” — they are essential profit centers of the business. I emphasized the importance of introducing these intangibles early and often, not as an afterthought. As sales managers, your role is to prompt, support, and reward these behaviors consistently.

We also examined the personal objections that sometimes get in the way — particularly around financing. I challenged you to look at your own beliefs first. Financing increases average tickets, preserves available credit, and creates options for customers. When we truly believe in the benefit, we present it more naturally and confidently.

We spent time on protection plans and how to handle common objections — especially from customers who view the world through a different life lens. Compassion and listening matter. At the same time, protection is pure profit until a claim is made, and it protects both the customer and the business. We discussed using real-life stories, proactively intervening when numbers are low, and implementing simple processes like having sales brought to a manager before completion to ensure protection is included.

On appointments, I encouraged you to define them broadly — in-store, phone, virtual — and to use calendar blocking to make scheduling intentional. We also talked about setting clear objectives for every customer interaction and using tools like financing, protection, and sketching to increase close ratios and overall performance.

We covered intervention strategies when performance dips (like protection running at 2% instead of 5%) and how to step in without micromanaging — helping proactively rather than waiting to be asked. Writing protection opportunities down, reviewing sales before completion, and integrating protection into the product conversation are simple but powerful shifts.

Finally, we worked on objection handling — using assertive language like “Since…” followed by a fact and a question to confidently address scheduling resistance. We also discussed positioning in-home consultations in a clear, expectation-setting way.

My encouragement to you: practice these conversations. Track the objections you hear. Share your success stories. And remember — mastering the sale of intangibles is what elevates a salesperson into a true professional.

I look forward to seeing you next month as we build on this foundation and dive into sketching.