"Cold call sales"— When Shark Tank's Jane Lu and Robert Herjavec discussed the 'classic sales idea'

Shark Tank investor Jane Lu invited fellow Shark Robert Herjavec for her November 5, 2024, podcast episode. The Lazy CEO Podcast episode titled "Robert Herjavec: 'We Lived in a Friend's Basement for 18 Months'" featured both Sharks discussing various topics.

One of the segments featured on the podcast was about sales, where Robert and Jane Lu talked about many essential aspects of sales and trading. When Shark Tank's Robert asked Jane Lu her thoughts on if every "great" CEO needs to be in sales, she responded:

"Yeah, you're selling. You're constantly selling. You're selling yourself in the brand, the marketing. And then you're going to get customers, but you also have to get employees. You know, you're going to start a little like, yeah, to join your cult. I think everyone thinks they're bad at sales."

Shark Tank's Jane Lu added:

"Like, I'm, you know, I can imagine like, well, I think the classic sales idea of having to pitch to someone, you know, or doing cold call sales. I would just like get off the phone, get rejected and like, cry my seat. But I think that's a lack of practice as well."

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Shark Tank's Jane Lu and Robert Herjavec discuss sales, trading, and more on her podcast

When Jane Lu mentioned quitting her job and becoming a "trader," Robert stated that he had been a salesman. He then asked her about being a trader, and she replied that she bought low and sold high. Robert noted that he was also a "sales guy." They both discussed how every "great CEO" needs to be in sales.

Shark Tank mentor Robert shared his thoughts about why people are "afraid of sales."

"I think people are afraid of sales because they're afraid of rejection."

As Jane Lu also agreed with his stance, Robert further mentioned that sales are the "lifeblood" of any company. However, he mentioned that "every" sale was different.

"You do e-commerce, obviously. So it's different. You're pulling customers. In my business, we have to actually go out and sell something to people. Funny little tip, you know, I used to hire salespeople."

Sharing more about how he used to hire "salespeople," Robert recalled the trick that he used on new candidates:

"To find out if people really wanted to do sales. I used to ask them a trick question and say, Oh, Jane, I'm sorry, we brought you in for a sales job today, but that job is actually filled. But we have a marketing job available. Would you be interested in that?"

He further stated that people are "naturally" afraid of being rejected. He mentioned how some individuals have the wrong understanding of sales. He stated that people thought sales was about "selling" something you don't "need."

Further in the podcast, Robert pointed out - Jordan Belfort's "Sell me this pen" example.

"What would you say if somebody said sell me this pen?" he asked Jane Lu.

Amazed by his question, Jane Lu replied that she would say that it was "Robert Herjavec's Pen." After mentioning that the pen belonged to "The great Robert Herjavec," she would ask individuals if they wanted to buy it.

She then asked about Robert's pitch and how he would approach someone with the same question. Before revealing his pitch, Shark Tank's mentor mentioned how he had faced that question multiple times while visiting "big universities" like Harvard. He was asked to share his "The Jordan Belfort's big 'Sell me this pen'" pitch.

"So I said, before I teach you to sell, you have to tell me who I'm selling to because the pitch is different for everybody, meaning do you already own a pen? How many pens do you have? What do you need the pen for? Because how you position something isn't standard. It's all dependent on the need of the consumer."

Both Sharks talked more about sales and how people have misconceptions. They also talked about how Robert started selling computer parts and more.

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Fans can follow the Shark Tank mentor Robert Herjavec on his Instagram (@robertherjavec) for more sales insights.