Edward C. Bursk

Sales managers and salesmen in many lines decry “high pressure” selling as a crude relic of bygone days. More and more they are advocating what can only be described as “low-pressure” selling. Although the swing from high-pressure to low-pressure techniques was gathering momentum long before the war, the scarcities of the last few years have accelerated it. Now, at the end of the war and just before goods become plentiful again, it is imperative that we examine this shift in the thinking of those who have to do with selling, which has gone so far that viewed in retrospect it looks like a complete about-face.

laOIqUFMKRvzMsRMqE4izxJalnMB7TKjYSfxgyTl0vlAHIboP0wqgbN7lzLnhRZ9e9zfAg7E7ew3HLtZFa3pxykj2UEr4Nd+oTMikGQdjrPpbRrXWnHImvgkcGfzzefK

Reprint: R0607M
Traditional, high-pressure selling techniques were intended to talk the buyer into making a purchase&#8212;which often meant driving him to a decision rather than allowing him to reach it freely and independently. In this classic article from 1947, HBR editor Edward C. Bursk makes the case for replacing high-pressure selling with a milder approach, in which the salesperson does not so much &#8220;sell&#8221; the prospect as let him follow his natural inclinations to buy.
Bursk draws from his own business experience to support his points. He begins with a discussion of the advantages of low-pressure selling, the heart of which is the seller&#8217;s sincerity. He then analyzes the reasons for the method&#8217;s effectiveness. It&#8217;s most clearly demonstrated by the customer-problem approach, in which the salesperson learns about the buyer&#8217;s problems and, in effect, helps him solve them. Bursk concludes by addressing the practical questions facing sales managers, who bear the brunt of implementing the new technique. Low-pressure selling requires salespeople who are intelligent, analytical, subtle, and flexible&#8212;qualities rarely found in practitioners of the high-pressure selling method. Managers must not only craft a compensation plan that balances stability of income with strong incentives but select and train low-pressure salespeople with care.

Low-Pressure Selling

Reprint: R0607M Traditional, high-pressure selling techniques were intended to talk the buyer into making a purchase—which often meant driving him to a decision rather than allowing him to reach it freely and independently. In this classic article from 1947, HBR editor Edward C. Bursk makes the case for replacing high-pressure selling with a milder approach, in which the salesperson does not so much “sell” the prospect as let him follow his natural inclinations to buy. Bursk draws from his own business experience to support his points. He begins with a discussion of the advantages of low-pressure selling, the heart of which is the seller’s sincerity. He then analyzes the reasons for the method’s effectiveness. It’s most clearly demonstrated by the customer-problem approach, in which the salesperson learns about the buyer’s problems and, in effect, helps him solve them. Bursk concludes by addressing the practical questions facing sales managers, who bear the brunt of implementing the new technique. Low-pressure selling requires salespeople who are intelligent, analytical, subtle, and flexible—qualities rarely found in practitioners of the high-pressure selling method. Managers must not only craft a compensation plan that balances stability of income with strong incentives but select and train low-pressure salespeople with care.

Low-Pressure Selling

Summary.

Partner Center