While the average Shark Tank viewer may watch for entertainment value, the

hit ABC show also provides an education on how to successfully sell your

product to high-profile prospects. In this ebook, we’ll explore 5 important

sales lessons we learned from Shark Tank. Before we “dive” in, let’s learn a

little more about the sharks.

Image source: Rise Interactive

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Before we “dive” in

Real passion and loyalty for a product is a salesperson’s number one asset.

When you’re trying to convince someone that what you have is worth their

money, they can’t just believe in the product, they have to believe in you.

Image Credit: Shark Tank Blog

When Shane Talbott and Steve Nakisher, the founders of Talbott Teas, pitched

their designer beverage company on Shark Tank, they already had an

amazing product. The company had increased from $100,000 to over

$500,000 in sales over three years, with 50% profit margins. The Shark Tank

investors loved the idea and the numbers, but were still reluctant to invest,

citing business conflicts or lack of personal interest in the product. Those who

didn’t bow out immediately kept asking questions, and the real tipping point

came when the Talbott and Nakisher revealed that they had invested

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Prospects buy into you as much as your idea or product

$300,000 of their own money in the company. Even Mark Cuban’s eyes

widened when they said that, and what he said next was the most telling

analysis in the whole episode: “So you guys…, you believe!”

The fact that Talbott and Nakisher had personally invested so much in their

company made it clear that they were in it for the long haul. They knew they

could take the company all the way themselves, and they were able to prove

that to their potential investors. In the end, Kevin O’Leary offered to invest the

$250,000 the Talbott Teas founders were looking for, but only for a whopping

40% stake in the company; twice what the founders had offered. O’Leary is

known for rarely changing his offers after they’re on the table, but in this case

he ended up reducing his equity requirement by 5%. His reason? “‘cause I

really like you guys.”

The Talbott Teas founders took the deal, and eventually sold their company to

Jamba Juice for an undisclosed amount, in a deal that never could have

happened if Talbott and Nakisher hadn’t been able to go beyond business

metrics and prove that they were 100% personally invested in the product, and

had deep enough domain expertise to see it through.

If you need more evidence that investors will buy into a person just as much

as an idea, look no further than Shark Tank episode 302 and Steve Gadlin’s

hilarious business, I Want To Draw A Cat For You.

Gadlin set himself apart from the crowd instantly with a literal song and dance.

Though his musical business pitch was whimsical, Gadlin clearly knew how to

sell himself. When potential investor Robert Herjavec asked how the business

could go from $9,000 to $100,000 in sales, Gadlin answered, “By working

with me on this, you’re partnering with one of the most creative minds, period.

I strike gold in very unpredictable ways.”

Repeatedly during his pitch to the Sharks, Steve acknowledged that while his

cat-drawing business is the hook, the real investment is in Steve himself, and

his ability to generate creative ideas that make money. Gadlin’s commitment

to selling not just a business, but a partnership, paid off big time. Mark Cuban

couldn’t resist, and offered $25,000 for a 33% stake. Steve walked away with

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an investment that was more than double his company’s total profits. More

importantly, he walked away with a billionaire business partner, which is

exactly what he wanted.

Selling Yourself

The founders of Talbott Teas and I Want To Draw A Cat For You both knew that

making the sale required more than a stellar business idea. To get the money

they came for, they had to make the Sharks feel good about working with

them. That can be tough to do, but it worked, and their businesses have

become two of the most incredible success stories in Shark Tank’s history.

Plenty of salespeople can make friends with a buyer, but maintaining the

relationship is what can really boost sales, and there are a few tried and true

ways of doing it.

1. Keep in touch

A recent Forbes article suggests that selling to your existing customer base is

the best way to increase sales overall. Once you have built a trusting

relationship with a buyer, their willingness to buy more in the future

skyrockets.

2. Follow up promptly

The first time you get in touch with a potential buyer, make sure to tell them

exactly when you will follow up with them. Make a promise, and keep it

quickly. This is one of your best opportunities for earning trust. As Craig

Rosenberg elegantly wrote in a blog post on sales development teams, “your

buyer wants you to follow up.” Research done by Velocify also indicates that

following up on a lead quickly can massively increase your conversion rate.

Tell them you’ll call, and do it! It all boils down to trust.

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3. Treat your customers like friends

Don’t spend all your time trying to sell to the customer. Steven Van Belleghem

illustrates this point beautifully by citing the example of Tupperware Parties

hosted at customers’ homes. These parties were wildly successful at selling

kitchen supplies largely because they created space for friendship and

camaraderie between the seller and the buyer. Buying is often more of an

emotional decision than a reasoned one, and buying from a friend feels good.

All the goodwill and relationship-building in the world won’t help if you can’t

meet your buyer’s needs. Shark Tank has some excellent examples of how

negotiating with the buyer’s needs in mind can help you make the sale.

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If you know what is important to your buyer, you are in a great position to

negotiate. Figuring out exactly what your buyer values most in a deal allows

you to focus on their needs while still providing you tons of leverage to

negotiate the terms you want.

Image Credit: Local Living

When Aaron Krause pitched his innovative, texture-changing sponge

company, Scrub Daddy, on Shark Tank, three of the Sharks made offers, and

immediately started trying to outbid each other. The bidding war that broke

out among the Sharks gave Krause an amazing level of insight into just how

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Learn how to negotiate

desirable his company was, and a good negotiator can always turn that kind of

insight into leverage.

The Sharks’ bidding war wasn’t the only negotiation tool in Krause’s belt. He

had previously had great success selling Scrub Daddy sponges on the home

shopping network QVC, and one of the Sharks, Lori Greiner, has a major

reputation for investing in QVC products. Greiner’s status as the “Queen of

QVC,” along with her aggressive bidding for Scrub Daddy, made it clear that

she placed more value on the product than any of the other Sharks. Before it

became obvious that Greiner was the best Shark for this deal, Krause

exercised several well-known negotiation tactics that helped him secure more

advantageous terms.

1. Never accept the first offer

Krause flatly refused Kevin O’Leary’s offer of $100,000 for 50% equity in Scrub

Daddy. This was a powerful tactic because it showed that Krause wasn’t

desperate to make a deal. Power negotiation expert Roger Dawson outlines

the reasons for always rejecting first offers on his blog, but what it boils down

to is that if you take the first offer, you aren’t negotiating. And if you aren’t

negotiating, you should be.

2. Focus on the other side of the deal

Krause knew that Lori Greiner was “the queen of QVC,” and it came up before

any offers were on the table. If he hadn’t known about Greiner’s special

interest in his product, Krause might have been tempted to accept one of the

many lucrative offers from other Sharks. Because Krause understood what

Greiner was after, he was able to bide his time and allow the other Sharks to

sweeten the pot repeatedly, eventually pushing Greiner to give Krause much

better terms than she initially offered.

Negotiation expert Ed Brodow offers Ten Tips for Negotiation in 2014, and

half of them are about focusing on the other person, listening to them, and

knowing what they want.

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“Do your homework…,” Brodow suggests, “The more information you have

about the people with whom you are negotiating, the stronger you will be.”

3. Don’t be afraid to ask for what you want

Krause really proved his negotiation chops in the final moments of his spot on

Shark Tank after rejecting deal after deal and watching the offers skyrocket.

Lori Greiner laid down an ultimatum: $200,000 for 25%, if Krause accepted

immediately. If not, Greiner would bow out. Even under intense pressure,

Krause made the important negotiation decision to ask for what he wanted.

He asked Greiner to lower her equity requirement to 20%, and she took the

deal.

Hockey legend Wayne Gretzky famously said “You miss 100% of the shots you

don’t take.” You will never get what you want without asking, so if you want to

negotiate, you have to ask for what you want. No excuses.

Negotiation tactics can help you in almost any sales or business context.

Knowing how to meet the other party’s needs while securing terms you are

happy with is vital. That doesn’t mean you should use your knowledge to push

your buyer or investor into a deal they aren’t comfortable with. Getting what

you came for without being greedy fosters goodwill and will earn you not only

the business, but the respect, of anyone you work with.

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If you’re in business, it is safe to assume you’re there to make money, and

nobody is going to hold that against you. However, it is important to go into

any deal knowing your own expectations, and what kind of terms you’re

willing to walk away with. Managing expectations is a key factor if you want to

consistently close sales with no regrets.

Image Credit: Caroline Tran

When Hanna and Mark Lim pitched their Made-in-America straw cup for

toddlers on Shark Tank, they got a fairly positive response, with several of the

Sharks making tantalizing offers. When the bidding got aggressive, though,

they hesitated too long. It quickly became obvious that they weren’t going to

get their initial request of $100,000 for a 15% stake in the company. Several of

the Sharks made similar offers for 40% offers, and Daymond sweetened the

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Don’t be greedy

pot by offering the same amount of money for 30%, but he backed out when

the Lims hesitated for too long. Because they were unable to decide quickly

enough to accept the best offer, the Lims ended up taking $100,000 for 40%

of their company, with the investment split between two of the Sharks.

While the Lims didn’t take the best offer from a monetary standpoint, they

ended up with two investors that they had strongly desired to work with. By

accepting that they weren’t going the get the numbers they were after, they

were able to secure an acceptable investment, and two extremely smart and

experienced advisers.

Managing your own expectations in any business deal is vital, but it is also

important to anticipate the expectations of your buyer. Kevin O’Leary threw

the Lims a curveball when he said he’d invest in their company if they would

offshore their manufacturing, compromising their Made-in-USA ethic. Because

the Lims didn’t have a strong argument for why manufacturing Lollacups in the

USA was important, they were put on the defensive, and had to deal with

changing expectations on the fly.

Forbes offers five tips for managing client expectations, one of which is to

anticipate client needs before they even know their own needs! The Lims

failed to anticipate the general hostility of the Sharks toward their Made-in-

USA requirement, and they lost ground because of it. However, their

willingness to compromise on equity and valuation helped them get a solid

deal in the end.

When managing expectations, either your own or your client’s, it can be tough

to avoid getting caught up and trying to predict every possible outcome.

Flexibility and an understanding of your own needs should always come first.

As Yaro Starak, author of the Blog Profits Blueprint, writes, “There is always

room for improvement, so know what is ‘enough’ for your own needs.”

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The role of the sales person is evolving, and instead of having a fixed product

to sell to everyone across the entire swath of humanity, savvy business people

need to focus on the actual needs of their buyers, and develop products from

that starting point. That’s exactly what Travis Perry did with his Chord Buddy

product. The invention didn’t start as a business or a moneymaker. It started

as a way for Perry to teach his daughter to play songs on the guitar.

Image Credit: The-Shark-Tank

Perry’s personal experience with attempting to teach people to play guitar

provided massive benefits when he decided to create the Chord Buddy

device and the learning system to go with it. He had struggled with his music

students quitting out of frustration, and he knew that the inability to play a

recognizable song quickly was one of the problems that discouraged new

guitar players the most. That knowledge allowed him to build a product and a

set of tutorials that struck right at the heart of the problem. By making it easy

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Solve their problem, don’t sell the solution

for new guitar players to learn actual tunes quickly, Perry helped give them the

motivation to keep going until they had developed actual skill.

There’s a vital sales lesson here: know your customer. Know them better than

they know themselves, and give them exactly what they want. Many

entrepreneurs talk about the importance of “doing what you love,” but the

Chord Buddy story illustrates an even more important practice: do what your

customers love.

Modern businesses operate in a transforming landscape with highly informed

and connected consumers who demand real relationships and trust with the

companies they buy from. Travis Perry intuitively understood and capitalized

on some of the biggest trends influencing salespeople.

A blog post by the Millennial CEO notes that “value is rooted in information

and creativity.” Translation: companies can’t peddle the same old stuff any

more. As Daniel Newman writes, “businesses need to think about how they

can prove that they are delivering the value they promised during the sale.

This is the key to building positive rapport and retaining customers into the

future.” Perry’s Chord Buddy promises an extremely specific timeline for

delivering a well-defined, desirable outcome. No wonder people love it.

The same Millennial CEO post notes that “trust tops the list when it comes to

building successful, sustainable customer relationships…”

Perry’s Chord Buddy grew out of his own experience, and buyers are much

more likely to trust someone who created a product from scratch because it

made their own life better.

The startup sage and Y Combinator founder Paul Graham once wrote that a

good way to get business ideas is to “look at something people are trying to

do, and figure out how to do it in a way that doesn't suck.” That’s what Travis

Perry did with Chord Buddy, and every business will have to apply some

version of this formula to succeed in the future.

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A salesperson’s job isn’t just to sell any old product anymore. Every

salesperson is selling a better life to their buyer. The product is just a tool that

helps them get there.

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You have to be passionate to build and sell a product. Period. The advice to

“follow your passion” to career success has become a cliche, but it is true that

unless you have the personal, emotional investment to stick with your idea

through tough times, you’ll crash and burn. The same rule applies to sales. If

you don’t truly believe in what you’re selling, and prove it to your buyer, they’ll

walk away every time.

Image Credit: The Shark Tank Blog

When Raven Thomas pitched her confectionary company, The Painted Pretzel,

to the Sharks, her personal investment and passion for the product quickly

became her number one selling point. Kevin O’Leary was quick to point out

that the market for chocolate covered pretzels is saturated, and that he could

easily find someone else to manufacture Thomas’ exact product for less

money. Mark Cuban disagreed, arguing that The Painted Pretzel is

differentiated by Thomas’ passion and commitment to the business. Cuban

was impressed that Thomas had singlehandedly grown The Painted Pretzel

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Demonstrate your passion

into a company with hundreds of thousand of dollars in sales over a period of

four years. She had also walked away from a two million dollar deal because

she didn’t have the funds to fulfill the order. It was clear that Thomas was in

business for the long haul, and would keep going with or without a Shark’s

investment.

“You put your heart and your soul and your love into it, and you care about the

business,” Cuban argued in Thomas’ favor. “It’s called sweat equity…”

Moments later, Cuban put his money where his mouth was. He offered

Thomas $100,000, the exact amount she was seeking, for a 25% stake in The

Painted Pretzel. Cuban’s words, and his pile of cash, proved that even when

you’re pitching to billionaires, passion sells.

Of course, not everyone is trying to sell equity in a company. It is just as

important to be passionate when you’re selling a product or service. Every

purchasing decision is based partly or completely on the buyer’s emotions,

and a passionate seller will be much more likely to appeal to a buyer on an

emotional level.

Sales expert Nancy Bleeke suggests combining emotion and logic when

addressing a potential buyer’s concerns:

“After hearing an objection, paraphrase what you heard them say and then ask

for clarity which will help you, and them, identify the emotions involved. Is it

fear, frustration, concern, excitement, or other emotions driving the objection?”

A salesperson who has passion for what they sell will be able to empathize

with the buyer’s emotions about the product, and empathy is a powerful tool

for completing sales and building business relationships.

Susan Payton’s list of sales lessons that she has learned by owning her own

business also emphasizes the importance of passion. She writes:

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“My passion is what helps me sell projects. Clients see that I love what I do,

and they’re eager for me to apply that enthusiasm to their own marketing

needs.”

Raven Thomas’ experience on Shark Tank showed that not only do you need

to have passion, you need to prove it! Potential investors, buyers, or clients

need to be able to feel your passion and excitement in their bones and

understand that you’ll use that passion to help them get whatever they need

from the deal.

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After 4 years in the tank, the sharks invested over 20 million dollars in 109

companies, with the average deal valuation totaling $465,850. There are a lot

of lessons to be learned about entrepreneurship, investing and selling for the

show. In this ebook, we explored just 5 of these sales lessons Hopefully, you

can take them back and apply them to your own sales teams or companies.

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