We have all experienced it, the dreaded hard sell. Most often the image of the car dealership or time shares opportunity comes to mind but there are the more crafty versions of this variant of sales.

After a recent week on vacation in a place better known for it's customer service, I guess the various sales example kind of leaped out at me.

The most notable was during dinner at the Rain Forest Cafe. This themed eatery which is complete with rain storms and mechanical wild life that comes to life ever so often is not a foodies retreat, honestly you go there cause the kids drag you there for the ambiance or in my case something more insidious the lure of my daughter to a certain desert. The Volcano is three slabs of rich brownie tepeed on top of vanilla ice cream and covered in fudge, carmel sauce and whip cream. At 12.99 it is amazing they do not just sell themselves {sarcasm flag}, however at the Rain Forest Cafe every time one of these treats is served the waiter brings it to the table as every waiter takes up the call, "Volcanooooooooo!" over and over again. While dining we may have seen the rain forest effects a few times but I know they converted/closed the deal on a dozen or more Volcano's in that same period. The cry of Volcano was as subtle as the ringing of the bell at some car dealerships.

All of this set me thinking about the art of sales and its various forms other then the hard sell. Ultimately sales is always about shifting money from buyer to seller. There are of course various forms of transactions including the win win, high profit/margin, low profit/margin, loss leader, value add, loyalty based, freemium and so many more.

Sales is a reality of life and while it has not always been this way, once upon a time barter and trade were the dominate economic systems of the day, today it certainly is. More then ever it is all about sales and the consumption, in some cases over consumptions, of goods and services in an every dizzying array of options choices and methods of being parted with your hard earned money.

The art of the sale is getting more complex and often is not just about product and service. Companies, concepts, patents and much less tangible items are bought and sold. Perception and valuation play a large part in this complex economic reality.

Since the basic premise of sales is the shifting of money for goods and services one would discount free as part of a valid sales technique but that would not be the case. Chris Anderson with his book Free put this concept to the ultimate test in offering the book for free at launch via multiple digital forms (it is still available on audible for free). Despite being downloaded 200,000 to 300,000 times the book still managed to take 12th place on the NY times best seller list its first week. Mr. Anderson would be the first to point out that inevitably there is always money shifting from person a to person b even when the price is free it just might not be the person a or b you were thinking of.

Even when you think you are getting deal that is not always the case. We have become complacent in the sales process. You might be down right smug about those free minutes you are hording on your cell phone, but you might not be so happy to know that the $5 texting plan you have is costing $163.5 per MB (however 200 texts is only 3% of that initial 1MB) but every 1MB at the $0.20 rate is costing you $1,310 per MB. So dramatic is the switch that this seems more like a sugar coated bait and switch then a great package deal.

So I hope by now I have you sold on the topic and the need to explore the hard and soft world of "the sale" which sounds a lot like the title to the movie "The Sting" which perhaps it appropriately does. Join us as we explore sales and how to best capture business in the modern age.

As always, there is no better way to meet and connect with other executives then over dinner and conversation. $21 in advance via PayPal or $25 at the event gets you a full dinner, drink and the best networking around.