Sales Secrets of a $$$$ Call Girl

A while back, I was flying the New York to Boston shuttle, and ended up sitting next to a woman who introduced herself as the CEO of a specialty clothing firm. Late thirties, attractive, and clearly competent. Anyway, we start talking sales technique and she tells me, just as we're pulling into the gate at Logan, that she learned the basics of sales and marketing while working as a high-priced call girl in New York City. Here's what she said, as I best remember it:

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A while back, I was flying the New York to Boston shuttle, and ended up sitting next to a woman who introduced herself as the CEO of a specialty clothing firm. Late thirties, attractive, and clearly competent. Anyway, we start talking sales technique and she tells me, just as we're pulling into the gate at Logan, that she learned the basics of sales and marketing while working as a high-priced call girl in New York City. Here's what she said, as best I can decipher my hastily-written notes of the conversation:

• Q: How did you get into that line of work?
• A: My college roommate did it on the side to make tuition and spending money. She introduced me to the service and I discovered that it was easier and less time consuming than the job I had at the time. It was also significantly more money.

• Q: Do you mind if I ask you how much money you made?
• A: On a typical week, I'd take three or four appointments, and make around $5,000. That was more than my living expenses, so I was able to save about a third of it. I used that money to start this business after I completed my degree.

• Q: What did that experience teach you about selling?
• A: First, that some people would rather pay a very high price for something because it flatters their ego. Most of my clients could have found a girl who would charge half or a quarter of what I charged. But some people want the best, which they define as whatever is the most expensive. So rule #1 is: set your price high, and then bump it higher.

• Q: What else?
• A: Make yourself unavailable. Because I limited my appointments, I was always in demand. Also, make sure you're exclusive. I made it very clear that I wouldn't make an outcall anywhere but to a five star hotel, even for regular clients.

• Q: What about lead generation?
• A: I worked with a service at first that made initial contacts, but most of my appointment were either my regular clients or men whom my regular clients had referred. My goal was to build long-term relationships. A couple of my clients are still friends, even though they know I'm married and no longer in that line of business.

• Q: How does all of that map into your current company's sales?
• A: I pretty much have the same strategy. We only sell through a limited number of boutiques, located in a few, very wealthy areas. Our products are hand-made and very high-priced. We offer steep up-front discounts to retailers, but contractually obligate them not to pass the discount along to their customers.

• Q: And the referral selling?
• A: We've recently expanded into an outlets in Singapore as a result of a recommendation from one of our biggest clients. In fact, I just got back from a meeting in Honolulu with another person I met through that connection who's going to help us move some product into Kyoto.

READERS: I'm really curious... does anyone find this offensive?

The conversation was admittedly a little weird, but IMHO she made some valid observations about selling to upscale buyers.