Reverse Selling (Sales Is a Dance)
Chase them and they run. Push, then pull back — and let them come to you.
- Difficulty
- Advanced
- Time to result
- ~months to results
- Steps
- 6
- Confidence
- 85%
Sapp's central metaphor is that sales isn't a chase, it's a dance: you push a little, then you pull back. Ninety percent of reps only push — product-pushing, objection-bashing, super aggressive — and when you chase somebody, they run away. Reverse selling means deliberately reversing the energy at the moment the buyer stalls. Rather than fighting 'I need more time', you grant it generously, double it, and reframe the delay as your standard for who gets in. Because people want what they can't have, the takeaway usually collapses the objection on its own — the buyer pulls themselves back in.
Origin
Sapp developed reverse selling as a corrective to the aggressive product-pushing she saw dominate door-to-door and high-ticket sales, and to counter older sales-trainer techniques that got doors slammed in her face when she tried them as a young rep.
Core principles
- 01Sales isn't a chase, it's a dance — chase someone and they run away.
- 0290% of sales reps are product-pushing, which is pure chasing energy.
- 03Knowing when to pull back matters as much as knowing when to push.
- 04People want what they can't have — take it away and the objection shrinks.
- 05Most 'I need to think about it' objections are a smoke screen for fear.
How to run it
- 1
Recognize the chase
When a buyer asks 'why should I go with you?' and you start listing your strengths, or when you meet a stall with more urgency, your energy is running one-way. That is chasing, and they will run.
- 2
Accept the stall without resistance
When they say they need to think about it, say 'okay, no problem. How much time do you need?' Do not argue. Wait for the number.
Pro tip They rarely say a month — most say two days, which reveals it was never really about time.
- 3
Double their time and reframe it as your standard
'You said one month? I'll give you two. Because if we were to move forward, I'd want to make sure you're 100% confident. In this program these people are ready to go, and a big part of my job is making sure everybody's good to go when they get in, so we have proper testimonials. If you're not there yet, let's just not make a decision.'
Pro tip This is the takeaway — you're now screening them, not selling them.
Watch out It must be delivered without sarcasm; the moment it reads as manipulation the frame breaks.
- 4
Ask what they'd need to see
'While you're thinking about it, I'll do my job and send over the information so you can make an educated decision. What are two things you'd want me to include?'
Pro tip This surfaces that they wanted information, not time.
- 5
Deliver it live and re-enter the pitch
They ask for testimonials, reviews, package options. As you 'type up the email' you say 'oh, I actually have all the testimonials pulled up here, let me just show you' — and you're back in the sales pitch.
- 6
Add the convenience frame if needed
'You can always think about it, but do you want to think about it? You're a busy mom / business owner — you're never going to have intentional time like we do right now. What you need isn't time, it's information. We have the time and we have the information, which is me.'
Pro tip For 'let me sleep on it': 'don't you get the best sleep when you've already made the decision?'
In the wild
Taha role-plays 'I need more time — maybe a couple months.' Sapp responds: 'Couple months? Let's double it. I'll give you two months, because if we were to move forward I'd want to make sure you're 100% confident. In this program these people are ready to go... if you're not there yet, let's just not make a decision.'
→ Taha's read: 'you're taking it away, and people want what they can't have. So suddenly they're like, oh no, I really only need maybe a week.'
When a prospect says 'let me sleep on it', Sapp responds: 'Well, don't you get the best sleep when you already made a decision? Do you want to wait a while, thinking about this every night — should I do this? — or do you want to just do it? We've been talking for an hour. Let's just do it. You'll get the best sleep tonight.'
→ The stall's own logic is turned into the reason to decide now.
Common mistakes
Meeting a stall with more pushing
Product-pushing and aggression at the stall is chasing energy. The buyer's reflex is to run further away.
Treating every 'I need to think about it' as real
Most of the time it's a smoke screen — the buyer is just scared. Sapp brushes over it. Only when it repeats does she grant the fake time.
Giving your energy away all call
'You can't give your energy too much. You need at some point to reverse the energy and reverse sell.' A one-way energy flow is a lost deal.
Is it for you?
Best for
High-ticket closers with warm leads who have enough authority and pipeline to genuinely take the offer off the table.
Not ideal for
Reps under quota pressure with thin pipeline, or cold/low-ticket contexts where the takeaway isn't credible.
From the transcript
“Sales isn't a chase, it's a dance. And when you chase somebody, they're going to run away.”
“90% of sales people are just product pushing, product pushing, objection, super aggressive. And when you chase somebody, they're going to run away. So, a…”
“You're taking it away, and people want what they can't have. So suddenly they're like, 'Oh, no, no. I really only need maybe a week.'”
From the episode
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Shelby Haas-Sapp