Psychology plays an incredibly important part in the sales and negotiation process. A successful salesperson will utilize tactics and tricks of the mind to advantage to win the battle and enhance your chances to close the deal.
Expert sales trainers Inner Leader can help sales managers and sales people to recognise and master the mind games and psychological ruses used in discussions about sales. The Psychology of Negotiation is a important and extensive training program that teaches participants the four main styles of negotiation, and how to be able to successfully respond to negotiation techniques and to avoid manipulation tactics deployed by the other party.
Armed with the knowledge and techniques this course teaches those working in sales will be able to have a better understanding of game that negotiation participants play and be able to beat them.
While they aren’t aware, customers’ judgements and choices can be controlled by a salesperson who knows which psychological buttons to push. To give you an advantage over your competitors and assist you in improving your sales skills and close more deals, here we reveal five simple secrets of sales psychology.
You have just seven seconds to make the best impression.
The research has proven that people make snap judgments either way – about the person’s character and credibility in just seven seconds of meeting them for the first time.
Once made, it is difficult to alter someone’s initial impression of your company, so for a salesperson giving a prospective customer the best possible first impression is vital to running a profitable business with them.
At a minimum, you should dress well, smile, offer your hand for greetings, make appropriate eye-contact and exude an aura of genuine warmth, honesty and friendly.
People will automatically seek connections and common ground
When in any situation or meeting new people for the first time it is our nature to seek out things which connect us to one another or to our environment. Finding common ground or shared interests helps break ice and generates the feeling of familiarity and confidence. Salespeople must be finding out mutual links which can be used to create an rapport with a prospective customer, as the human nature indicates that we are more likely to purchase from people with whom we have a strong connection or relationship as opposed to a complete stranger.
Emotions are more powerful than logic
Decisions to purchase are often based upon the satisfaction of emotions and desires more than rational motives, and this is a psychological attribute which is well understood and exploited by the advertising industry. Attracting customers’ emotions for example, fear (‘if you don’t buy today, you’ll be disappointed and regret that decision’), pride (‘our product will set you ahead of your competition’) or greed (‘buy one, get two free’) is a powerful selling strategy.
Trust in yourself and your product, and the customer will.
Confidence is everything in the game of selling and it is essential for salespeople to project both self-confidence and total conviction regarding the products or services they’re selling. Confidence is a naturally appealing attribute, and being able to make your pitch sound convincing without stumbling over words or being hesitant while showing passion for your products is essential to sales success.
Become your potential customer
The best method to outwit your customer’s mind and get ahead in sales is to find out the most information concerning them and their needs and driving factors, and the thinking process that guides their buying choices as you can. Once you have this information, put yourself in the shoes of your client and imagine how they would react to your sales pitch. In their position, ask yourself what sort of concerns, objections or questions you could ask If you were the client. Imagine how they could be able to relate your product and service to their needs in business and their overall strategy. If you do this, you’ll be able to anticipate and address possible barriers to sales when they occur.
The use of psychological strategies in the field of negotiations and sales is an fascinating and vast subject, and the knowledge and strategies they offer can be extremely useful for salespeople. Find out more by undertaking a sales psychology training course.