Whether it’s goods or services, sales are the lifeblood of any business. Hence it should not be of any surprise that sales are often at the back of every entrepreneur’s mind. Oftentimes, even the best of us admit to being kept awake at night by the prospect of shrinking sales figures.
Essentially, selling is the art of convincing customers that your business has the best product or service on the market and to part with their hard-earned cash.
With all of that in mind, we ask the question; how do we go about converting customers into cash? What does it take to turn leads into sales? And why do so many of us end up getting it wrong.
Well simply put, most of us fail to understand the psychology of our customers. Defined as the scientific study of the mind and behavior of humans, psychology is in fact a crucial part of the art of selling.
So, join us as we take a look at some of our most effective psychological sales tricks:
1. Overcoming confirmation bias
Confirmation bias is a psychological phenomenon that occurs when a person searches for information to support or validate an existing belief. When launching a new product or service, work with a diverse group of people to take into account multiple perspectives.
Having a fresh set of eyes can expose any potential faults or weaknesses that may be spotted by a prospective customer. A detached perspective gives you a clearer view and helps you refine your sales pitch.
2. Establish authority
As any seasoned sales veteran will tell you, confidence is key to closing any sale. When shopping for a product or service, customers are looking for merchants who convey an aura of competence and capability.
After all, you wouldn’t trust a nervous doctor with shaking hands to operate on your leg right?
So when you’re conducting a sales pitch or making a cold call, it’s always best that you arrive with both barrels loaded. Ensure that you have all relevant information available at your fingertips immediately.
This shows the customer that you’re both serious about their business and serious about your own offerings. If you’ve got years of experience in the industry, make sure the customer knows about it.
At the end of the day, you want to leave no doubt that you and your organization are on the very cutting edge of your industry.
3. Encourage a prospect to share his/her reasoning
Empathy is a powerful emotion and is a vital part of the sales process.
When talking it out with a hesitant prospect, never be afraid to get them to talk about why they wouldn’t buy your product or service.
Encouraging prospects to voice out their concerns helps you poke holes in their reasoning and allows both parties to work out their concerns.
For example, your customer has some concerns as to why your product may not be a good fit for their team. Building upon that, a good salesperson can utilize this information to turn the situation to his/her favor by explaining why on the contrary, said product is the perfect solution. Thus, allowing you to shift the perspective of a potential customer around.
4. Utilize FOMO
Human beings are more often than not driven by fear. In the world of sales, the fear of missing out (FOMO) can be an extremely powerful motivator for customers.
Whether it’s last minute discounts or the chance to make use of cutting-edge tech, the specter of missing out on a great opportunity is usually enough to push customers towards taking action.
Hence you can take advantage of this by hinting that a product or discount may be available for a limited time only to a customer.
Sales can be a tricky affair for even the best of us. However, with the right psychological hacks, even the most inexperienced salesperson can become Dale Carnegie or Mary Kay Ash and grow faster than a horse among the Kentucky Derby contenders.
