PSYCHOLOGY IN SALES: UNDERSTANDING BUYER BEHAVIOUR & DECISION-MAKING
Anyone in the sales industry knows strategies, pipelines, and processes take centre stage. They’re the foundation of any successful salesperson and ensure you attract and retain the best customers and clients. Or is it?...
It's easy to overlook the force that drives it all: psychology.
Successful salespeople recognise that behind every successful conversation and deal are endless thoughts and emotions. The harsh reality is that understanding buyer psychology is not just a ‘nice-to-have’ skill; it's an essential tool that can hugely improve your effectiveness as a salesperson.
Sales is about human connection and in order to connect with the right people and encourage them to invest in your product or service, you need to look deeper than just general, one-size-fits-all strategies.
Keep reading for some ways to implement psychology into your day-to-day selling to take your rapport-building, negotiating, and objection-handling abilities to the next level.
KNOW YOUR IDEAL CUSTOMER
Before trying to do a deep dive into buyer psychology, you need to understand who your ideal customer/ client is. If your first thought to this is that you don’t have an ideal customer because you just want everyone to buy your product/ service, then you’re going to:
Waste a lot of time speaking to the wrong people
Ruin opportunities when you talk to the right people because you haven’t made your approach relevant enough
ask these 5 questions about your ideal customer:
What are their pain points?
What do they wish to accomplish?
What are their motivations?
What does a customer want from your product or service?
What factors are your customers likely to consider before making a purchase?
Once you’ve been able to answer these and begin to narrow it down, you’ll be far more effective in not just attracting the right people, but tailoring your sales approach, messaging, and solutions to resonate with their specific needs and preferences.
For instance, if you're selling software to businesses, knowing that your ideal customer values efficiency and cost savings can massively help you in your pitch. You can highlight how your software streamlines processes and provides a strong return on investment, which addresses the buyer's underlying motivations.
DON’T JUST SELL PRODUCTS, SOLVE PROBLEMS
When you’ve started a new company with a new service, more likely than not, you’re studying that service inside and out. You want to make sure you know all about its unique selling points, the service’s background and what sets it apart from other competitors. But what most salespeople don’t realise is that that’s only one part of the puzzle.
Similar to the last point, you need to study your customers, just as much (maybe even more) than the product. And once you know your ideal customer, you know the problems they have. Rather than talking endlessly about the service, by knowing your customer’s pain points, you can make the product relevant to them and work to solve their problems.
No one will buy something if they don’t feel like they need it. And no one will feel like they need something unless they have a problem that that ‘something’ will fix.
This is psychology because psychology tells us that people are more likely to make a purchase when they believe it will alleviate a pain point or improve their lives in some way.
This is where empathetic selling comes in.
Instead of bombarding prospects with features and specifications, take the time to understand their challenges and goals. Ask open-ended questions to uncover their pain points and objectives. Then, position your product or service as the solution to their specific problems. By aligning your offer with their needs, you create a powerful psychological incentive for them to buy.
USE PSYCHOLOGICAL TRIGGERS
Psychological triggers are something widely used in sales and marketing techniques to bring about sales and conversions. For instance:
Scarcity:
Create a sense of urgency or fear of missing out (FOMO). Whether that’s by highlighting limited availability or talking about exclusive offers, it can prompt prospects to act quickly.
Social Proof:
People trust things that are widely trusted by other people. Share success stories, testimonials, and case studies to demonstrate that others have benefited from your product or service. This builds security and confidence in not just what you’re selling but in you and the company you work for.
Reciprocity:
When you offer something of value first, like a free trial or consultation, prospects are more likely to reciprocate and consider your offer. Give before you receive and you’ll create more interest and loyalty.
By incorporating these psychological triggers into your sales approach, you can influence buyer behaviour and drive action.
- Written by Arun Sutton
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