More and more purchasing decisions are happening inside the dark funnel—parts of the buyer’s journey that are invisible to sales and marketing teams. According to Gartner, marketers lack visibility into at least 50% of the buying journey, making growth opportunities harder to influence. And, when B2B buyers are considering a purchase, they spend less than a fifth (17%) of their time meeting with potential suppliers. 

The rise of the dark funnel means more sales processes are happening outside of a sales team’s control and that’s something many of us will balk at. Take software sales for example, more buyers than ever are conducting their research online before they even visit a provider’s website. Online reputation across review sites, social media platforms, discussion forums and events has become crucial in purchasing decisions. 

In this article, I explain more about the dark funnel and provide ideas on how you and your sales team can leverage this trend rather than succumb to its challenges.  

First, let’s talk more about the dark funnel

The dark funnel is a hidden space where prospects explore options, seek advice, and gather info through online research, reviews, social media, and more. Despite being hard to track and influence, the dark funnel is crucial in the rise of self-service culture and buyers wanting control. 

For sales teams, the challenge lies in identifying and understanding these invisible touchpoints, as well as finding ways to influence them positively. 

Now, we can dive deeper into how the sales landscape is changing

Self-service is transforming the way sales teams approach customer engagement. B2B buyers are taking matters into their own hands – research and shortlists are often compiled with little or no vendor interaction. 

Thanks to online retail, the B2C buying journey has evolved to the point where individuals shop around for the best prices,  meaning marketing and advertising channels need to work even harder for attention.  

For both groups, the dark funnel is appealing as buyers can avoid a hard sell and craft a buying journey on their terms. 

Traditional attribution metrics like email open rates and social media clicks are not as useful or significant as they once were. Customers are looking for products and services in places that sales teams often cannot influence – within the dark funnel. 

Using the dark funnel to support the sales cycle

For all its mystery, the dark funnel is not the enemy. Far from it. The propensity for buyers to self-serve means sales cycles can be shorter. This makes the dark funnel a positive support for the sales cycle. 

But that doesn’t mean that sales teams should sit back and let the dark funnel do the work. The onus is on businesses to get their content in front of their audience via the right channel. Podcasts, webinars and LinkedIn forums are all valuable tools of influence for today’s buyers and where content needs to be pushed. 

Companies must work hard to remain visible so sales teams can act when customers emerge from the dark funnel. 

The moment a customer emerges, sales reps can help buyers complete their purchase and feel confident in their decision. Sales teams stand out when they can provide additional insights and value that buyers can’t find on social media or in discussion forums.  

Tips for building influence inside the dark funnel

Sales teams may no longer make the first move but they need to make a good first impression. Since first impressions are made well before any interaction, sales leaders need to be prepared to build influence inside the dark funnel.  

The following strategies can support sales leaders in their efforts: 

• Invest in content marketing and thought leadership to attract potential customers during their pre-purchase research phase. Content such as blogs, whitepapers, videos, and webinars can help build credibility and trust. 
• Optimise SEO and online visibility and create content that answers common queries customers have during the research phase
• Use social media and influencer marketing to engage with prospects on platforms where they are active. Sales leaders who don’t post regularly on LinkedIn are missing out on great opportunities. 
• Consider retargeting and remarketing tactics to reach out to prospects who have already visited your website or engaged with your content. 
• Deploy personalisation and account-based marketing to address the specific needs and pain points of individual prospects. 

With the right strategies, you can make a positive impact on potential customers during this hidden phase of the buyer’s journey. Leveraging the dark funnel correctly will help your organisation stand out and establish a strong foundation for future sales interactions. 

The post Shining a Light on the Dark Funnel: How It Can Empower Your Sales Strategy appeared first on Head Of Sales.

Rapport is the deepest level of relationship between two individuals that involves sharing common ground, and is established when harmony and accord have been reached between both parties. This does not mean the individuals involved agree on every issue. Instead, it means they have attained a mutual respect for each other’s opinions. Developing rapport with others lowers stress within our relationships, thereby creating greater productivity.

We have established rapport with people know, like and trust

Establishing Rapport

Rapport is developed as we understand, recognize, appreciate, and adapt to the behavior and communication styles of others. Regardless of background, everyone wants to be valued, appreciated and unconditionally accepted for who they are. As a result, we tend to trust and have an affinity for the people we believe really understand us and accept us.

Unfortunately, we struggle with this as human beings. Some folks just ʻrub us the wrong wayʼ, or worse still, they ʻpush our buttonsʼ. And often, the ones that irritate us the most are the ones closest to us, such as family, friends, and coworkers.
To begin connecting with others, we must cultivate a genuine desire to understand the people around us.

Mastering Rapport

Mastering rapport is reached when an individual develops the skills and the genuine desire to develop relationships of mutual trust and emotional affinity.
Rapport Mastery works best when adopted as a lifestyle to better communicate with people and do business, not merely to manipulate others with surface techniques or to be saved until there is a glaring problem. Rapport Mastery involves personal transparency as well as enthusiasm for the success of others.

The Road to Rapport

There is no instant path to building rapport with those around us. This level of respect and trust will take time to develop. Attempting to rush this process will actually be counterproductive as it breaks that trust. Although each of us will have the ability to connect more quickly with certain individuals, there is no way to create this level of trust and regard for another person outside of the test of time. Creating rapport is a step by step process.

Do I Have Rapport?

Individuals with whom you have established rapport will come to you for advice or information on a wide variety of subjects. Rapport is developed as we understand, recognise, appreciate, and adapt to the behaviour and communication styles of others.

How do you begin to establish rapport?’

The Power of Perception

Rapport starts with understanding the behavioural and communication style of another, discovering how our personal actions are being perceived by others, and learning to control our own behaviours to better meet their needs.Connecting with others begins with recognising and understanding the perception of those with whom we interact.

Humans are uniquely different from one another. Our ideas about the world around us have been influenced by our parents, values, education, and culture. In addition to these factors, the way we perceive, interpret and share this information is based largely upon our behavioural and communication style.

Imagine that two individuals walk into a room. Both are wearing glasses, however one pair has red lenses and one has blue. Neither of them realise they have glasses of different colours. Both individuals are asked to look at a white wall and announce to the other what colour they believe the wall to be. The individual wearing the red glasses will be sure the wall is red, while the individual with the blue lenses will be sure it’s blue. They both would KNOW they were correct and sure the other person was wrong.

Now imagine these individuals try on each other’s glasses. Would they have a better idea of what the other person was seeing? This change of perception would help reduce conflict because each of them would now be able to understand the otherʼs perception.

In order to understand and connect, we need to understand how the other person is perceiving the world around them. By putting on someone else’s glasses, so to speak, we will have the ability to appreciate and understand them better.

Perception is based on an individual’s communication and behavioural style

Pace, Perception and Adaption

To understand human behaviour and communication we need to begin by looking at two basic elements pace and priority.

Pace is the speed at which individuals move and speak. Some individuals tends to be more faster or slower than others. There is not right or wrong pace as we all have elements of both.

Fast paced individuals tend to move, speak, respond and decide quickly, whereas sower paced individuals prefer to spend time in reflection and act carefully.

If you are fast paced person, a slower paced individual may see you as impatient, irresponsible, reckless, rude, manipulative, overbearing, angry and inconsiderate.

If you are a slow paced person, a fast paced individual may see you as unmotivated, lazy, sad, uncaring, disrespectful, disengaged, untruthful and distracted.

All relationships being by connecting with each other’s PACE. If there is missed connection at his level, you will be unable to move forward to build rapport.

This is where adaption comes into play. Connecting in a non-confrontational, non-irritating way requires adapting my own pace to match the pace of the other person. I may be fast paced, however, the only way to show the slow paced person that I am not impatient or reckless, I must control my actions and slow down. In the same way, if I am slow paced, I may need to speed up my interactions so I am not perceived as unmotivated and lazy.

Priority characteristics

As with pace, individuals have different priorities , which refer to what they prioritise as they view their world. Individuals tend to be either:

Task-Orientated – they are more focused on accomplishing tasks. Think in terms of plans, procedures, organisation, function, projects and programs. They like to create lists and check off items as they ate completed.

People-Orientated – they are more focused on establishing relationships. They are energized by being around people. They tend to focus on more on relationships, feelings, friendships, helping others and making people happy.

If you are a task-orientated person, a people-orientated person may perceive you as cold, workaholic, greedy, disconnected, inflexible, unmerciful, unfriendly and not family oriented.

If you are a people-oriented person, a task-oriented individual may perceive you as distracted, weak, overly emotional, unproductive, naive, gullible, foolish and not serious.

90% of conflict is caused by a clash of priorities or false perceptions

Now that we understand what rapport is and how we unknowingly can break it by failing to control our behaviour, we can now develop a process that will help us to better adapt and build relationships.

Know, Like, & Trust

Remember, rapport is established with all types of individuals when they know, like, and trust you. Matching pace provides the foundation for rapport by allowing other’s to get to know us.
However, the other two aspects, trust and like, are developed differently depending upon an individual’s priority style.

We get to know each other by matching pace. We develop rapport by respecting priorities.

Task-oriented individuals must trust you before they will like you. Here’s the progression of establishing rapport with the task-oriented individual: They will do business with you only if they have come to trust you. Once trust is established they will gradually begin to like you.

People-oriented individuals must like you before they will trust you. Here’s the progression of establishing rapport with the people-oriented individual: They must first like you. (One of the best ways to begin to establish affinity with this type is to smile.) Once they like you
they will begin to trust and develop rapport with you.

2 ROADS TO RAPPORT

Practical Application

To build rapport with a task-oriented individual, consider what is most important to this behaviour style. Because this behaviour style views the world from a task perspective, task completion is imperative for constructing trust.

To build rapport with a people-oriented individual, consider what is most important to this behaviour style. Because this behaviour style views the world from a people perspective, they will observe how you interact with others and desire friendship.

They are the basics of building more meaningful, peaceful, and productive relationships with those around you.

The post A Practical Guide On Building Rapport In Sales appeared first on Head Of Sales.

Online meetings are rapidly becoming the new de facto standard.

Savvy sellers have discovered that the ability to quickly move a phone conversation online yields a richer, deeper interaction with prospects. It enables them to discuss, demo or present using a variety of resources. As a result, prospect engagement goes up, new opportunities emerge, and deals close faster.

That’s a competitive edge worth paying attention to—especially since only 58% of salespeople met or exceeded their quota last year. But right now, most sellers are barely tapping into online meetings because they don’t know how or when to best use them.

Salespeople need to be nimble and ready to pivot. In conversations, they must be able to quickly spot and capitalise on emerging opportunities. It’s even better if they can create these moments on their own.

That’s exactly what savvy sellers do with online meetings. During a phone call, when they spot a need or when inspiration strikes, they immediately suggest:

“Do you have a few minutes? How about we jump onto a quick online meeting?”

That’s sales agility at its best. The key to success with these impromptu online meetings is strategic spontaneity. Savvy sellers are prepared. They know the best times to suggest this option and they know how to do it, seamlessly. They know what they’ll ask, point out, suggest or clarify.

In short, they nail it! These savvy sellers create an “aha” moment that crystallises value and drives differentiation. When the conversation is over, they’ve established credibility, deepened the relationship and moved closer to a signed contract.

1. FOCUS ON PURPOSE

What outcome do you want to achieve from jumping online with your prospect? Always start with this question, then craft a meeting plan that supports it. The best “purposes” are typically aligned with the various stages of a prospect’s buying cycle. These are the three main ones.

Pique Curiosity. If you’re prospecting, know that more than 90% of the people you contact are reasonably satisfied with their status quo— whatever that might be. When you connect, your objective is to get the prospect so interested that they want to learn more—either now or in very short order.

Drive a Commitment to Change. Once you’ve piqued your prospect’s curiosity, their next step is to determine if it makes sense to change. This is your opportunity to help them determine their business case. It’s also a chance to explore the factors they need to consider if they do go ahead.

Close the Deal. When your prospect has decided that changing is worth it, your purpose shifts to that of showcasing why working with your company makes the most sense, provides the best value and is the least risky.

For lead follow-up, try to gauge where the prospect might be in their buying process by reviewing what they’ve downloaded from your website and the pages they’ve visited.

When you know your purpose, it’s time to identify when a “quick” online meeting can help you achieve it.

2. PINPOINT THE OPPORTUNITIES

When does it make sense to have an impromptu online meeting? Start by mentally identifying when it could be beneficial to jump online. Often visual elements are involved and referencing them while you’re talking enriches the conversation.

You might want to consider an impromptu online meeting to:

Spark a new idea. If your offering enables prospects to do something they hadn’t conceived of, pull up a graphic to trigger their thinking. You could also highlight relevant research or data that supports a change from the status quo.

Expand on concepts. Once prospects are ready to change, they want to discuss factors such as configuring the right solution and implementation issues.

Do a demo. Give your prospect a quick tour of your solution. Whether it’s an actual demo, screen shots, or animated, you can gauge their reactions.

Review in real-time. Any time there are questions or concerns re: proposals, pricing, layouts, design and more, the quickest way to resolve them is to jump online. When people post a need or comment regarding an issue you can solve, invite them to a virtual meeting. Again, they’re already online. They just need to be online talking to you!

Research shows that people remember 80% of what they see and do. Online meetings, much more than phone conversations, make you and your message more memorable and engaging.

3. ZERO IN ON VALUE

How can you get prospects to invest the time and energy needed to change from the status quo? It’s your toughest sales challenge. According to SBI, over 60% of forecast deals do nothing. That means you lose to “no decision” more than all other competitors combined.

If this happens to you, it’s likely you’ve been doing too much pitching, trying to differentiate your product/service from competitors. Forrester Research reports that only 13% of executive buyers believe that a salesperson can clearly show they understand customer business issues and articulate a way to solve them.

During your online meetings, focus in on what matters most to your prospects. Be very specific. Increasing sales and decreasing costs is far too generic. Pepper your conversations with value propositions like these:

• Increased sales productivity, enabling 30% more calls/day.
• Reduced customer churn by 2.9% in just six months.
• Stabilised workflow, eliminating 47% of overtime pay.

This is what prospects care about. This is why they’d change from the status quo. Use your online meeting to tailor the value to your buyer’s position.

Don’t get sucked into a “tell me about your [product/service]” conversation. Knowing about your leading-edge capabilities, unique methodologies and unbeatable service will not make people change from the status quo.

Instead, cut to the chase; make it abundantly clear about the value you can deliver to their organisation. That’s what gets people to buy.

4. LEAD CONVERSATIONS

How can you create a meaningful dialogue in a quick online meeting? Huthwaite’s research on 10,000+ reps in 30,000 sales calls revealed that the kind and quality of questions asked during a meeting had more impact on sales success than any other behaviour.

Asking questions allows you to showcase expertise, demonstrate concern, establish trust and build stronger relationships. Additionally, questions enable you to gauge a prospect’s level of interest, expand the possibilities, determine your strategy and find the right solution.

To take advantage of your limited time together during an online sales meeting, consider these suggestions:

Plan questions ahead of time. Brain research shows that it’s impossible to do two things at once. That’s why it’s imperative to figure out the best questions to ask and the right sequence before you initiate contact. Keep them in front of you, but feel free to go with the flow too—if it makes sense.

After asking a question, be quiet – especially if your intention is to make people think. The average salesperson feels compelled to jump in after 2-3 seconds, totally high-jacking the opportunity to learn critical information.

Wrap your questions in your expertise. Lead into them with phrases such as, “In working with other VPs of Sales, we find that …. Is this something you’re struggling with too? Or “In talking to other manufacturers, their three biggest priorities are … How do those priorities compare to yours?”

It’s your responsibility to lead the conversation—and the best way to do it is with thoughtful, provocative questions.

5. CREATE ENGAGEMENT

How can you be more collaborative? Online meetings give you a chance to interact in real time. They can be just as effective as actually sitting in your client’s office, getting a deeper understanding of their needs, and discussing their business challenges.

Here are some ideas to make impromptu online meeting more engaging:

Rather than you doing a demo, try highlighting how easy it is and pass control to your prospects. Let them do it themselves. Sampling simplicity makes them more likely to change.

Use different content. Don’t just show a presentation; change the info you share. Jump from a presentation, to a report, to a website. This on-thefly access to a variety of resources increases interest and involvement.

Bring your recommendations up on the screen and get your prospects’ input. Find out what they like/don’t like. Ask if the solution meets their needs or not— then make appropriate changes. This increases buy-in and the commitment to move forward.

Revise critical documents together. Invariably prospects want to make changes to your proposals, SOWs or contracts. It’s much simpler to actually work on the “same page” as your prospects instead of trying to talk about it. With today’s online contracts, it’s pretty easy to move from conversation to proposal to contracting.

This real-time collaboration capability is also highly useful for internal usage—especially when multiple people from your company are involved in the sales process. It’ll help you get things right before you suggest your prospect jump online for that quick meeting.

6. PICK THE RIGHT TECHNOLOGY

What’s the right tool for you to use? Today, 30.3% of sales professionals believe that the online meeting tools they’re using get in the way of sales, rather than helping. That’s not good because it reflects on your competence. The solution you choose can be critical to moving the conversation forward or closing the sale.

To select the right technology, ask yourself these questions:

How easy is it to initiate an online meeting? This is crucial. You need it to be seamless. There’s nothing worse than having to stop the conversation, figure out how to launch a meeting, send an invite, wait while your prospect downloads some software—and then runs into problems. You lose momentum, and your prospect loses interest. Plus, you get frazzled and all your best thinking evaporates into thin air.

Does it have the capabilities you need? When you start out, screen sharing might be all you need. But as you get more proficient you’ll want video capabilities. This makes you more real” to prospects, increases engagement, deepens relationships and drives more sales.

Be sure to check how easy it is to switch between the key documents, demos, or presentations that you want prospects to remember. Also, advanced users may want to highlight certain areas, swap presenters, record meetings and create presentations “on the fly” via new online whiteboarding.

What’s most important is that you select the right online meeting tool for your needs—and that it’s a no-brainer for both you and your prospect.

7. GET REALLY GOOD AT IT

Whether scheduled or impromptu, running a flawless meeting is a skill that needs to be learned. While it may be simple to do, when you’re talking to an interested prospect on the phone it’s easy to flub things up. That’s the last thing you want to happen.

Instead, you want to come across as the true professional you are.

Here’s how you can prep for the maximum impact:

Set the stage. Sloppy desktops make you look disorganized, so get yours cleaned up. Shut down any pop-up messaging too. Or, if your tool allows, select the window-sharing option in addition to full screen sharing.

Know what’s in your virtual briefcase. Being able to quickly locate the exact document, image, PowerPoint slide or resource reflects on your professionalism.

For video meetings, it’s crucial to have appropriate surroundings, de-cluttered workspaces and good lighting. Make sure your webcam mic is clear enough; otherwise, get a headset. Put your computer at eye level so you’re looking directly at the camera. Maintaining eye contact is essential for relationship building.

Do mock meetings with your colleagues. Practice logging on, sending an invite, doing a demo, passing the presenter role and re-taking control. Once you’re proficient, have a colleague role-play someone who’s new to online meetings—like a potential customer. That way you’ll be prepared for that scenario too.

Remember, your prospects judge your competence in every interaction. This is one more opportunity to prove you’re an invaluable resource.

8. FINALISE NEXT STEPS

So now you have zeroed in on business value. You’ve asked great questions. Your prospect is highly engaged. In fact, they’re oohing and aahing about what you’ve covered. It feels like you’ve nailed it.

But have you? It’s easy to get seduced at this point—especially if prospects start asking you all sorts of detailed questions. Sometimes it’s good to put the brakes on to find out what’s really happening.

Try asking, “It sounds like you’re really interested in changing. Help me understand the business case from your perspective.”

If they can clearly articulate it, find out what the next steps are to move the decision forward. Who else needs to be involved? What criteria needs to be considered? How will it be implemented? Or, suggest what you see typically happening: “Based on my experience

working with other companies, the next step is …”

If your prospect can’t articulate the business value, you’ll need to spend more time here. Again, suggest a logical next step: “Usually, at this point, we need to (engage other individuals, do more research, etc.) to determine if it makes sense to move ahead. Let’s get that on the calendar.”

Don’t leave an online meeting without a clear action step. Know what you’re doing next and get commitment from your prospect regarding their responsibilities.

9. TAKE IT TO THE NEXT LEVEL

How can you get even better leveraging impromptu online meetings? It’s great to be able to quickly jump online with a prospect, but it’s even better when you move from proficiency into mastery. Many service providers today offer the ability to record your meetings—and it’s definitely something you’ll want to take advantage of.

Initially, when you replay your meeting, you’ll find all sorts of personal flaws that will drive you nuts. You’ll hate your voice. You’ll notice every mistake. You’ll realize you weren’t looking at the camera. Note all these and work on getting better.

But then, go deeper. Ask yourself questions like:

• If you were a prospect, how would you feel?
• How was the overall flow? Did it make sense?
• Did you focus on value or get lost in the details?
• Were you able to advance the sales process? If not, what happened?
• Did you miss any important points?
• How else could you have created a better experience?

It’s a good idea to review the recording by yourself first. But that’s not sufficient if you want to really master this tool. If possible, get feedback from your colleagues or boss. Peer coaching is one of the best ways to make giant leaps in performance. Mastery is possible, especially when you get input from others.

THE KNACK OF NAILING IT

There’s great triumph in nailing an online meeting. Striking while the iron is hot enables you to quickly capitalise on an opportunity and moves you one step closer to closing the deal. It sets you apart from competitors, deepens credibility, crystallises value and builds relationships. It can even create new opportunities that didn’t exist before you said:

“Do you have a few minutes? How about we jump onto a quick online meeting?”

As we’ve shown, the key to successful impromptu online meetings is being planful and prepared— strategic spontaneity. That’s what sales agility is all about.

Start by picking just one scenario where an online meeting could add value to your sales process. Then, review the suggestions in this article, and get going. You’ll get better as you experiment with this tool. You’ll have richer interactions, greater connections and even more opportunities. Before long, you’ll be nailing it all the time too.

The post 9 Strategies To Improve Online Sales Meetings And Close More Deals appeared first on Head Of Sales.

So how can you ensure it’s a success? By studying and replicating what top sellers are doing. To start, top sellers spend lots of time preparing for this critical first meeting. They research their prospects in depth. Then, they scrutinise the research looking for ways that they can add value with their products or services.

Here are three critical reasons why most sellers don’t ever make it past the first meeting:
1. They don’t invest enough time preparing for the meeting.
2. They don’t understand the components of an effective initial sales meeting.
3. They focus on their own offering—not the prospective customer’s business needs.

For these reasons, prospective buyers will respond in the following ways:

“Thanks for your time; if we ever need one we’ll give you a call.”
“We’ll think about it and get back to you.”
“It’s not exactly what we were looking for.”

What steps are necessary to pass the first test with an important account and get invited back for a second meeting?

STEP 1 – CONDUCT PRE-MEETING RESEARCH

Prior to meeting with a prospect, it’s critical to invest time understanding their business. Start your information gathering and planning early enough to give you time to create an effective meeting plan.

Start by checking out their website. Look at the “about” section; that’s where companies list important announcements and post financial results. Read the company’s annual report to identify where they’re headed and what their future priorities are. Do an online search for recent articles about them in the press.

Then, go to LinkedIn to find out about the people you’re meeting with. What are they responsible for? Do you have any connections, interests or groups in common? Look for other people you can meet with too; you never want one person to be your sole lifeline for a sales opportunity.

If the person you’re meeting with contacted your company, check out what they’ve done on your website. Did they download any special reports, watch any videos, etc.? Use this context to plan your approach.

Here are seven things to look for while you’re doing research. They’ll help you understand your prospect’s business better.

Primary business: What industry are they in and how do they help their customers?

Business unit/division: How is the company divided? What is the role of each division? Where’s the best fit?

Market segment: Who is their target audience? What characteristics make up their ideal customer profile?

Financial position: Are they growing or shrinking? Borrowing money or cash rich?

Their customers: Who are some of their customers and what are their success stories?

Key strategic initiatives: What specific objectives are they trying to achieve?

Industry trends: What is the growth pattern in the industry? How are the buying patterns changing?

STEP 2 – DETERMINE YOUR POSITIONING

After completing your research, identify where you might have a positive impact on your targeted company. While it’s tempting to say that there’s no way to know until you have a conversation, that’s not the way it works anymore.

Today’s busy, savvy and well-educated buyers expect you to have some idea of the difference you can make prior to meeting with them. And, while you can’t know the specifics of how you can help them, by doing the research you’ll have some good ideas.

The key is to leverage what you know from working with similar companies to set the stage for your conversation and your questions. You need to bring fresh ideas, insights and information to the meeting. When you do, your prospects will be more than willing to do a needs assessment with you. But they need to know you’ve invested time learning about them before they open up to you.

Based on your research of your prospect’s organisation as well as similar companies, think about these questions:

• How are they handling things today without your product or service? What is their status quo?
• What kinds of problems or challenges might they be facing because of how they’re currently doing things?
• Because of their current status quo, what gaps might exist between where they are today versus where they want to be?
• Looking at the problems, challenges or gaps that may be present, what are the potential business implications? (This is important!)
• If this company used your products or services, what business value would they realize? (At this point, it’s a guess. But, if you’ve done your homework you should have some ideas.)
• What difference could your product or service make? (Net it out to the best of your ability, making sure you’re focused on key business drivers that your prospect is measured on.)

STEP 3 – PLAN YOUR QUESTIONS

Good questions are one of the best ways to demonstrate that you’re committed to helping your prospect achieve their goals. They show you care about them, which is important because most people think sellers only care about their commissions.

You’ll want to ask questions that:

• Uncover info about your prospect’s objectives as well as the status quo relevant to your product/services.
• Identify (or confirm) issues, problems, difficulties and obstacles they’re facing that would prevent them from achieving their goals.
• Determine the business ramifications of these challenges.
• Explore the business case for making a change

STEP 4 – DEFINE THE MEETING OUTCOME

As a result of this meeting, what is the logical next step? Research into sales success shows that if you’ve defined an appropriate desired outcome prior to the sales meeting, you’re much more likely to achieve it.

While you might want to walk away with a signed contract, the likelihood of this happening from just one meeting is slim to none. So don’t set yourself up for failure; plan on having multiple conversations from the beginning.

Think process. Today’s buyers don’t make snap purchase decisions. First they need to determine if it’s even worth the effort to change from what they’re currently doing. They’ll likely involve multiple people in this discussion. And, unless it makes good business sense, they’ll stay with the status quo.

Once people decide to change, they need to look at multiple options to ensure they make the right decision.

Use your typical buyer’s journey as a guideline for determining the appropriate and best outcome for your meeting. Here are some “next steps” that you could suggest:

• Meeting with another person involved in the buying process.
• Analysis of a specific situation or problem.
• Demonstration of your product or service.
• Proposal with your recommendations.

STEP 5 – PLAN THE MEETING AGENDA

Good meetings focus on your buyers and what’s most important to them—not your product, service or solution.

The following meeting agenda works well for both in-person or phone conversations. Thinking about what you’ll do ahead of time matters. It gets you clear on where you’re headed. It ensures that you stay on plan and on message, which is exactly what it takes to advance to the next step.

Strangely enough, it also enables you to be more flexible during the meeting. You can be curious about new information you learn, without losing track of where you’re ultimately headed.

Use this sample agenda as a guideline, not an absolute. The timeframes below assume a one-hour meeting.

(1) OPEN THE CONVERSATION (5-10 MINUTES)

Buyers don’t have a lot of time for meaningless chitchat and relationship building these days. Be cordial and friendly, but business-focused at all times.

Make the introductions

Take a few minutes to learn about the responsibilities of the people in the meeting. If others are present, make sure to introduce yourself and learn their names. Find out why they’re attending and what interests they have relative to the business issue.

Confirm times and agenda

Before you get started, double check to see if times have changed since you set up the meeting. If your prospect has to run into an urgent meeting in 30 minutes, you need to adjust your game plan or reschedule for a future time. Reconfirm the purpose of the meeting also to ensure there are no misunderstandings. You might say, “As I explained earlier, we work with high tech firms to increase brand awareness and drive sales. In our time together today, I’d like to give you a little background on how we address these issues, find out what your company is doing in these areas and see if we have grounds for further discussions. How does that sound?” Notice the professionalism and leadership in this overview. It shows that you have a clear plan for the meeting. Buyers feel better immediately; they know their precious time won’t be wasted.

(2) LEAD THE DISCUSSION (40-45 MINUTES)

You want to create a dialogue—not make a pitch. Lay the groundwork by sharing information of high interest to your prospects. Then invite them into a discussion by asking questions that make them think.

Set the stage (5 minutes)

Your prospects will need more grounding about what your company does than the brief one-sentence description given above. When you arranged the meeting, something you said was enticing to this person.

Now is the opportune time to give a brief overview of the business results a specific client achieved with your product, service or solution. Explain the challenge your customer faced, how you helped them, and the results they achieved. Also share your position statement—your insightful ideas on how you can make a positive impact on their business.

Transition to questions (less than 1 minute)

As quickly as you can, shift the focus to your prospect—where it belongs. To do this, simply say, “That should give you a good overview about how we help our customers solve their problems (or achieve their objectives). The most important thing is to find out if this makes sense for your company. In preparing for today’s meeting, I noticed that (insert data re: company’s direction, trigger event, other info uncovered in research). I was wondering how …” Unless you plan your transition, it’s sometimes hard to stop talking—especially if your prospect is goading you on with questions about your product or service. Please realize that this most likely means they’re trying to rule you out. That’s why you need to lead the conversation and why effective transitions are so crucial.

Focus on business issues (35-40 minutes)

Prior to the meeting develop a minimum of ten insightful, powerful questions you can use to lead a business-focused discussion. Decision makers are always interested in talking about their business.

They wouldn’t be taking time to meet with you unless they truly wanted help solving their problems or achieving their goals.

Have the questions handy so you can refer to them. Your prospect will be impressed by how well you’ve prepared for the meeting. But don’t give them the list of questions or they’ll just rattle off the answers.

Ask your questions in a conversational manner—not like a schoolteacher giving an oral test. Questions build relationships, establish rapport, demonstrate your competence and show that you care.

Remember, this is a discussion—not a sales pitch. Listen to their answers. Be interested. Learn as much as you can. Take copious notes of everything that’s said —not just the parts you find interesting.

Always LEAN BACK. The moment you move forward, you’re pitching. The discussion is over and the push is on. Your prospect immediately puts up defensive barriers and raises objections. Getting the sale is going to be infinitely harder unless you immediately recover and get back into the discovery mode.

(3) ADVANCE THE PROCESS (5 – 10 MINUTES)

When you focus on questions, your one-hour meeting flies by. Even if your prospect seems oblivious to the time, it’s important not to overstay your welcome. Draw attention to the clock. See if you’re invited to stay longer. If not, it’s time to wrap up and advance to the logical next step.

Summarise your understanding

Since it usually takes multiple sales meetings to close a deal, don’t try to share everything you know, ask every question you want answered or hand out every piece of collateral in your briefcase at the initial meeting.

Instead, show your professional expertise by summarizing what you learned about their critical business issues and the value of resolving them.

Do not, under any circumstances, get into a discussion about your product or service. This will be the hardest thing in the whole world for you to do, but it’s essential. Remember, buyers don’t really care about your offering—only what it can do for them. They also realize that in a short one-hour meeting, you can’t possibly offer them a well thought out solution. They don’t expect one.

Suggest the logical next step

Then, without making a big deal of it, simply recommend a good option to move the process forward. This is the logical next step you were working toward from the onset.

You might say, “Usually when I work with companies on product introductions, the next step is to have a conversation with the product manager to get a better understanding of the launch plans already in place and where gaps might exist. Can we get a meeting set up with this person in the next couple weeks?”

If you’ve had a good discussion, it’s highly likely that your prospect will have already suggested a next step. If so, great! Get it on the calendar.

If your prospect missed an important step, offer it up as another idea: “Ms. Biggie, I’ll get going on your recommendation right away. Also, based on my experience, we need to talk with the IT department as well. Can we get that set up, too?”

Ending meetings like this advances the sales process to its next logical step. It’s honest and full of integrity. It’s just simply suggesting the next logical thing that you both need to do to determine if your offering is a good fit for their business.

The post 5 Steps To Master Sales Meetings appeared first on Head Of Sales.

Most salespeople would be engaging with Josh and concentrating on how to get to Sarah.

They may just call around Josh or even ask Josh to include Sarah in the meeting. Basically, their emphasis and focus is on connecting with Sarah.

This way of thinking will lose sales.

Essentially, the person your salespeople are actively engaging with is the first decision maker. This is the juncture where most salespeople fall short. They don’t accept this first contact person as a decision maker at all. In fact, ‘ole school’ will tell you to get around this person, go above this person – do all to get to the ‘real’ decision maker.

Josh is aware of their intent by their body language and tone, and probably earlier in the relationship they may even have asked ‘who is the decision maker’ (implying ‘it doesn’t sound like it’s you’). And therein lies their error. The salesperson doesn’t get the business. Even their boss says ‘it’s because you didn’t get to the decision maker’ reinforcing that was the sole person to focus on.

By accepting that Josh has been assigned to find a supplier, we need to recognise Josh as the decision maker, because, he actually is. We refer to him as a KPI – Key Person of Influence – and at this point we respect that he is making the decision, realising that it is his judgement that will determine what final proposals will be put forward.

Sales Proficiency: All done in conjunction with being the absolute professional which means doing the following:

Due Diligence

Combing the client website and Li for all that the company is posting about: what’s their philosophy and mission, what interests Sarah (noting her profile, her posts).  We might see she values ‘integrity’, as it’s scattered across much of her posts and profile. As our company holds and is renowned for the same values – it’s a core mission statement –  you may decide to run a campaign to demonstrate that point. It needs to be genuine, honest and authentic. Not forced or fake.  That means you will post about it and repost your company’s related articles. If you post about something that’s of relevance, you may decide to message and highlight this to Sarah– assuming you are at a relationship point where that’s acceptable.  ‘Hi Sarah, today I posted about the top 3 things to look out for when training your team on xyz, I hope it brings you value (happy to share the link or email you the fuller article)’,

Reach out to shared contacts, is there anyone else respectful that we know who works in the same company. Could we engage with them? They may be able to relay a good word (to both Josh and Sarah).

Authority

Being the authority in your field, the subject matter expert – this is a mindset thing – are you standing tall and confident and have certainty (not feeling ‘lesser’ or subservient)?

Preparation

As part of our meeting prep, research and due diligence, being mindful of:

Intent is there to help (not ‘sell at’).

How you turn up: are you early, looking prepared, using the right language?

Listening: great salespeople do less talking and more listening to truly understand.

Questions

Asking the right questions, questions that no other supplier has asked – thereby understanding the client and their situation better than anyone else. Great questions loop onto further insightful, intelligent questions no one has yet asked which leads to a heightened understanding, such that at one point the energy shifts and Josh will lean in and say ‘yes, good point – can you help with that’.

Trusted Advisor

Having earnt that right you can be in a position to guide and educate them on what they need to consider, what other options there are etc.

Transfer

This is when Josh realises you know your onions and he willingly, and because it feels natural now to do so, will introduce you to Sarah

Behind the scenes

Josh will be deciding who is the right supplier, based on many key factors, of which price is rarely one of them. In fact, it often holds the lowest rating. Typically, it’s about looking for someone who is an expert, who will be reliable, that can be trusted, who does what they say they are going to do. It’s important to realise this, as many reps promise something (say, an email or first draft proposal) then are late – which would be giving Josh the impression that they are already falling short in their commitment, and if unable to follow through at this vital point, a time when they should be all over it, creating doubt that things are hardly going to improve once the business is on board.

Summary

The focus of your efforts is about being the authority, being prepared and being professional the whole way through – not just pushing to meet with the ‘person behind’.

Read more about Business Development in our 6 Steps Business Development check list.

The post Are You Selling To The Decision Maker? appeared first on Head Of Sales.

You will want to hear this episode if you are interested in…

• How Seth distinguishes between career and work.
• Why Seth believes there is no such thing as writer’s block.
• What makes you an artist and how to find your voice.
• What people can do to start trusting themselves in their work.
• Why generosity cannot be transactional.
• What Seth sees as the job of the future.

Career vs. Work

I had a discussion with a friend recently regarding the difference between having a career and having what I consider my work. We didn’t necessarily agree about the distinction.

I asked Seth to clarify for me.

Seth replied that the subtitle of his book is “Ship Creative Work,” so he HAS to know how to define “work”. He defines it as something we don’t do as a hobby and something we don’t do for ourselves. It has to have an “otherness” to it as well as a level of professionalism. If we make something and call it our work, it is a reflection of our choices about how we decided to contribute to whatever situation that we are in.

Doing the work is a fulfilling way to spend one’s day. Your work is NOT your career. The word “career” implies that the industrial system is in charge of the arc of your work. More than ever before, many people don’t have careers — they have a series of projects that reflect THEIR choices, instead of what their employer decided they should do. Listen to this episode to hear this and several more of Seth’s revolutionary ideas. They are sure to cause a paradigm shift in the way you see things!

There is no such thing as writer’s block.

Many people believe writer’s block is real. Seth counters by saying there is no such thing. He says The Practice contains thirty to forty ideas that counter what people believe — writer’s block is one of those ideas. Writer’s block is really just fear of bad writing. If you’re willing to do bad writing, then good writing will slip through — it can’t be helped. When people say “I don’t have any ideas,” what they mean is they don’t have any guaranteed-to-work ideas.

Seth believes that creativity is a professional practice just as much as any other professional practice. Professionals show up every day. They don’t wait for the muse or the right emotions or “flow”. They don’t know if it’s going to work. They just DO the work. They can’t be the critic or determine what will create value for someone. They just have to put it out there consistently and see what happens. Listen to hear more about the fascinating views Seth shares on creativity, consistency, and value!

What is Seth selling?

Seth says that with this latest book, he wants to sell people on finding their potential to contribute to our culture in a way they are proud of. To stop hiding and whining and scamming. To start trusting themselves. To start showing up and creating art with generosity. And to learn that trust is worth WAY more than attention on social media.

There are so many fantastic ideas we touched on that I can’t even begin to tell you about them all here. You’re going to want to hop on the podcast and listen to this episode to get all the wisdom Seth shares!

Resources & People Mentioned

• The Practice: Shipping Creative Work by Seth Godin
• The War of Art by Steven Pressfield
• Free: The Future of a Radical Price by Chris Anderson

Connect with Seth Godin

• Seth’s Website
• Seth’s Amazon Author Page 
• Follow Seth on Medium
• Follow Seth on Twitter
• Follow Seth on Instagram
• Follow Seth on Facebook
• Seth can be found on LinkedIn at Akimbo Workshops and altMBA

The post Selling with Seth Godin (Podcast) appeared first on Head Of Sales.

Sales Trigger 7: Invoke Fear

Fear is an incredibly powerful motivator. You’ll see everyone from marketers to politicians to bosses to parents using fear to get people to take some specific action. They do it because it works.

Now, I’m not saying you have to act like Freddy Krueger from the horror movies and scare the bediddles out of your prospects. Not at all. Instead, all you have to do is lightly touch the fear trigger to make a significant impact.

Here’s how to do it:

Create a Fear of Missing Out

This phrase (fear of missing out) has become so popular recently that it has its own acronym: FOMO. Typically this applies to people who can’t stop looking at their smartphones because they have a fear of missing out on some Facebook post, pop culture trend, or even an invitation to go out.

You can take this natural fear and funnel it into your sales system by creating a somehow limited offer. For example:

• Limit the proposal to a set number of people. For example, perhaps you set up a PLR membership site with a strict membership limit of just 250 people. Or you can offer a bonus or discount to the next 100 people who order now.
• Offer a discount or bonus for a limited amount of time. For example, you can offer a 50% discount that ends in 72 hours.
  As you can see, there are many different ways to create scarcity, boost urgency and in general, develop a sense of fear. These include:
• Coupons.
• Discount sales.
• Flash sales.
• Dime sales (the price goes up every day or after every purchase).
• Early bird offers.
• Introductory special rates.
• Holiday sales.
• Grand opening sales.

I could go on with this list. In all cases, the offer is somehow limited. This creates a fear of missing out on a great deal, which in turn boosts your conversion rate.

Here’s the second way to create fear:

Remind People of Their Fears

One of the best examples of this comes from the marketing you see from insurance companies. They get prospects to imagine what it would be like if they lost everything in a fire, and they didn’t have insurance.

You don’t need to sell insurance to remind people of their fears. No matter what you’re selling, you can remind people of what might happen if they don’t order now. For example:

• If you choose to do nothing and leave this sales page, you won’t lose weight. The ridicule might continue. People might give you disapproving looks when you’re out on the street. You’ll hate what you see when you look in the mirror.
• This problem is not going to get better if you ignore it. Those few fleas you see on your dog now might multiply. Soon your entire house might be infested. Insects might infiltrate the carpet, the furniture, and even your bed.

Do you see how this works? Create a limited offer or remind people of their fears, and you’ll see a boost to your conversion rate.
Now the next conversion-boosting triggers:

Sales Trigger 8: Radiate Authority

You’ve probably heard of the old Stanley Milgram psychology studies, where average people were told by an authority figure – which was a researcher in a white coat — to deliver electric shocks to someone else whom they couldn’t see.

Of course, there weren’t real shocks getting delivered, but the subjects of this experiment didn’t know that. They got told the shocks were real, and they could even hear someone screaming and pleading in the next room over not to shock them. Yet these research subjects kept delivering shocks, all because an authority figure told them to do so.

I’m not suggesting you run around trying to get people to deliver electric shocks to others. Rather, you can use any authority you might own to help build your credibility, get people to listen to you, and get people to do what you want.

Here’s how:

State Your Credentials

If you have some position of authority in your niche, then be sure others know about your credentials. This might be a degree or career paths, such as a doctor, lawyer or law enforcement. If you have a photo to back this up – such as you in judge’s robes or a uniform – include this with your content.

Borrow Other People’s Authority

If you don’t have a position of authority, you can still use influence to your advantage by borrowing other people’s position of authority. How? By doing joint ventures or even just getting testimonials from authority figures.

For example, maybe you have a diet guide. You can have medical doctors and nutritionists review it and offer their testimonials.

TIP: This is like the advertisements where they state something like, “four out of five dentists agree.” That’s using borrowed authority to boost sales.

Radiate Authority

You don’t have to have any specific credentials to position yourself as an authority in your niche. If you’re an expert, then act like one. Be a strong leader. For example:

• Speak (write) with confidence. The more confident you sound in your articles, sales letters, blog posts, and other content, the more likely it is people might follow you without question.
• Position yourself as an authority. This means blanketing your niche with content. Write guest blog posts. Write and publish a book. Give talks. The more people see your excellent content, the more they’ll associate you with authority in a niche.

So the bottom line is thus to set up yourself as an authority, show your credentials when applicable, and borrow other people’s authority when possible.

Together, these tactics could boost your conversion rate.

Next up:

Sales Trigger 9: Be Honest

I know it seems like common sense that you should be honest. But the truth is, a lot of people seem to think that marketers and salespeople aren’t trustworthy. Just ask anyone what their impressions are of used-car dealers. That’s an entire profession where everyone tends to get lumped into the “dishonest” pile. Those writing ads of any kind aren’t far behind.

Of course, salespeople don’t help their own image. While the majority don’t tell outright lies, many of them skirt around the truth with “errors of omission.” In other words, these marketers and salespeople don’t let prospects know what’s wrong with the product.

Now here’s a trick to boost your conversion rate: be honest with your prospects, tell them all about the flaws, and then turn these perceived flaws into assets.

Just that you’re being honest about a product or service is going to make people trust you more, which in turn boosts sales.
However, the other part of this is that you’re handing an objection by turning a perceived flaw into an asset. As you learned earlier in this report, handing objections is another good way to boost your conversion rate.

Let me give you a real-life example of turning a liability or flaw into an asset.

Listerine is a mouthwash that’s known for having a strong taste. Scope (a mouthwash competitor) directly attacked Listerine by saying that using Scope produces fresh breath without “medicine mouth.”

So now Listerine is having a perception problem in that prospects think their product is going to taste yucky, like medicine. Listerine responds with ads that say this: “Listerine: You can handle it. Germs can’t.”

Boom. Listerine is saying in these ads that the strong taste is what kills the germs. And by inference, they’re saying that any mouthwash that doesn’t have a strong taste probably isn’t killing bacteria.

See how that works? Listerine didn’t hide the fact that they have a strong-tasting mouthwash. Instead, they turned that perceived weakness into a strength of the product by suggesting their product tastes strong because it kills germs.

Now you can boost your conversion rates and sales using this same strategy. Simply be honest no matter what you’re selling (your product or an affiliate product), and turn perceived flaws into assets when possible.

For example, maybe you’re selling an ebook that seems a bit thin compared to other ebooks on the topic. Some people might feel like they’re not getting their money’s worth if the book is too short. You can turn this perceived flaw into an asset by saying this book is for busy people – there’s no fluff, no filler, just meat.

So go ahead and think about what’s wrong with your products and the affiliate products you’re selling. Don’t hide these flaws in your sales copy and product reviews. Instead, put ‘em front and centre, and turn the perceived deficiencies into strengths.

Next up:

Sales Trigger 10: Evoke Consistency

People don’t want to view themselves as wishy-washy flip-floppers who change their mind when the wind blows. People like to see themselves as consistent and committed. You can use this psychological fact to boost your sales.

How? By using the foot in the door technique.

It works like this:

You get your “foot in the door” by getting your prospect to perform some small action or do you some small favour. Then later, you ask them for a bigger favour. Since they want to appear consistent, they’re likely to do your bigger favour.

Researchers have examined this psychological trigger, and they’ve found it truly works. Researchers started by asking people in a neighbourhood to put a big, ugly sign in their front yard. Naturally, the majority of people said no.

Then these researchers did a test with another group of folks. They asked this second group to put a small placard in their window that promoted picking up trash or some other neutral activity. Many people said yes because it was an easy way to support beautifying the neighbourhood.

A couple of weeks later, researchers returned to those who displayed the placard and asked if they’d also display a yard sign. You got it – that yard sign was the big, ugly one. And you know what? A bunch of these people said yes because they wanted to stay consistent.

So here’s the point: if you ask for a big favour right away, people will outright say no. But ask them for a small, easy favour first to get your foot in the door, and these folks are more likely to say yes when you ask for a bigger favour later.

For example:

• Ask people to join your mailing list first (easy favour), and then later ask them to buy your entry-level product.
• Ask people to buy your entry-level product, then ask them to buy your home study course.
• Offer an upsell to those who’re in the process of buying your course.
• Ask people who’ve “liked” your social media content to share it with their friends.
• Propose a small, easy joint venture with a partner first, and then later propose a more significant joint venture project.
• Ask your prospects to enter your free contest, and then later ask them to register for a webinar.

You get the idea. Get your foot in the door with small requests and see if you too don’t get a bigger response rate when you make larger requests.

Now let’s wrap things up:

Conclusion

What you’ve learned in this report is like pulling back the curtain to see how the world’s best marketers, salespeople, and politicians seem almost magically to lead people to do what they want. And now you too can boost your sales and response rates by employing the following ten psychological sales triggers:

• Reciprocity
• Curiosity
• Specificity
• Objection-Handling
• Credibility
• Conformity
• Fear
• Authority
• Honesty
• Consistency

Now the key here is to not cherry-pick through these methods and merely use a few of them. Instead, put as many of these methods to work for you every time you write a sales letter, publish a newsletter, post something on your blog, or write any other type of persuasive content.

These are potent triggers that researchers have proved time and again work like crazy to boost your response rates. But don’t take my word for it – try them for yourself to see what kind of results you’ll get. I think you’ll be amazed!

Just in case you miss the first two chapters:

Chapter 1 covers Reciprocity, Curiosity And Specificity.

Chapter 2 covers Handle Objections, Credibility and Social Proof.

Publisher’s note – this article was originally published at Richtopia as A Comprehensive Guide on the Psychology of Marketing and Sales.

The post Sales Psychology – 10 Triggers To Become Highly Influential (Part 3) appeared first on Head Of Sales.

Sales Trigger 4: Handle Objections

If you’re selling something, then your prospects are already figuring out reasons why they shouldn’t buy it. These are called objections.

Common objections include the following…

The price is too high. Here the person may be able to afford the product or service, but he still thinks the price is high compared to the value you’ve demonstrated.

You can fix this by demonstrating more value (sharing benefits) and clearly stating your USP (unique selling position). You can also explicitly give people a reason the price is so high.

For example: The price for this inner circle membership is higher than what you’ve seen elsewhere because we only want serious business owners in this élite group.

TIP: Want to see how to prove high prices? Then start reading ads for luxury goods and services, such as Rolex, Mercedes, Bentley, Armani and similar goods. In most cases, you’ll see the price justification is based around their branding and USP.

The price is too low. Low prices sometimes get equated with the product or service being “cheap” or “junk,” so this objection makes people wonder why you’d price the item so low. That’s why you need to justify low prices, too.

For example: I know what you’re thinking – this price is crazy low! You might even be thinking something is missing from this package.

Nope, you get the FULL course for a fraction of the price.

Why?

It’s because I want to make this course affordable to everyone. It’s not fair if only rich people can afford this course. So for a limited time, you can get this course for a song – but hurry before this special offer ends!

I can’t afford it. This objection isn’t that the price is too high, but instead that the prospect is thinking he shouldn’t spend his money on that particular item right now. Sometimes that may be true. Sometimes that’s just an objection you need to handle because it’s nothing more than an excuse.

The solution? Justify the price. An excellent way to do this is to compare it to other activities or products which show why your product is a good value.

For example: If you hired a ghostwriter to create this report, you’d pay at least $750 for it. But if you’re one of the first 100 people to act now and get a PLR license, you get full rights to this report for $50. You can’t afford to pass up this steal of a deal!

Another example is to point out how the item is comparable to some small thing the person regularly purchases.

For example: You get this complete report for the price of a small pizza. You won’t find a better way to invest $9, so click the order button below now.

I’m not sure if it will work for me. For this objection, you offer a guarantee (AKA risk reversal).

For example: I’m so confident you’ll love this product that I’m willing to back this offer with an iron-clad 100% money-back guarantee. If you’re unsatisfied for any reason whatsoever, email me, and I’ll promptly issue a full refund – no questions asked.

So you can see how this works. Be sure to handle those common objections you just learned about. However, you need to take it a step further: you’ll need to look at your specific product and figure out what people might object to so you can handle those objections as well.

Next trigger:

Sales Trigger 5: Build Credibility

You need to give your prospects a good reason. In other words, you need to build your credibility. Whenever your prospects are reading your sales letter or other content, they’ve got their defence shields up. They’re sceptical. And one of the thoughts that will be floating through their head is this: “Why should I listen to this person?”

You need to give your prospects a good reason. In other words, you need to build your credibility.

Let me give you some examples of credibility-building statements:

• Why should you listen to me? Simple: because last year my business generated $1,117,922. I know how marketing works, and now I want to share my secrets with you.
• I lost 50 pounds using this diet plan, and I’ve kept it off for three years. I’ve helped 388 other people just like you lose at least 50 pounds too. This plan worked for me, it works for others, and it will work for you too.
• My books have soared to the top of the USA Today Bestseller’s lists three times in the past 18 months – so you know this novel-writing course is the real deal.
• I’ve spent ten years honing my copywriting skills. My sales letters have pulled in $200 million worth of frontend sales and created countless backend opportunities. Now you too can put my experience and expertise to work for you.
• Dr Simon has spent the last two decades learning everything to know about human metabolism. You won’t find a better-researched book or a medical doctor with more experience in this field.

So the bottom line here is to give your readers a reason to listen to you. Do you have experience? Credentials? A degree? Specific results in the field? Awards?

Whatever it is, build your credibility by sharing it with your readers.

Next up:

Sales Trigger 6: Use Social Proof

Here’s something to understand about your prospects:

They’re unsure of themselves. They’re not sure what to do. They prefer to see what others are doing and then follow along.

That’s right; people tend to be a little conformist.

I’m not making this up. Scientists have proven that people like to conform with others. For example, let me ask you which line is longer:

Line A: —————

Line B: —————————

There’s no question, right? Obviously, Line B is longer. You can show these lines to anyone with normal vision, and they’ll all tell you that Line B is longer.

So let’s imagine you have a guy named Joe who’s judging line length. Three other people in the room are also judging line length, and all three of them say that “Line A” is longer. These three people are shills – they work for the researcher.

After Joe hears all these other people say Line A is longer, he now has to give his answer.

Guess what?

Joe is more likely to say “Line A” is longer, even though you can see it in his face that he knows that’s not true. He is merely conforming with the group because it makes him feel more psychologically comfortable to go along with what everyone else is doing and saying. (Hint: This is why “peer pressure” makes such a significant impact on people.)

You can use this tendency to conform to your sales process. All you have to do is show your prospects that everyone else is buying your product, joining your mailing list, or “liking” your social media posts. This is called social proof.

Let me give you specific examples:

• Testimonials. Your prospects don’t always believe you (they figure you’re biased), which is why testimonials work so well to boost sales. What’s more, testimonials help trip that conformity reason as well, which also pushes people towards the conformity button.
• Tickers. This is where you show people buying a product or joining your site in a live ticker. Of course, you can’t share specifics, but you might have something such as “John from London just joined… Suzy from
  California just joined…” If you have a lot of sales, subscribers or registrations coming in each day, it’s a powerful way to use social proof to boost your conversion rate further.
• Numbers. Think of how McDonald’s Restaurant signs used to say things such as, “Over one billion hamburgers served.” That’s social proof using numbers.

Social media has social proof built right in. For example, anyone visiting your Facebook Page can see how many fans you have, and how many people like, share or comment on your posts.

You can share other numbers as well, such as how many customers you have, how many subscribers, etc. E.G., “3287 satisfied customers can’t be wrong, so order now!”

So here’s the bottom line: show your prospects and visitors that OTHER people are buying your products, subscribing to your newsletter, following you on social media, and other activities. This social proof will get even more people doing the same thing.

Chapter 3 covers Fear, Authority, Honesty and Consistency.

And just in case you missed, Chapter 1: Reciprocity, Curiosity And Specificity.

Publisher’s note – this article was originally published at Richtopia as A Comprehensive Guide on the Psychology of Marketing and Sales.

The post Sales Psychology – 10 Triggers To Become Highly Influential (Part 2) appeared first on Head Of Sales.

A lot of marketers look at successful sales letters and then try to mimic the words they think will boost sales.

That’s right; they use a swipe file. And then they wonder why their swipe-filled sales letter isn’t generating any sales.

Here’s the thing:

If you don’t understand the psychology of selling, then the words are going to fall flat if they’re not used in the right context.

If you put the components of a sales letter in the wrong order, sales will tank.

If you’re not pushing the right psychological triggers at precisely the right time, the conversion rate could be pretty low.

The point is, to start getting more subscribers and sales, you need to understand why your prospects behave the way they do, what they’re thinking, and how you can get them to act in the desired direction.

That’s precisely what you’re about to discover in this report, where we’ll look at ten psychological sales triggers you can put to work for you starting as soon as today.

You can use these mental triggers in your sales letters, blog posts, newsletters and more.

You can use them to get more subscribers, get sales, get referrals, or whatever else you need to grow your business.

Sounds good, right? Let’s jump in.

Sales Trigger 1: Evoke Reciprocity

Reciprocity works like this: if you give your prospects something valuable, they’ll feel obligated to provide you with something in return. This “something” might be a referral, a sale, an email address, or something else of value to you.

The reason this works is that we tend to get psychologically uncomfortable when we feel like we owe someone something.

TIP: This doesn’t work on everyone. Some people have an entitlement mentality, and you could deliver valuable stuff to their door all day long. And yet they’d have no feeling whatsoever that they owe you anything.

On the flip side, you can’t be a conditional giver. In other words, you can’t give with the expectation of receiving something back. So give freely and don’t worry about whether others are giving you anything in return. Help your prospects, even if you aren’t rewarded for it. If nothing else, this will give you a great reputation in your niche (which, in turn, will boost sales).

Let me give you a real-life example:

Let’s imagine you call up a couple of friends and invite them out to dinner tonight. You take them to a lovely restaurant, and everyone enjoys appetisers, a nice meal, and even dessert. When the bill comes, you snatch it off the table and insist on paying. Your friends argue a bit – after all, this was a lovely meal – but eventually, they relent and then graciously thank you for the meal.

So what happens next?

If you guessed that your friends are going to take you out for dinner some night, you’re right. If they didn’t, they’d start to feel psychologically uneasy. Their unease would grow if you did something else nice for them in the meantime, like bought them a cup of coffee or took them out to the movies. They only way they can get rid of this psychological discomfort is by returning the favour.

Listen, your prospects are the same way. If you do nice things for them, they’ll feel a compulsion to return the favour.

So how do you work this into your marketing?

The easiest way to do this is by offering a free lead magnet product, and then sending good content to your mailing list. You can also share good content on your blog and social media platforms. These simple steps will trip the reciprocity trigger.

Take note:

The key to making this work is to remind people of the trigger when you ask them for a favour.
For example: “Since I’ve given you this free video, I’d like you to do a favour for me – click this link to tell your friends about the video. They’re sure to love it just as much as you!”

See how that works? You remind people what you’ve given them, and then you ask for what you want. It’s an “I’ll scratch your back if you scratch mine” sort of concept. And yep, it works like crazy to boost response rates.

Now let’s have a look at the next sales trigger…

Sales Trigger 2: Arouse Curiosity

Curiosity is a powerful motivator. That’s because when you inject it into your content, it’s like creating an itch that your readers need to scratch. And the only way they can scratch this itch is by taking some specific action (such as joining your list or buying a product).

Do you ever remember the original BluBlocker sunglasses and their advertising? Marketing expert Joseph Sugarman eventually took over the marketing for these glasses, and they sold tens of millions of pairs. One thing Sugarman did was create curiosity in the original TV ads.

How?

By showing the reactions of real people as they looked through the sunglasses for the first time. They usually exclaimed, “Wow!” And then they’d go on to talk about how everything looked so amazing, and how they’d never worn sunglasses like this before.

Sugarman admitted that they could have slipped a BluBlocker lens over the camera lens to show the home audience what it’s like to look through those sunglasses. But they didn’t do it, because they wanted to arouse the home audience’s curiosity about what it’s like to look through those glasses.

The only way to scratch that curiosity itch was to order the sunglasses by mail. It worked! The BluBlocker company sold millions of pairs of sunglasses in their first few years.

Now you too can use curiosity. Let me give you a few examples:

Example 1: Use curiosity to make sure people keep reading.

Whether it’s a blog post, email, report or even a sales letter, you can evoke curiosity in the beginning or even the middle to keep people reading until the end.

Let me give you a few specific examples:

• Build anticipation in the introduction. This works well for content such as blog posts, newsletter articles, and reports. Simply tell people what they’re going to learn in the story or article, and arouse curiosity in the process.
  For example: You’ll find out what exercise the world’s most élite militaries have used for 500 years to train their best soldiers!
• Tell a story, but don’t quite finish it. This arouses emotion, which is a good thing. But if you don’t finish the story right away, it also arouses curiosity.
  For example: So you’re probably wondering if Jane met her goal and lost 50 pounds. You know what? I think the results are going to surprise you. I’ll tell you all about them in just a few minutes. But first, let me share with you the #1 mistake dieters make that stalls your progress.
• Wet their appetite for what’s coming. You can do this anywhere in a sales letter, article or report.
  For example: Jane got amazing fat-loss results using the same secret your favourite Hollywood celebrities use when they need to shed the fat fast.

You’ll discover this secret in just a moment. But first:

Example 2: Make people curious about a product.

Let’s say you’re selling a book about how to get traffic. You might arouse curiosity by saying something like this:

You’ll discover the closely guarded traffic source that’s never been revealed before – wait till you see how much traffic it could bring!

You can bet anyone interested in getting more traffic will be a bit curious about this little-known traffic source.

Here’s another example that would make a great benefit statement in a bulleted list:

You’ll find out which common herb reduces fine lines and wrinkles – you may already have it in your cupboard!

So you can see how this all works. Make people curious, and you’ll keep them hooked on your content, joining your list and buying your product to satisfy their curiosity.

Now the next powerful sales trick:

Sales Trigger 3: Be Specific

People are always a little sceptical when they’re reading bold claims in ads or other content. However, there are ways to cut their scepticism and make them more likely to believe what you’re telling them. One of these ways is by being specific about your claims.

The best way to explain this is with an example. Take a look at these two statements:

Statement 1: You’ll find out how Jorge made $5000 last month with Facebook ads, and how you can too!

Statement 2: You’ll find out how Jorge made $5223 last month with Facebook ads, and how you can too!

Those statements are precisely the same, except for the dollar amount. The first one is an even $5,000, where the second statement is unequivocal.

Guess which statement is more compelling?

If you guessed Statement 2, you’re right. That’s because it’s highly unbelievable that someone made precisely $5000 last month. It’s far more believable that they made $5223. Because the claim is specific, it seems more plausible.

This sales trick doesn’t just work for dollar amounts – it works for almost anything where you can be specific about a number. This includes:

• Length of time. For example, “31 days” is more accurate than “one month.”
• Weight. “Jack lost 63.5 pounds” is more specific and believable than “Jack lost 60 pounds.”
• Other dimensions, such as length and width. “The plants grew 13 inches tall” is more specific and believable than saying they “grew about a foot.”
• Number. For example, “15,955 subscribers” is more specific and believable than “about 16,000 subscribers.”

So you get the point. Whenever you can be specific about a number or any other detail, do so because people are more likely to believe particular claims.

Chapter 2 covers Handle Objections, Credibility and Social Proof.

Chapter 3 covers Fear, Authority, Honesty and Consistency.

Publisher’s note – this article was originally published at Richtopia as A Comprehensive Guide on the Psychology of Marketing and Sales.

The post Sales Psychology – 10 Triggers To Become Highly Influential (Part 1) appeared first on Head Of Sales.

‘FAKE IT TIL YOU MAKE IT’…….Is a mantra most people in business understand and one many of us have used as the cornerstone of our professional lives. Without occasionally ‘faking it’ along the way, we would never move up the corporate ladder or overcome the crippling Impostor Syndrome which afflicts so many people (myself included) in our daily lives.

The problem with faking it however, is knowing where to draw the line….For example when asked: “Are you proficient in the use of Excel”

The natural response would be…“Yes, I know my way around a spreadsheet or two” ….followed by a quick Google search and 2 hours of rapid, self-taught excel skills.

This strategy tends to unravel however when you try to fake your knowledge, credibility or authority in more important areas of business or life. I’m incredibly fortunate to spend a lot of time interviewing senior decision makers, shortly after they have made significant (often multi-million dollar) purchasing decisions. It never ceases to amaze me how frequently these individuals cite issues such as lack of professionalism, poor cultural fit or lack of emotional connection, as key factors for their decision not to pursue business with a particular vendor.

What they are effectively telling me is that these sales people were still faking it. They lacked the interest, the aptitude or worst of all the empathy to be create cut-through and connection with the stakeholders in these businesses.

What I’ve come to realise across these thousands of hours of interviews and countless Win Loss Reviews is that customers aren’t just buying the product or service that you are pitching, they are actually buying you. More than that, they actually see you as the personification of the product or service you represent. If you are professional, knowledgeable and responsive, by definition your company is seen in a positive light. Equally if you are sloppy, slow to follow-up or lack basic knowledge, by association the business you represent gets marked down immediately.

The harsh reality of business is that your product and price-point are simply your ticket to the dance, they get you in the door, but that’s all. At that stage the customer is wondering:

• Do I like and trust them?
• Will they be good people to work with?
• Do I know someone who can vouch for them?
• Can they help me mitigate my risks?
• What will happen when we run into problems?

For maximum effectiveness in B2B sales, you’ve got to be able to get past the feature/function conversation, to break through the walls of professional courtesy and form a real relationship. The power of a smile with intent, as Tony Hughes so aptly describes it.

For this reason, empathy is arguably one of the most important, though often neglected, sales skills. Neglected because in a formal sales training program, it’s easier for trainers to focus on more tangible IQ related skills and behaviours, than the softer, more esoteric character traits.

My own sales enablement activities tend to be a little different. When working with sales team, I prefer to focus on attributes like strong discovery and active listening skills, understanding and harnessing the power of storytelling and recognising the need to create an empathetic and authentic human connection. It sounds very warm and fuzzy doesn’t it…far away from the important, serious work of closing big deals and hitting quarterly quotas…but believe me when I tell you, as humans we invariably decide with our hearts and then justify with our heads.

“People prefer to do business with those they know, like and trust”

This sales truism has been handed down from generation to generation. Some sales experts will tell you that times have changed, that salespeople are far less integral to the process than they used to be, however my own extensive research simply doesn’t support this new reality. The vast majority of times I interview a senior decision maker about how they reached their purchasing decision, the quality of the vendor’s team and the cultural fit of their people are among their key decision criteria.

Typically, when you think of sales skills, your mind goes to meeting sales goals, lead generation and handling objections. But too often we neglect the most fundamental aspect of relating to another human? At the core of any relationship is the ability to understand another person and to find common ground. This is just as true for business as personal relationships, which is why empathy remains so important.

So how can human empathy really impact sales?

Empathy is the ability to perceive and understand how another person is feeling, to put yourself in their shoes for a time and feel what it feels like to be them. It’s the basis of many social interactions and explains how we create bonds with other individuals. Without it, business deals and most human interactions for that matter, would be devoid of humanity and become robotic, emotionless transactions.

Developing empathy is crucial for establishing rapport and increasing the trust factor. It sends the message that you have the prospect’s best interest in mind. Salespeople who harness their own empathy tend to be more successful, because they intrinsically understand their buyers at a deeper level and form more meaningful relationships. It’s human nature to naturally open up to someone whom you trust and you believe has your best interests in mind.

Empathetic individuals also recognise that every prospect has different motivators and objections and are adept at using empathy to unearth what their prospects are really feeling, making it far easier to find the best solution to their problems. In contrast, failing to display empathy or focusing solely on our own needs, triggers a silent alarm in most people, causing us to very subtly disengage from the individual displaying those traits.

Can I learn empathy?

With empathy being at the core of sales success, it begs the question, “Does everyone have empathy?”

It’s true some people are naturally gifted at displaying empathy, while others may struggle to tap into this emotion. No matter where you find yourself along this empathy continuum, virtually anyone can learn to become more aware of and empathetic towards those around them, with the right support and coaching.

My Top 3 Tips for learning empathy in sales

A well-balanced sales team is one that can see beyond the basics of sales: cold calling, performance metrics, handling objections, closing the sale, and actively infuse empathy-based behaviours into their sales process. Teams embracing this approach have a much easier time establishing rapport, progressing deals and ultimately converting sales.

Listen intently. 

You need to hone your listening skills in order to identify and accurately pinpoint your prospect’s point of view. This is the core of empathy-based selling. It’s quite simple: the better you listen, the more clearly you can replay what you have heard back to your customer and the more comfortable and trusting they will feel towards you. This won’t necessarily increase the likelihood of you closing a deal, but it will undoubtedly ensure your calls get returned and you get an accurate and honest picture of what’s happening on your deal. It may sound trivial, but creating a genuine connection with your prospective customer, is the best way to avoid being blindsided in a sale.

Pay attention to nonverbal cues. 

Closely tied to listening carefully is tuning into subtle nuances, tone, pauses, and nonverbal cues that can paint a more vivid picture of what your prospect needs or wants. There is plenty of valuable intel revealed when you slow down and pay attention to details. A simple way to understand this topic is to split the feedback you recieve from your customer into above the line and below the line information. Above the line is the kind of information that might be contained in an RFP document or vendor briefing, its factual, its specific and it speaks to the business reasons this customer has gone out to market. Below the line information is harder to garner, but often much more valuable in terms of understanding how a specific decision will be reached. Below the line includes the political and career motivations of your customers, any major frustrations or aspirations they may be experiencing. People are less likely to tell you this information outright, but over time, with the right relationships and intelligent questions, you can often get to the heart of these issues, which can often be the key to unlocking the entire sale.

Clarify and ask questions. 

After listening and gathering the facts, it’s time to clarify any uncertainty and confirm what you have just heard before strategizing. Try to step into their shoes for a moment and observe how they might see your product or service. It’s also the time to look for opportunities to demonstrate to your prospect that you are their ally not their enemy, by demonstrating you understand where they are coming from.

Empathy is an incredibly valuable trait not only to close more sales, but to bring a greater degree of human connection into business and elevate the perception of the sales profession. If empathetic-selling does become more pervasive in business dealings, perhaps we can begin to change people’s long-standing perceptions of salespeople. Maybe one day the word ‘empathy’ will be synonymous with salespeople and the negative stereotypes can finally be put to rest.

The post Could Empathy Be The B2B Key? appeared first on Head Of Sales.