by Marta Malyk | May 28, 2024 | Cold Calling, Cold Calling Success, Cold Calling Tips, Sales, Sales Prospecting, Sales Tips
Understanding human psychology can be a game-changer in sales. Sales is not just about pitching a product or service; it’s about connecting with people on a deeper level and influencing their decisions. By applying principles of psychology to sales techniques, professionals can enhance their effectiveness and build stronger relationships with clients. Let’s explore some important psychological concepts and how they can be applied in sales.
First, establishing rapport is essential in sales. People are likelier to buy from someone they trust and feel comfortable with. Building rapport involves active listening, empathy, and mirroring the client’s behavior and language. Psychologically, this creates a sense of familiarity and likability, making the client more receptive to the sales pitch.
Understanding the psychology of persuasion is crucial. Robert Cialdini’s six principles of influence – reciprocity, scarcity, authority, consistency, liking, and consensus – provide valuable insights into how people are persuaded to say “yes.” By aligning sales strategies with these principles, professionals can ethically nudge prospects toward making favorable decisions.
And finally, emotional intelligence is crucial in sales. Empathizing with clients’ needs and concerns allows salespeople to tailor their approach effectively. Recognizing and addressing emotional triggers will create a more meaningful connection and guide the client toward a positive outcome.
Here at One of a Kind Sales, we apply psychology to all of our sales techniques. Our proven methodology leads us to success and great results. To find out more, give us a call at 908-879-2911.
by Marta Malyk | May 13, 2024 | Sales process, Sales Prospecting, Sales Tips
In the dynamic world of sales, success is often determined by a combination of strategy, skill, and ethical conduct. While there are countless approaches to selling, not all methods are created equal. Some practices can yield positive results in the short term but may harm relationships and reputations in the long run. Let’s explore the fine line between acceptable and unacceptable sales practices.
OK Practices:
Honesty and Transparency: Building trust is essential in sales. Being honest about product capabilities, pricing, and potential outcomes establishes a solid foundation for lasting customer relationships.
Active Listening: Understanding the needs and concerns of customers is crucial. Active listening allows sales professionals to tailor their approach to address specific pain points and offer meaningful solutions.
Value Proposition: Highlighting the value proposition of a product or service demonstrates its relevance to the customer’s needs. Focusing on benefits rather than features helps prospects envision the impact on their lives or businesses.
Relationship Building: Successful salespeople invest time in nurturing relationships with customers. This involves maintaining regular communication, providing support after the sale, and demonstrating a genuine interest in the client’s success.
Continuous Learning: The sales landscape is constantly evolving. Embracing a continuous learning mindset enables sales professionals to stay updated on industry trends, refine their skills, and adapt to changing market dynamics.
Not OK Practices:
Misrepresentation: Exaggerating product capabilities or making false promises to close a sale is unethical. While it may result in short-term gains, it damages credibility and can lead to negative word-of-mouth and potential legal consequences.
High-pressure Tactics: Pressuring customers into purchasing aggressive tactics or false scarcity creates a sense of distrust and can tarnish the reputation of both the salesperson and the company.
Ignoring Feedback: Disregarding customer feedback or failing to address complaints can alienate clients and damage relationships. Listening to concerns and taking proactive steps to resolve issues demonstrates a commitment to customer satisfaction.
Lack of Transparency: Hiding important information, such as hidden fees or contract terms, breeds mistrust. Transparency fosters open communication and ensures that customers make informed decisions.
Neglecting Ethics: Engaging in unethical behavior, such as bribery or kickbacks, undermines the integrity of the sales process. Upholding ethical standards is essential for maintaining trust and credibility in the eyes of customers and stakeholders.
While the sales profession is inherently competitive, ethical conduct should always remain a top priority. By adhering to honesty, transparency, and customer-centricity principles, sales professionals can build strong relationships, foster loyalty, and achieve long-term success.
by Marta Malyk | Apr 10, 2023 | Lead Generation, Sales Training
As part of our bi-weekly Sandler training, we reviewed and discussed a video from Simon Sinek, leadership expert and author of several best-selling books, including Start with Why.
One of the key takeaways in our class was that when most businesses describe their mission, they describe ‘what’ they do and ‘how’ they do it, but they rarely touch on ‘why’ they do what they do. When we address our ‘why’ and our ‘how,’ we access the feeling part of our brain. As Simon Sinek described it, this is the limbic brain, the most ancient part of the brain – the part of the brain that controls our feelings, our behavior, and our decision-making. Speaking about ‘what’ we do does not address the most important part of the brain.
What does this mean for salespeople?
We know that prospects are motivated to purchase based on “pain.” The feeling part of the brain is moving them to take action (behavior) and ultimately, they will make a decision. When we share a mission that starts with our ‘why’ we’re already addressing the pain that our customers experience. We are, according to Sinek, “talking to the part of the brain that controls behavior.” Our ‘why’ becomes the hook that attracts a customer’s attention and brings them toward us.
Simon Sinek’s research led him to conclude that organizations that lead with their ‘why’ are best positioned for success in the marketplace because they speak to the portion of the brain that controls decision-making.
After our training, we looked closely at our mission statement and realized we also focused heavily on the ‘what,’ but not the ‘why.’ Our ‘what’ includes lead generation and sales training our ‘how’ is described as unique lead generation techniques with highly trained, highly motivated sales professionals. We decided to tweak our statement to incorporate a ‘why,’ and we believe this makes our mission statement stronger. Our revised mission statement is:
Our goal at One of a Kind Sales is to help businesses stop leaving money on the table. We do this by PROUDLY delivering unique lead generation by setting qualified appointments and providing top-of-the-line sales training for our clients and their employees.
If you’d like to explore opportunities to leverage our capabilities on behalf of your organization, we’d love to talk to you. Give us a call at 908-879-2911.
by Marta Malyk | Mar 27, 2023 | Best Sales Practices, Sales Training
I’m feeling revitalized! I just returned from the annual Sandler Sales Leadership Summit in Orlando. I’ve been a proponent and student of the Sandler Selling System for the past 10 years. Each year I have attended this particular summit. Why? Because I always come away inspired and motivated having learned something new and having interacted with many other highly motivated sales professionals.
What Impressed Me?
The “BAT” Triangle. This is a foundational Sandler concept that describes three elements required for success in any activity. BAT stands for “Behavior,” “Attitude,” and “Technique.” David Sandler believed that the most important of these is Behavior. Engaging in the right behaviors can favorably impact your Attitude, and as you use these behaviors, your Technique will improve. David Sandler said, “You cannot manage results, only behavior.”
This makes sense to me. If we focus on results and have no supportive behaviors directed at achieving those results, we end up frustrated about our performance. This brings to my mind a scenario in which a sales rep is worried about achieving her sales plan, but not making any sales calls.
At One of a Kind Sales, we see daily proof that intentional, consistent deployment of key behaviors or practices drives our results. And those results support our positive attitude (team morale). As a leader, I reinforce those behaviors with training focused on honing our technique.
And Next Year?
It’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking, ‘I’ve been doing this for my entire career, so I don’t need to go to a conference where I will hear something I’ve possibly heard before.’ But I know I will gain a different way of seeing things, reinforcement of best practices, and a strong commitment to continuing this proven approach. As a result, I will continue to attend these Sandler Leadership Summits. (I’ve already reserved my spot for next year!)
My team and I engage in weekly Sandler training sessions. The Sandler Selling System has contributed directly to our success and I believe it sets us apart from the rest. You need to invest in yourself so that you can utilize your best skills on behalf of your clients. As my team and I work with our clients, we know that we are using best-in-class approaches and we can consistently get results, even in an increasingly competitive environment.
At One of a Kind Sales, we love selling. We are experts at cold calling, in particular. If you want to discuss how we can help you and your team, please contact us at 908-879-2911.
by Marta Malyk | Dec 4, 2022 | Closing Sales, Prospecting, Sales Tips, Sales Training
“Answer a question with a question” is a Sandler Selling System rule that is sometimes controversial. Sales teams I’ve worked with often express the concern that using this approach could lead to them appearing evasive or “too salesy”. But as with all “rules” you have to apply them with skill and understand the objective.
Why ask so many questions?
‘Question asking’ is how we salespeople gain a true understanding of our prospect’s needs. The objective is not to avoid answering questions but to avoid shutting down the valuable conversation that leads to a deeper understanding of the prospect and their specific situation. Without this understanding, we may not really know whether our solution is a good fit for their problem and we may misunderstand the value that our solution holds for this prospect.
I think that we should think of ourselves as diagnosticians when we have a sales meeting. Consider this: If you go to a doctor with a headache, she will ask questions to identify the cause. Sometimes the cause is not obvious. If the doctor just treats the symptom, it is possible that the symptom might not go away, or it could disappear in the short term, but return because the underlying cause wasn’t addressed. Likewise, we have found that what is first expressed by some prospects as the reason they might need your solution, may only be the visible expression of a deeper issue. Solving this deeper issue is where our value lies.
So the message in this rule is that ‘question asking’ is integral to the sales process and we ought to focus on asking questions and having a conversation rather than showing that we have all the answers. It’s good for the prospect to know that we have the expertise, but it shouldn’t be at the expense of learning as much as we can about our prospects.
Apply this rule with skill
Always use your good judgment to assess whether you have learned enough about your prospect. Take your cues from the information that you’re receiving and from how your prospect is responding to you. Open-ended questions are key to uncovering hidden problems and key motivators that may be important to your ability to successfully close the sale. For example:
- Why is this important to you?
- Can you tell me more about this?
- What else happens when this problem crops up?
- Why do you think this is happening?
If we focus on the conversation first and foremost, we will learn enough to know when it is the right time to ask our favorite question, “What would you like to have happen next?”
At One of a Kind Sales, we love selling and we are experts at cold calling, in particular. If you would like to discuss how we can help you and your team please contact us at 908-879-2911.
by Marta Malyk | Nov 22, 2022 | Advice, Best Sales Practices, Sales efficiency, Sales Tips, Sales Training
I was recently at a meeting about sales efficiency where a debate broke out about what salespeople should do when a prospect says, “I’ll think about it.” Participants were divided. Some felt that this meant that the selling process was not complete and they should continue to engage the prospect. Others strongly believed that once a prospect tells you “I’ll think about it,” they should move to the next prospect. I firmly believe you should move on.
As a professional salesperson, I’ve had hundreds of conversations with prospects over the years. Because I’m focused on my sales objective and the need to be efficient with my time, it’s critical to know when to move on. We all know that we should not rush to close a prospect. We all know that we should be looking for signs to disqualify a prospect throughout the discussion. When these signs appear early, perhaps it’s easier to recognize that the prospect is not a fit for our solution and end the discussion. But when the signs show up later, they can be more difficult to recognize, perhaps because we are more emotionally invested. But that verbal message, “I’ll think about it” is a clear red flag to me. To confirm whether it’s really time to move on, I might ask, “Is there anything else I can tell you?”, and if the prospect says “yes,” I will address the question. But if the answer is “no,” then it’s clearly time for me to move on.
Why move on? Continuing to sell to a person who is telling you that they need to think about it after you’ve had robust discussions delays you from moving to a prospect that you might be able to more readily convert. Frankly, “I’ll think about it” is really the kiss of death. Experience tells me that this prospect is not likely to make a positive decision and I would be wasting time continuing the conversation.
You may be thinking, ‘well I’ve spent all of this time getting to know this prospect and I hate to let it drop.’ But that is not what you should do. You should move the prospect into a nurturing program with a plan to revisit them at some point to see if conditions have changed.
It might be very attractive to continue discussions with someone with whom you’ve already developed a relationship in the hope that they will convert. But you really are fooling yourself. We need to be clear-eyed about what’s going on in a sales engagement. Ideally, we never ask for the sale until the time is right. At that point, if they say they still need to “think about it,” it’s time to gracefully move on.
At One of a Kind Sales, we love selling and we are experts at sales and cold calling, in particular. If you would like to discuss how we can help you and your team please contact us at 908-879-2911.
