Every trader must be a bit of a psychologist. He needs to understand and empathize with his client in order to convince them and lead to a closed deal. Someone has the laws of sales psychology in their blood, someone has to learn it. We have a few tips for you on how to use psychology in sales to your advantage.
Knowledge of psychology is particularly useful in business for:
- creating and presenting an offer,
- client's beliefs,
- handling a failed trade,
- leading colleagues in the business team.
Be a psychologist, not a salesperson
A businessman and a psychologist have more in common than it might seem at first glance. The basis of both areas is the same – empathy.
A businessman as well as a psychologist:
- he listens to the client rather than talking himself,
- tries to understand his problems, respond to his needs and offer suitable solutions,
- does not impose a solution on the client and leaves the decision up to him.
So play the role of psychologist at a business meeting. Ask open-ended questions, inquire and respond to what the client says or behaves. Pay attention to him, but listen more than talk - the customer is more important than your product.
3 areas of psychology from which you will take away the important thing
Handbooks for traders are full of references to psychology. Instead, go directly to the source - get inspired in individual areas of psychology and draw from resources intended for psychologists.
1. From the lessons of couple psychology, you can take away the fact that together (in a personal or business relationship) you follow the goal you are pursuing. It's not about selling to the client at any price, but about achieving a common goal (solving the client's problem) thanks to your solution.
2. Take away from neuropsychology that the human mind perceives the surrounding world through stories. Instead of spouting numbers and parameters of your product or service, describe to the client what problem they helped solve for another client and how it changed their business. A person will better imagine, remember, and be more enthusiastic about your services with an example.
3. Conduct business meetings as psychotherapy. As we mentioned above - listen a lot and try to understand what the client's pain is and how you can help them. You will also more easily understand what makes the client decide, what motivates him to buy and how you can influence him to buy from you.
Record everything you learn from the client in the CRM - you can then build your offers on the information.
Use psychological tactics carefully when negotiating
We all know them and meet them every day. A colorful discounted price tag, a limited time offer, or information that the product is currently being viewed or purchased by XY prospects.
When a businessman wants to sell, he sometimes resorts to similar practices during negotiations. But pay attention to the fine line between what is the use of knowledge of psychology and what is already unethical handling of the customer.
It is therefore good to understand how these psychological tricks work, when it is okay to use them and when to be careful. For example:
1. Make it easy for the client to take the first step
For example, by offering him a non-binding free trial of a product or service. You're not forcing him to buy right away, but if he tries the item, there's a good chance he'll want to continue with it.
However, do not resort to the fact that the demo version ends and is immediately followed by the paid version, which the client must actively unsubscribe from if he is not interested in it.
2. Emphasize the uniqueness of the offer
A frequent (and effective) practice makes clients feel that they have to make a decision quickly, because the offer is limited in time, exceptional, new, only for someone, or, on the contrary, a lot of people are interested in it.
Use this psychological tactic only if the offer is true. Do not create a feeling artificially and do not pressure the client. Let him think about the purchase in peace, ask anything and then make a decision.
3. Don't compare yourself to the competition
It doesn't look good. Instead, offer the client more variants of the product or service yourself. With this, keep in mind that people usually choose the golden mean. So choose the variant you want to sell and throw in a cheaper one (with fewer features) and a significantly more expensive one.
4. Don't create decision paralysis
If you offer a client 100+1 options, he probably won't choose one. He won't be able to decide. Therefore, it is better to choose a few variants that meet his needs. On the one hand, you will offer him relevant options, and on top of that, he will choose more easily. And with the feeling that it is a solution tailored to him.
5. Support the decision with evidence
Willy-nilly, people make decisions based on others. So you can use social proof or expert proof – the service is either used by many others or recommended by industry experts. And if it works for them, it will work for you.
6. Add a gift to the product
If you add a gift to the customer's purchase, he will feel that he got something extra and will be more willing to buy from you again - because he will subconsciously want to repay your kindness. The same applies if you offer the client a free e-book, a demo version or a free consultation in advance.
This is called the principle of reciprocity - the human tendency to reciprocate. You know it yourself, for example, from restaurants where they offer a bonbon upon payment and you leave them a larger tip.
Use psychology not only in sales itself
Being a psychologist will also come in handy for leading a sales team. A business manager must be able to listen well and be empathetic. We wrote a separate article about it.
Whether you are dealing with a client or your colleague, always imagine yourself in the other person's shoes. Would you like a businessperson or colleague to treat you the same way? You would probably like him to listen to you, perceive you, understand your needs and look for the best possible solution for you. So think about it and act exactly like this.
Write down all the findings
Record everything you find out about your clients in the CRM. And just as we advise you, we also offer RAYNET CRM as a trial – you have it for free for 30 days with no obligations.
