Best Practices in Sales: The Six Principles of Persuasion

The Six Principles of Persuasion

 

 

I wish that I could take credit for the information that I’ll be sharing in this blog – but as I tell my clients – I’m only as good as the information that I repeat!

 

Dr. Robert Cialdini is considered the foremost expert on persuasion and influence. As I’ve written in previous blogs, he has written several books and has an excellent website. I encourage you to check out www.influenceatwork.com.

 

Dr. Cialdini has come up with these six principles of persuasion. There are worth committing to memory:

 

1.     Reciprocity:  People want to return a favor. When you do something for someone, like providing information – they’ll want to do something for you in return. Give something to get something.

 

2.     Scarcity: We deem things to be more valuable if they are hard to get. Perceived scarcity will create demand.

 

3.     Authority: People tend to believe “experts.” If someone who I believe is an “expert” said it, it must be true.

 

4.     Consistency: If you can get someone to verbally commit to or agree with an idea, they are more likely to stand behind their comments. We tend to stand behind our “stated” beliefs with action.

 

5.     Consensus: People will look for “social proof” of their ideas or actions. Do others “like me” feel the same way or do the same thing? This is why social networks are so important.

 

6.     Like-ability: We tend to believe and buy from people we like.

 

If you want to be more persuasive (and in sales, you need to be) – make sure you integrate these six principles into your selling style and process. It can make the difference between a winning year and a mediocre one.

Best Practices In Sales: The Importance of Trust

The Importance of Trust in the Sales Process

 

 

I’m pathetic when it comes to cars. I just want them to work. I don’t care how or why. So when my car needs some service, I am at the mercy of the mechanic. I have no choice but to believe what they tell me, so my due diligence comes BEFORE I take my car in for repairs. I’ll ask friends and colleagues whom they recommend and I depend strongly on that recommendation. Here’s what I want – someone I can trust. I care about that as much as any other factor that I might deem important.

 

My guess is that your customers are no different. They are looking for a product, a person, and a company that they can trust.

 

“When people are uncertain, they don’t look inside of themselves. They look outside, to the counsel of legitimate experts.”

Dr. Robert Cialdini

 

Dr. Robert Cialdini is often referred to as the highest authority on persuasion and influence. (If you haven’t read his book Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion it’s worth a read.)

 

In order to gain someone’s trust, you must be both credible and knowledgeable.  This often involves presenting your information in an unbiased way.

 

But how do you create interactions that will lead to trust? Wouldn’t it be great if you had instant credibility?

 

Good news! There are ways to establish instant credibility...

 

·      A referral from a trusted source.  When a trusted entity tells your prospect that you are worth talking to, you have instant credibility.

 

·      Point out what you can’t do. That’s right. Let your prospect know FIRST what you can’t do.

 

“Before the most compelling portion of your argument, mention the weakness and drawbacks of your product or service.”

Dr. Robert Cialdini

 

Letting a prospect know the pros and cons of your service establishes you as both unbiased, and trustworthy. But don’t wait until the END of your presentation to point out the negative – put it out at the beginning. Consider these two highly successful tag lines:

 

·      Avis: We’re #2, so we try harder

·      Loreal: We’re expensive, but you’re worth it.

 

Establishing trust doesn’t always happen overnight. But having a strong referral network, and admitting your weaknesses upfront are two ways to quickly establish credibility. Don’t take my word – read it from the expert: www.influenceatwork.com.

Closing Critical Deals - 10 Tips When Meeting a Decision Maker

Closing Critical Deals – 10 Tips When Meeting A Decision Maker

by Lois Wong

 

 

Just recently two account sales managers asked me, “When introduced to a decision maker while networking, how do I talk about my services without sounding desperate or too salesy?” 

 

Savvy sales people know that the secret is to not ‘sell’ at all.  Rather, it’s wise to build the relationship conversationally first, with the goal of developing trust and credibility. This is a good first step in any sales process. 

 

There are ways to insert into the conversation who you are and what you do that don't sound desperate.  On the contrary, you will find that people will be drawn to you and will want to know more. 

 

Here are the Top 10 Tips When Meeting a Decision Maker

 

1.    Practice active listening

2.    Take an interest in who the decision maker is and what they do

3.    Appreciate his/her position and the responsibilities it brings

4.    Perhaps ask, “What is the biggest challenge you face in the next quarter?”

5.    Listen for information that will reveal passion, pain points, and challenges

6.    Find nuggets of information that you can empathize with through stories

7.    When time to introduce yourself, tell a story about you or your business

8.    Relate your story to a solution relative to your services/products

9.    Inquire about a follow up meeting.

10.  Exchange business cards and send a personal note to connect on Linkedin

 

Build the relationship by active listening and taking a sincere interest in who you are talking to. Once you’ve established that connection, you can take the next step by asking for a meeting. More in my next blog!

Sales: Time Management

 Sales: Time Management

Time management is one of the most important skills in sales, but one that is often overlooked. We're taught prospecting, qualifying, negotiating and closing techniques - but often forget to include time management. Learning how to organize your day is just one way that you can improve your time management skills.

Here are 6 tips for organizing your day to help you get started in improving your time management skills.

6 Tips for Organizing Your Day

1. Take the first 1/2 hour in the morning to organize your day. 
2. Prioritize your activities (A priorities, B priorities, C priorities, Don't do activities)
3. Make an appointment to be on the phone by a certain time every morning.
4. Don't multi-task! Studies have shown that multi-tasking actually slows you down and degrades the quality of your work.
5. Set timelines and deadlines. Tasks will expand to the amount of time that you give them to complete.
6. Use a Do Not Disturb sign. Interruptions can be costly. Create a Do Not Disturb sign to let coworkers know that you are in the middle of an important task and are unavailable.

Implement these tips for 30 days and see how much more time you have in the day for actually selling!

Test Your Sales IQ

How would you rate your sales acumen? Take the SALES IQ test below to determine how you "rank" as a salesperson.

TEST YOUR SALES IQ

1. Great sales people like to "wing it" if they've been selling for several years.	True	False
2. Talking about features early in the sales call helps to reduce the number of objections.	True	False
3. Every lead is a good lead.	True	False
4. Great sales people never have to ask for the order.	True	False
5. If there is more than one minute of silence after you ask for the order, re-state the benefits.	True	False
6. In a business to business sale, product and seller may be inseparable in the customer's mind.	True	False
7. Users respond more favorably to features than decision makers do.	True	False
8. Of all the sales skills in the book, good closing skills will put the most money in your pocket.	True	False
9. If you are sloppy and disorganized, your customer will assume that your company is also sloppy and disorganized.	True	False
10. All great sales people like to cold call.	True	False
Answers: TRUE (6,7), FALSE (1,2,3,4,5,8,10)

Sales Gold Medal: 9-10 Correct

Sales Silver Medal: 7-8 Correct

Sales Bronze: 6 Correct

Practice Makes Perfect: Less than 6

The quiz is not to be taken too seriously, but does uncover some sales myths that are out there floating about.