Psychology of Selling

Receiving and Understanding a Sales Message

The brain processes information using sight, sound and body movement.  An appreciation of these channels and how to react to different signals will assist the sales process.  A seller needs to aware of the

4 Steps to completing a sale

- Gain attention

- Create interest

- Generate desire

- Close the sale

The components of the selling process

- Establish rapport

- Overcome objections

- Create preference for your product/service

1. Gaining Attention

Attention is aroused by a trigger: in print a trigger may be a strong headline or a sale price; on television or radio it may be sound effects or music; in a sales interview it could be a bold statement or interesting phrase.

Impact is especially important when a product is not particularly interesting or is very similar to competing brands.  Adverts can use loud, bold effects in order to stand out, or they could use contrast, eg being in colour when the competitors use black and white. In a sales promotion, the goods can be placed at eye level in a shop.  Originality creates an impact.

2. Create Interest

Interest is generated by curiosity.  Curiosity can be aroused by messages that open with questions. Once interest has been developed, it must be maintained long enough to get to the point of the message.  How does the message develop?  The sequencing of the message can be crucial, eg in advertising a useful technique is storytelling.

3. Generate Desire – How will the message persuade people to buy?

Motives are internal forces that stimulate people to behave in a particular way.  Several different motives will probably be affecting an individual at any given moment.  Certain motives are stronger than others, but from time to time patterns change, affecting buying behaviour, eg someone planning a holiday might have a heightened interest in buying luggage.  The motives of concern to those trying to sell something are those that determine what consumers want to do, and the extent to which they want to do it.  Sales messages should use these motivational factors by identifying buying motives and giving reasons to buy.4 Close (complete) the Sale

Most methods of closing a sale involve asking a closing question and waiting for the customer to respond. There are a number of closing strategies. The most common include:

1. Alternative Question. Do not offer a choice between “yes” or “no” but rather between “yes” and “yes”. Do not ask “Do you want one?”, ask “Do you want the red or blue one?” or “Do you want this model or that one?”

2. Final Objection. Do not allow the customer to give a “no” response. Ask for the customer’s objections to your product and write them down. Go through the objections one by one asking questions under the format “if….then….”. Answer the final objection and you should have a sale. Obviously this only works if your customer is still willing to continue the interview.

3. “Thinking it over”. Instead of telling you “no” in person, customers feel more comfortable giving their negative response in a letter or over the telephone. At the end of your meeting, in lieu of giving you a firm response, they will say “I’ll think it over”. This does not always mean they will say “no”, but more often than not this is the case. If this happens do not force them into making an immediate decision, because this will usually result in a “no”. Ask if there is any further information you can provide to assist in their decision. Provide this material immediately.