Tag Archive for: sales thought process

Persuasive Selling – A New Lynda.com Course

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I had the privilege this year to work with the people at Lynda.com, now owned by LinkedIn, to create an online sales training course. It was quite an experience to visit their facility in Carpentaria, CA, a stunningly beautiful place! I worked with a director, producer, make-up artist, lighting technician, and a digital artist. And that was only part of the crew that ultimately made Persuasive Selling come to life.

Understanding how people think and behave is key to mastering the art of persuasion and an essential ingredient to any successful sale. In this new sales course I draw on the work of social psychologists and behavioral economists to provide concrete, actionable items and transferrable ideas for each step of the sales process.

I start the course out by sharing eight psychological concepts that you can easily employ throughout the sales cycle. If you’ve been a reader of Influence PEOPLE for any length of time then you’re familiar with reciprocity, liking, social proof, authority, consistency, scarcity, compare and contrast, and using the word because to get people to say “Yes” to you.

After laying that foundation you’ll learn how these concepts play a role in the early stages of the sales cycle, as well as how they can help you realize the qualities of your ideal client, deliver presentations, handle objections, negotiate, close, and ask for referrals. Lastly, you’ll learn how to grow from each sale and continuously refine your approach. Topics include:

  • Reaching out to prospects
  • Developing a rapport with customers
  • Making a good first impression
  • Giving a successful presentation
  • Providing the correct amount of options
  • Handling objections
  • Understanding the value equation
  • Closing the sale
  • Asking for referrals

The course lasts an hour and by the time you’re finished you’ll feel much more confident as you ready yourself to tackle the next sales opportunity.

Want to get started? First, if you’re not already a Lynda.com member you’ll need to sign up. To get that process started click here. Once you’re inside the site type “Persuasive Selling” in the search box and you’ll see the course with my name next to it. Click on the link and you’ll be ready to launch the course and start learning.

I hope you find Persuasive Selling entertaining, enlightening, and most of all, useful for your career.

Ironing out the Buying Thought Process

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I’ve been on the road a lot lately. In a recent stretch I was gone Monday through Thursday or Friday four weeks in row. When I returned from a recent trip, my wife, Jane, had gone to Myrtle Beach to spend time with her family. I was left with a daunting task: two-dozen shirts to iron!

But there was a problem; our iron was ruined not long ago when I dropped it on the floor. Before I could start ironing, I needed to buy a new iron, something I knew nothing about. I’d like to let you in on my thought process as I made the purchase. I don’t think I’m much different than any of you reading this so perhaps it will help you understand why you do what you do when it comes to certain purchasing decisions.

Let’s start with this fact – the vast majority of our decision-making takes place at the subconscious level. Martin Lindstrom, author of Buyology (yes, I spelled it correctly) contends non-conscious forces drive upwards of 85% of our decision-making. People who’ve been in sales for any length of time understand this and that’s why it’s often said, “People buy based on emotion then justify with logic.”

My first decision was where to go to get the iron. I ended up at Target. I guess I could have stopped by Sears, Wal-Mart or some lesser-known stores but I didn’t even consider them because prior experiences at Target have been good, their prices are reasonable, and Target is burned into my subconscious more than the other stores because of their advertising.

After asking a clerk where I could find irons, I ended up in front of shelving full of irons ranging in price from $12.99 to

$89.99. Immediately I knew I would not spend anywhere close to $12.99 because having some cheap irons in the past and using them at hotels is frustrating. I also knew there was no way I’d pay anywhere near $89.99 for an iron because ironing as little as I do doesn’t necessitate one that would be used in a laundry mat.

As I looked at all the different the models I saw several options from Shark. I’d heard of Shark and seen some commercials and remembered their products seemed unique although I couldn’t recall specifics. Other than glancing at some other brands I really gave all my attention to the Shark models.

As I looked at the Shark irons, they did look different than all the others and the price range was reasonable with the low-end model for $29.99 (Lightweight Professional) and the top of the line model for $49.99 (Ultimate Professional). There was one other model for $39.99 (Professional Steam Power).

At this point I did what most discriminating shoppers do – I compared. Did I need 1800 watts, 1600 or 1500? Was the 9.5 inch base, 9.0 or 8.5 best for me? Does it matter that one is 3.6 lbs., 3.3 lbs. or 2.0 lbs.? Decisions, decisions, decision, all of which I knew nothing about.

That led me to one more decision criteria; what do people say about each model? That was easy enough to look up on my phone as I stood in the aisle. Each iron had 4.5 stars, some with more than 100 reviews. I felt comfortable because people just like me (principle of consensus) thought highly of each model so I felt better and better about my potential Shark decision.

With all that going on in my head which model did I buy? I bought the $39.99 model, which is what most people would do. I remember thinking, “Do I really need the top of the line and will those subtle feature differences be worth it?” I also thought, “If I buy the low-end model will I regret it because maybe it turns out a be a little cheap?” The middle seemed to be a safe alternative.

Most companies offer three product models (cars, shoes, bread makers, etc.) exactly because of the thinking I outlined above. Some people will want the top of the line, some will default the cheapest, but most people will buy in the middle. If a company removes its high priced model the average sale will drop because some people buy the top of the line but also because more people will shift from the mid-range product down to the lowest priced model. Pay attention next time you’re in a store and see if you begin to notice the three choice offerings.

Although I’m in tune with buying, selling and psychology, I must admit, it was an interesting exercise to really pay attention to what was driving my purchasing decision. I got home and used that iron for three hours as I knocked out all the shirts at once. I must say, I was pleased with my purchase – at least that’s what my mind told me.

Brian Ahearn, CMCT