Imagine you have an upcoming sales pitch. The date of the meeting is set, your collateral is ready and you really know your numbers. You’ve done this presentation a hundred times over, you know it word for word and now you just have to close this sale. Now.. how do you give yourself the edge to take your sales skills to the next level in order to give yourself a better chance of success? The answer.. develop an in-depth understanding of the sales psychology and use it to make each pitch a bespoke experience for your next potential client.

Nobody wants to buy from a robot (unless it’s the self-service checkout at the supermarket), so you need to ensure that all your preparation and experience doesn’t turn you into one. A cold generic pitch with zero heart is unlikely to hit the right notes with your prospects, even if the product you offer is a great one.

Add a dose of psychological understanding into your skill set and increase your chances of winning that sale with these tips on the ways of the mind:

Sales Psychology: Mirroring

Monitoring and mirroring a person’s characteristics can have a positive effect on how people feel towards you. When adopting the physical and verbal behaviours of your prospect, you can subconsciously make them believe that you are both similar people and that they can therefore relax around you. This helps build a quick rapport between you both which will likely increase your chance of a sale.

We’re not saying you should turn into some creepy parrot, copying every one of their actions and words until they ask you to leave. You need to keep it subtle, matching your tone with theirs and picking up on words they like to use and occasionally work them into your own sentences. This takes practice and experience but once mastered you can use it to your advantage both in and out of the office.

Sales Psychology: Trust is key

‘If they like you, they’ll listen to you, but if they trust you they’ll buy from you’ – Zig Ziglar

Relationships are built on trust, whether that’s with a partner, a friend or a colleague. This is also true for potential clients. You can say all the right things and have all the right credentials, but if they don’t trust you, they won’t invest. Make an effort to add trust building into your presentation:

• Be honest – nobody can do everything and nobody gets it right every time, show some weakness and talk about learning curves you’ve had and the areas your business isn’t an expert in. This honesty will sit well with them as they will know you’re not going to just tell them everything they want to hear just to get your hands on their money.
• Be reliable – trust isn’t just about what you say it’s also about how you act. Turning up late to a meeting, not getting a quotation across on time or not delivering on a promise will highlight how unreliable you are and will make them believe they cannot trust you to get the job done on time and efficiently.

Sales Psychology: Show your human side

From the moment you make the first call to the moment you step into their office.. you are just a sales person wanting their money. They know why you’re there and it’s to take a handful of their company’s coffers. Up until the point of meeting they have no real reason to believe that you have any other motives than that. Show that you care about more than just money by reminding them that you are a human being like they are. Tell them about your family that you work hard to support or the amazing travel adventure you are planning. Show them that you are motivated by many things, the same things that they are likely motivated by. This will help them warm to you as they will see that you are a real person and that investing in you will go further than just lining your pockets.

Sales Psychology: Find a common goal

As well as talking about your own personal goals and motivations, try to discuss some of theirs. Take some time to get to know them, if only for five minutes. Ask them what drives them and what their lives are like outside of the office. This may give you a number of opportunities to offer advice (allowing them to subconsciously accept you as someone who is helpful) and also opportunities to show interest, which shows you as someone who cares about them and their success, not just the sale.

Sales Psychology: Give to receive

Have you ever purchased an item in the supermarket because the very pleasant shop assistant gave you a free sample? If you have, you are not alone. Many of us feel the obligation to give something back when we’re given something for free. This is down to the subconscious belief that we will be judged negatively by someone if we do not. The mind sees it as debt unpaid and that the ‘gift giver’ will think we are rude/tight fisted/ungrateful if we don’t return the gesture. Use this to your advantage by offering them something for free, whether it’s a sample of your product or a free consultation. Give them a reason to think they owe you something for your time and effort.

Learning about the psychology of sales comes with experience gained over a long period of time, but being mindful to it will allow you to understand what works and what does not – helping you to grow into an even better sales person.