Influence Essential's in Todays Selling

Influence Essentials in Today's Selling

Much has been written about influence in selling. If you haven't read it, Robert Cialdini has written a classic book called Influence: The Physiology of Persuasion. This is a great book where Cialdini highlights certain behaviors that influence persuasion. He has studied it and worked it for years. It is good stuff!

I would like to give you MY ten factors for influence. Some of these are the same as Cialdini's because they work and I have personally used them. There is no getting around it, they are great!! However I have added my own because they also work and I have been in the trenches and I have seen what works, real-time! I have also taught these principals for years to many sales teams across the country.

Persuasion is an art and science wrapped up in human communication, which is not an art nor a science.

                                                                                                                John Weber

There isn't a word about your wants, your needs, your hopes, or your concerns. There isn't a word about what you think. It is all about the other person.

1. Likability

Let's just start with this! If you are not a likable person this is going to be an uphill battle! When it gets down to it, you can't fake being an upbeat friendly guy! I can't believe some of the sales people I run into. Non-smiling, dark and kinda weird. You can always tell the big producers, they are smiling and life is good! Attitude is a HUGE thing in life. Remember---Smile!

2. Deliver value

In today's selling environment you MUST deliver value. This is the age of sales parity and you must bring something to the table. In my business of high ticket real estate, all the customers use Zillow, Realtor.com, etc. For cars, EVERYONE has their go-to source. It may be fair to say that the customer can get all the information they need for your product if they choose.

So, what are you there for? Just because they have the information doesn't mean they have it ALL! You must help them and be of value. You must educate them. Educating the customers is a big part of selling today. Give them the information they can't find. Turn the tables on them.

3. Fascination

You must be entertaining, funny and enjoy your job! People can see right through you and you just have to have the "spark". The spark is called enthusiasm! Enthusiasm makes everything happen. Because you are sold yourself! When you have that certain spark, you fascinate people. You have to entertain them, joke with them and make them laugh! Always remember you are in the sales game and you are on stage!!

4. Scarcity

This is one of Robert Cialdini's. I just can't leave it out! It is one of the most important things in the world of selling. Once you know it you see it everywhere! I mean, it's everywhere in advertising. So much so, it makes the selling process look cheap and customers know it.

When the customer is really hooked on your product, that is a good time to introduce scarcity not before they even walk in the door. It just looks cheap! It is a fact of life that humans will do just about anything to avoid the fear of loss or scarcity. But, they have to really love the item you are selling to make it work the right way.

5. Authority

Scarcity, Authority and Social Proof are all Cialdini's. They are proven to make people move in the real world. Authority is a big one. People just love to deal with the boss! They will also listen to the boss. Many times the customer completely changes his or her tune when confronted with the boss. Why do you think car dealerships have the "manager" come out and speak to you. Back in the old days, we used to use the principle of Authority all the time to close deals. It is not cheap and hokey. We were selling condos for $3,000,000. People like to deal with the higher authority!

6. Social Proof

This is a big one people miss. People like to buy when they see "like-minded" people just like them buy! It is similar to Testimonials. That's why you see nice looking people in brochures and ads. We always put pictures of our owners on the wall with a testimonial. It is very powerful!

7. Enliven their Dreams

When is the last time you had good salesmen enliven your dreams? Not othen I'm guessing. You need to connect with people and find out what their dreams are. I have been in the dream business my whole career. People have a dream of buying a vacation home or 2nd home, or maybe even relocating to another area. I'm sure car dealerships see people all the time coming in with a dream! Build the dream and put your prospect in the dream!

8. Verify their Suspicions

Everyone has their suspicions. Especially when people are dealing with salespeople! Put those suspicions out on the table. Talk about it. Ask them what they have liked about past salespeople. What didn't they like? Take the barriers down one brick at a time.

9. Quiet their Fears

Like the above principle, everyone has fears. Your job is to get close to your customer and find out what those fears are. As I have mentioned in other posts, people don't buy because of their fear of failure. In other words, they might make a mistake. They will lose all of their money, their friends will laugh at them. You must get them over this type of thinking! Talk about it! It is the 800-pound gorilla in the room!

10. Listen

I have to have "listen" or all of this won't mean anything! Without listening you can't do any of the above! People can tell when you aren't listening. Can you tell when people aren't listening to you? When people aren't listening to you, you kind of give up on what you are saying. What do all of your best friends have in common? THEY LISTEN TO YOU!

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