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Put Your Prospects in a Mood to Buy
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Humans are the sum of their emotions and experiences-regardless of whether they are sitting in a boardroom or living room-which means neither aspect can be discounted when it comes time to connecting with an individual on a professional level, especially when pitching a product.
Moreover, people experience a wide range of emotions from moment to moment, each of which can be triggered by something completely outside present circumstances. This means your prospects' decision to sign on the dotted line may ultimately be influenced by your thoughtfulness beforehand in asking about the birth of a grandchild, commenting favorably on their office décor, or telling an amusing story.
Of course, your ability to know which emotional levers to pull is contingent on your having done your due diligence as a sales professional, forging a relationship that allows you insight not only into your clients' business performance and priorities, but into their various likes and dislikes, personal interests, and possibly family life too.
As a sales professional, you already know how important it is to set a positive, upbeat tone with a prospective client, to forge a connection by using language in a way that imparts a sense of trust and dependability. A popular saying among the self-help crowd is that "mood follows action," but in sales, the reverse can likewise be true. By putting your prospects into a positive mood and causing them to associate good feelings with you, you can better your chances of them acting favorably toward you.
In other words, none of our judgments is as objective as we may believe, and the emotions we engender in others are apt to affect how they behave toward us, and in a sales setting, toward what's being pitched. Quite simply, happy prospects are more likely to be open to your message than sad ones, which means you probably don't want to bring up their child's failure to get into the college of their choice just before embarking on a negotiation.
Relaying a funny story or touching on non-controversial topics not only helps establish trust and a sense of shared interest, it can literally and quickly alter the emotional state of the person you're pitching, who may have had a lousy day up to that point and is coming into the meeting carrying some very negative baggage. This means that you need to prepare seriously to make light conversation with your clients and prospects, even going so far as to script your non-business-related anecdotes and inquiries in advance.
None of this is to suggest that you can't acknowledge problems or serious issues that may be going on in a client's life. Indeed, it would insensitive to ignore such things as a serious illness in that person's family or other unsettling matters; the key is to acknowledge the issue, show concern, and then move on to happier topics that put the client in a more positive frame of mind. Most clients appreciate acknowledgment of their situation, yet are grateful to move on to something more upbeat, forging a positive association between you and the lighter mood that could have them viewing your offering through a rosier lens.
Adapted from Looking to Make a Sale or Get Promoted? Emotions Will Help Determine the Outcome on Knowledge@Wharton
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