3+5 Insights into Human Behavior that boosts your Sales & Mktg

“People don’t buy for logical reasons. They buy for emotional reasons.” Zig Zigler

Sales Topics: Needs, Story, Give Back, Loss & Risk, Self-Serving, Belief, Value & Attritions.

Edited by Peter/CXO Wiz4.biz; for full Article, go to Entrepreneur Magazine 3/15

Reading their Behavior, will help you make more Sales !!!

According to the American Psychological Association, behavioral psychology (or Behaviorism) is a “scientific approach that limits the study of psychology to measurable or observable behavior.” While this concept may not sound all that relevant to Business Owners, there’s actually a lot to be learned from behaviorism. Why? When you understand human behavior, you improve your chances of making your business succeed by better Sales. Here are 3 of 11 ways to do so:

1. Be aware of the top 6 Human Needs. According to best-selling Author & Personal coach Tony Robbins, “Whatever emotion you’re after, whatever behavior you pursue — building a business, getting married, raising a family, traveling the world — whatever you think your paradise is, there are 6 basic, universal needs that make us tick and drive all human behavior.” What are the 6 human needs we all share?

Certainty/Comfort: assurance you can avoid pain & gain pleasure
Variety: the need for the unknown, change & new stimuli
Significance: feeling unique, important, special or needed
Love/Connection: a strong feeling of closeness or union with someone or something =(-:] J
Growth: an expansion of capacity, capability or understanding
Contribution: a sense of service and focus on helping, giving to & supporting others

2. Tell a Story. Human beings have always told one another stories. As the Entrepreneur & Film executive Peter Guber states, “Stories are not optional. They are essential to Sales. Our need for them reflects the very nature of wanting to be understood. Stories don’t just take us to another world, they are able to activate the parts of the brain that are associated with our senses, such as sight, sound, taste & movement. And they light up our emotional brains, which impact buying desires & decisions.

3. Do unto others. You’ve probably been reminded of the Golden Rule throughout your entire life: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” While that’s sound advice, is it applicable to your business? Absolutely. According to author Dr. Robert Cialdini in his book Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, if you do something for another person, they’ll likely return the favor. This idea of “reciprocity” can be employed in business, such as by giving away branded coffee mugs or free 30-day trials. This explains why people wait in line and pay hundreds of dollars for a new iPhone even when they already have a perfectly functional model. They want the newest features and a novel experience.

Comments: Do you know any other Human Behaviors that affect Sales?

5 Quirks of Human Nature all in Sales must Understand

Edited by Peter/CXO Wiz4.biz; for full Article, go to Hub Spot Blog.

“What can you learn about human nature that can help you close Sales faster?

Sales Topics: Whether they’re company management or prospects, all humans follow similar thinking patterns that affect their decision-making. Understanding basic psychology can help you read prospects’ behavior, refine your approach based on their signals, and get closer to getting that sometimes elusive “yes.” Here is a list of 5 theories & biases (pre-disposition) you must know to improve your company’s Sales performance.

1. Loss & Risk Aversion. Would you rather pay 75% off Sticker price or save 25% on a product? What would most humans do & why? Humans have a tendency to avoid “risks” when the outcome is presented as a “loss”, but are happy to take the same risk when the outcome is framed as a “gain”. By this logic, saving money is perceived as preferable to spending it — even though paying 75% of a product’s price & saving 25% come out to the same dollar amount. You can take advantage of Loss Aversion in your sales pitches by using language that emphasizes the mistakes, costs, & inefficiencies your product will help avoid.

2) Self-Serving. A bad workman blames his tools. Sadly, we are all servants of our ego and it is a human tendency to ignore information that challenges our self-esteem. So, if things go wrong, we are naturally inclined to overlook criticism for the sake of our pride. On the other hand, we don’t hesitate to take credit for the times when we are successful. In sales, this bias is most relevant when you’re presenting information that capitalizes on a mistake or flaw in your prospect’s perception or business practice. You should be careful of being too critical or risk the information being ignored, or worse, insulting the potential customer.

3) Belief bias is the tendency to reject outcomes because they sound outrageous, even if they can be logically proven. So it’s important to realize that your customer’s intuition will usually influence their decision more than your rational arguments. When you’re trying to persuade your prospect of something that they find unbelievable, you can only get so far with logic. Therefore, in such situations, you are likely to accomplish more by strengthening your rapport with your prospect and building a relationship based on trust, if you want your solution to be taken seriously.

4) Confirmation of Value. People instinctively pay more attention to information that appears to confirm their assumptions vs information that refutes their existing beliefs. In Sales, you can make the most of this bias by emphasizing the features or benefits of your product that your prospect finds valuable. For example, if your prospect’s main challenge is their lack of time, your sales pitch should be along the lines of, “I talk to so many managers like you that are pressed for time. This feature automates a process that you’re currently doing and makes it very easy to get the job done much faster, so you can focus on other priorities.”

5) Attribution Error. We draw conclusions about people based on their behavior. For example, when a Sales prospect seems dis-interested, it’s our tendency to assume this dis-interest is for negative reasons. We assume that they don’t want to hear from us, or that they’re not interested in our product. However, this is a dangerous assumption to make. The fact is that we don’t know why they haven’t gotten back to us – they might very well be caught up in an urgent matter. The next time your prospect does something you don’t understand, avoid acting on assumptions, until you’ve gotten to the full facts. In addition, don’t shoot yourself in the foot on prospecting calls by starting conversations with assumption-laden questions like: ”Do you have a moment?” or, “It sounds like you’re busy, how about I call back at a more convenient time?”

Comments: Do you know of any other “biases” (pre-dispositions), that will affect a Prospects decision? For more Info, click on Sales.

Edited by Peter/CXO Wiz4.biz; for full Article, go to Entrepreneur Magazine 3/15