Persuasion is the most important factor in any sales presentation. Without the ability to persuade your prospects to agree with your ideas and propositions, your sales attempts are thrown out into the wind and laid to rest on the whims of others. In order to take control of the sale you must seek to further your knowledge of the art of persuasion.
Though it takes a back seat in many sales training situations, persuasion is the most important tool in any sales professional’s arsenal.
In my many years in the sales profession, I have observed human behavior, a subject that fascinates me greatly. I learned that a deep understanding of people’s motivations is perhaps one of the most powerful tools any sales professional can use to persuade others. While I am ever a student of this subject, my experiences so far have led me to record a process that has created repeatable and predictable sales success throughout my sales career.
Take the following example: Linda began her network marketing career with a great deal of success in the area of recruiting. She focused on building a large team and by the time a few months had passed, she had reached her goal. Given that her company was holding their annual convention locally, Linda wanted to ensure that her entire team would attend. This was proving more difficult than she imagined. In her meetings, Linda talked about the importance of attending the annual meeting. She spoke about the requirements of the company and the commitment to success that each team member had made – the lecture did very little to convince her team that they should invest the time and money in the annual meeting.
Linda’s approach was not convincing because she spoke about things that reflected her point of view. She had attended the annual event her first year because she believe that it would be crucial to her success. She wanted to learn first hand the new product information and speak to as many top performers as she could. The idea of missing an important formal event that would contain so much valuable information that would be needed throughout the following year was not even an option for her, the information was just too important.
A mental shift was necessary in order for Linda to create a persuasive argument that would inspire her recruits to consider the event as important as she did. Instead of beginning with an (almost lecture-like) speech on the formalities of the event, Linda should have worked to understand the motivations of her team. If they had achieved great success since being recruited, perhaps they would be more swayed by the rewards and recognitions being handed out at the event.
In trying to persuade you must remember that your prospects are always wondering how your proposition will serve them. Approaching a prospect with a formal lecture does not often inspire action because it gives few reasons to act. When you can understand your prospects’ motivations and why they may benefit from following your call to action, you can communicate these benefits in your sales pitch. Approaching your prospects by clearly communicating what is in it for them is more likely to heighten interest in your proposal as well as your closing rate.
Alvin Day’s Sales Training and Self Improvement Advice have helped many sales professionals and success-seekers reach and exceed their goals. For more of Alvin Day’s FREE resources, visit http://www.AlvinDay4Free.com
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