The key to increasing sales is to develop a presentation that taps into the psychological needs of your prospect. Each phase of the sales process fills a need that brings your customer closer to the sale.
In a telemarketing presentation, tapping into your prospect’s psychological needs allows you to overcome the disadvantages of not having eye or face-to-face contact. Several keys to unlocking your sales power are hidden in the attention, interest, testing, and closing steps of a sales call.
or Curiosity.
Human nature makes people curious; therefore, you can instantly capture the attention of prospects by designing your opening to focus on the need for information.
One way to achieve this is with the use of a profit hook. A benefit hook asks the prospect if they want a particular need solved. It is asked as a rhetorical question and obviously your product can help solve the problem.
For example: If there was a way you could help protect the environment for your children, would it be important to you? If you could increase repeat business by 38%, how important would it be? In each case, the prospect knows that it is a sales call, but the benefit is significant. The prospect is intrigued. Curiosity makes them want to learn more. It is critical that the prospect is hooked on a potential benefit immediately from the start. Getting the prospect curious about a benefit before talking about your product is crucial to sales success.
o Use RADAR to increase sales.
A technique I call RADAR satisfies many of the emotional needs of prospects during the interest step.
The R stands for relationship. People are much more likely to buy from someone they like. Most prospects want to be helpful, polite, and friendly. It feels good. We can create that mood by showing interest in the customer as a person simply by asking questions about him as an individual. Questions like: how did he get into the advertising business or what made him go into business on his own?
AD stands for Ask About Difficulties. People are programmed to avoid pain. The greater the pain, the faster they will move to avoid it.
What is your biggest difficulty with discount long distance calling plans? Or what is your main concern when selecting an insurance company? These are questions that make the prospect notice a difficulty (pain) that they should consider changing. The difficulty question also guides us on how to direct our presentation to what is relevant to the specific prospect.
The second A represents affirmation questions. One of our greatest desires is to be heard. People love to be heard and understood. By asking “If I understood you correctly, what you said is ____________, right?” This little question will excite the client because he shows that you were listening. This is an experience we all enjoy, and unfortunately many prospects don’t experience it often enough. You benefit by showing the prospect that you are different from other people and also by confirming that you are focusing on the right topic.
Results: Another essential psychological need is to feel master of our life.
People are moved to action when they feel that those actions create results that will advance their lives. Ask your customers what benefits they want to experience from eliminating their problem. Try to learn how that will specifically improve your life. When you know your key motivation, you can easily show the prospect how they can take control of their life and make it better. The emphasis shifts to your buying instead of you selling.
RADAR taps into many of our perspectives on psychological motivations. For the greatest benefits, be sure to use open-ended questions where the customer typically provides an explanation rather than just a yes or no answer.
Psychological sales skills require you to know your prospect, so we’ve spent the first part of the sales process learning about the individual rather than focusing on a product. It’s not until completing RADAR that we start talking about our product. In the value testing phase of the sales process, top producers focus on selling benefits, not facts.
o Satisfy the ego.
People need to be smart and they love to be right. When we demonstrate the value of our product, the customer has many opportunities to be smart and correct. For example, he may ask them to calculate the savings benefits of using his product. You can have the prospect point out how the features of your product solve their problems and concerns. When you let them see the benefits that come from your product features, you move toward selling. When the prospect declares it as their idea, you get very close to getting the sale.
Many reps often get sales like this without even realizing it. When the customer stops the presentation and says I’ll take it before you ask a closing question, the rep has brought the prospect into this state.
o Buying is the prospect’s idea.
Another key to psychological selling is to let the prospect feel like they are buying rather than being sold. In the closing phase of a presentation, a customer should never feel compelled to buy. Prospects hate being pushed around and will resist if they feel you are selling to their advantage. When you move them through the sales process and take advantage of each of the techniques discussed, the prospect will decide to buy because he sees it benefits him. They are excited and feel good about this.
By focusing on developing a good relationship, uncovering the prospect’s pain, and resolving it with the right benefits, you’ll have ample opportunity to guide the prospect toward a buying decision.
By using the techniques described here, the prospect will feel confident in their purchase. They won’t feel sold or coerced when you meet the prospect’s psychological needs. The sale will be solid, your most loyal customers and most likely to share referrals and recommendations.
Consistently high telemarketing producers do more than focus on what they say to their prospect. The top achievers also take a close look at themselves and their selling habits.
o Set goals.
It is not enough to want more sales. You need to have a specific $ or unit amount in mind for a given period of time that requires you to do your best work while remaining realistic.
When you put your goal in writing, your mind begins to turn your intangible dreams into reality. The mind needs a specific direction. All professionals know where they are going. Give your brain a detailed goal and the world’s most powerful computer will automatically guide you to peak performance.
o Reap rewards.
Sell yourself benefits to both you and your prospect. As you set goals and achieve positive results, keep in mind how your growth benefits you and your family. Be specific. Will you win an incentive trip for your family, get a bonus that will allow you to go to your favorite restaurant, or the extra commissions will allow you to buy a new car?
When your mind sees the benefits that come from your extra efforts, your abilities will increase to the level necessary to bring those benefits into your life.
o Enthusiasm and Smiles.
Enthusiasm is contagious. If you are enthusiastic about your product, you will be more successful. This is crucial in telemarketing. Your voice is your greatest asset in conveying the attributes of your product or service.
If you’re excited, your prospect will feel like there’s something good here. It is his passion that brings a script to life.
Smiling is one of the most natural ways to bring your enthusiasm to the surface. When we smile we are kinder, more energetic and enthusiastic. Even when you don’t feel like smiling, do it. Your mind will automatically kick into a happy state of being.
o Script and Notepad.
Even the simplest of presentations must be written.
A script allows you to select the most appropriate wording to move your prospect through the sales process and use that wording on each and every call.
Even more important, having a script in front of you allows you to put your energy into listening to the prospect instead of thinking about what to say next. When you discover an important need, problem, or interest from the prospect, write it down. Writing it down ensures that you’ll remember the point, work it into your presentation, and clear your mind to hear more vital information.
o Average number of calls.
Reluctance to call is a problem that plagues even the most enthusiastic telemarketers. Put the emphasis on the average $/call rather than the calls that result in a sale. That way, every call becomes profitable for the rep, including dropouts and non-dropouts.
For example: If a rep makes a $100 sale every 20 calls, it could look like 19 no sales and one sale or 20 $5 sales. When telemarketers see each call as a sale, they make more calls. This approach offers several benefits. First, it takes the pressure off of every call. Helps eliminate “selected leads” and the procrastination of unattractive leads. Lastly, it allows a telemarketer to know exactly how many calls she must handle each day to meet her financial goals.
As a telemarketer takes stock of their selling skills and develops the habit of designing their presentations to meet the psychological needs of the prospect, they will build strong customer relationships and increase sales.
Sales success can be further enhanced by each sales rep reviewing their own motivations and habits. When the sales process meets the needs of all parties involved, telemarketers become true professionals.
If you need a quick reference table:
Unleash your selling power
How many of these psychology sales tools do you use on a daily basis?
or create curiosity
o Compilation report
o Ask about difficulties
o Affirm understanding of needs
o Results approach
o Satisfy the prospect’s ego
o Let the prospect buy
o Set goals
or reward yourself
Smile