When it comes to boosting sales, you stand a higher chance of convincing a prospect to buy when your offer feels more compelling to them.

Profitworks can help your quest to increase leads and sales - contact us today.

Now let's take a deeper look at why you stand a higher chance of influencing a prospect if you can anticipate their behaviour and leverage their desires.

 

7 of the Most Important Tactics for Boosting Sales

There are many ways to use psychology in boosting sales, as you'll find in the you'll find in the best New York sales training curriculums. However, here are some of the best tactics you can use to drive up your closing rates.

 

 

 

Highlight Losses Rather Than Gains

During sales talks, you might notice that people tend to be more sensitive to losses rather than gains. This bias is known as loss aversion, a concept widely explored by Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky. Both are world-renowned research scientists for their work in exposing biases that affect how humans make decisions.

According to their research, people tend to avoid losing rather than making gains of the same amount. People hate to lose more than they like to win. You’d probably sell more if you changed from the typical “gain” sales language to loss aversion language.

For instance, salespeople might say “our competitor’s product will not give you X” instead of directly pointing out that “our offer will give you X.”

Building trust, therefore, is key.

 

Learn about loss aversion.

 

Break Down Price Concessions

According to Kahneman’s research on the power of loss aversion, people prefer to receive money in installments but to lose money in one lump sum.

For instance, if you have the ability to make concessions equal to $400, it would be unwise to make one $400 concession. Instead, if you split the total sum into smaller concessions, say $200 each, the other side could be happier and therefore more willing to accept your offer. On the other hand, when asking for a reduction in price, you're better off asking for one large discount rather than many small concessions.

If you aren’t sure how to break down your counteroffer, classes in sales training can be useful in gaining a foundational knowledge.

 

Leverage Reference Point Effects

It’s possible to influence how people value their interests during sales negotiations and work this to your advantage.

Consider the following scenario, based on Kahneman and Tversky's theory: Suppose you want to buy a watch going for a fixed price of $100. But before you pay, the watch salesperson informs you the item is on sale at another branch 20 minutes away, discounted by $30.

Since you can't negotiate the price at the current location, it'd be smarter to drive across town for the watch. However, if you were buying a big-ticket item such as a laptop going for $2,000, it wouldn't be rational to drive across town for a discount of only $30.

 

 

People don't objectively evaluate the cost of an item; instead, they evaluate the cost based on reference points.

 

 

Use Psychology to Your Advantage

Car salesmen often take advantage of the psychology behind reference points.

For example, when buying a car for $30,000, a customer might readily agree to pay an extra $200-$500 for floor mats. At the time, it seems like a small price to pay when weighed against a $30,000 price tag, and the customer is more likely to buy the extras.

In contrast, the customer would be unlikely to purchase these items at the same price a month or two after buying the car, when the reference point of the car’s cost isn’t so fresh in their minds. By training yourself to identify the prospect's reference points, you can leverage this insight to increase your margins.

 

Anchor Talks Toward the Outcome You Want

The first offer on the table usually shapes how a sale goes and is likely to affect the final outcome.

So, anchoring the discussion by making the first offer is usually a smart move, especially if you have a strong sense of how valuable your product is. However, there are situations where you may lack the power to make the first offer. The negotiation structure might not be in your favour, or you might not have alternatives to lean on.

Sometimes, the other side also has more information than you do, and it might not be in your best interest to make the first move. If the other side gets to go first, take this as a chance to make a stronger counteroffer by making a compelling case for the price you want.

This way, you can defend yourself against the other side's anchor and increase your chances of getting an ideal outcome.

 

 

Use Reciprocity to Influence the Deal

If someone does you a favour, you'd typically feel obligated to return it. However, according to Kahneman's research, our intention to reciprocate favours is usually not a logical or rational decision – but rather a mental shortcut. There's evidence to suggest that you can influence people to comply with your request by tapping into their tendency to reciprocate.

For example, a salesperson might censor themselves before making an offer, thinking the other side would never agree to it. If you start with an extreme proposition, it might be rejected, but that doesn't mean the discussion has to end there. If you follow your initial offer up with a less extreme offer, it's more likely to be accepted.

An extreme or highly ambitious offer, when rejected, is likely to make your next offer more likely to be considered. The comparatively moderate request means the other side might feel obligated to agree to the deal. So, you don’t always need to censor yourself, since an extreme proposition can help get you a better deal.

 

Establish the Customer’s Pain

A savvy salesperson tries to identify issues the customer is facing and considers solutions. However, you won’t really know your customer’s pain points unless you research and ask the right questions.

If you're trying to help a company with boosting sales, train yourself to ask your prospects open-ended questions, such as why they are losing deals, what they spend the most time on, or how solving a particular problem would impact their team. Use your research to craft a winning pitch by highlighting how you’ll solve pain points that are most disruptive to their business.

 

A savvy salesperson tries to identify issues the customer is facing and considers solutions

 

Look for Long-Term Opportunities

In most cases, potential customers won't say yes to everything you bring to the negotiation table. A new prospect, for instance, may opt to start with small orders first.

In the beginning, if you set high expectations, you might be disheartened. Getting your foot in the door with a prospect first usually creates room for more sales and profitable opportunities in the future.

A smaller, manageable win also makes it easier to prove your worth. These small wins could give you more leverage as you bargain for bigger deals.

 

About the author: Milena Gallo is a talented marketing advisor, with a specialization in digital marketing. Milena delights in the opportunity to create and carry out strategic marketing plans and is skilled in tailoring messaging to effectively reach target audiences. She has a business degree and practice in negotiation seminars. When she’s not at the office, Milena loves to do yoga, pick veggies from her garden, and visit local museums.

 

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