The Psychology of Buying and Selling

Reasons for Purchase
People purchase products and services for both logical and psychological reasons. We purchase some products and services because they make life easier for us as they save us time and effort. Other products and services can save us money or can even make us money. The reasons for purchasing these types of products are logical as these purchases are arguably rational in that people buy, for example, a dishwasher primarily because it saves them time and effort.

In today’s social environment, many of the products and services that we purchase can be regarded as “unnecessary” in that they satisfy various psychological needs rather than physical needs. Take the mobile phone for example. Many people possess a mobile phone because not to have one goes against social norms and thus those who do not have a mobile phone take the risk of being seen as “backward” or eccentric by others. Other psychological reasons for purchasing products and services are that they give us pleasure (e.g., entertainment system) or make us feel that we stand out from the crowd (e.g., five-star hotels) and thus enhance our self-esteem. Effective salespeople are aware of the different reasons why people make a purchase and can use these reasons as levers to make a sale.

Persuasion
Successful salespeople have mastered the art of persuasion. There are two main ways in which people can be persuaded: One is referred to as ‘Direct’ and the other is referred to as ‘Indirect’. Direct persuasion is straightforward as it involves behaviours such as emphasising the advantages of and disadvantages of not purchasing your product or service. Indirect persuasion is more difficult than direct persuasion as it involves establishing your credibility and getting the customer to both like and trust you.


Build Good Relationships with Your Customers
Caring for the customer is of utmost importance when it comes to sales. People are unlikely to care about your product or service if they feel that you do not care about them. Effective salespeople know this and that is why they focus on building relationships with their customers rather than on what they stand to gain from making the sale. There is an old saying in the sales business: “Customers don’t care about what you know until they know that you care”. It is not surprising that developing good relationships with customers is one of the cornerstones of being successful at sales.

How can we build good relationships with our customers? The first thing is to be trusted and liked by your customers. People will trust you when they believe that you are credible and concerned about their self-interests. Being open with customers and keeping your word are also crucial if customers are to trust you. We all like people who are the same as us so it is always useful to connect with your customers by showing them that you have similar interests, views and values.

How can I learn about the interests, views and values of my customers? You can learn a lot about your customers simply by listening to them and by asking open-ended questions such as “What is it that you really want from this product/service?” Too often, salespeople want to talk rather than listen because they are focused on what they stand to gain from the sale rather on what the customer stands to gain from the purchase. By listening carefully to your customers you can learn a lot about what they need and want.

Listening
Listening is a gift that we give to others. When we listen actively and deeply we suspend judgement and pay attention not only to what the customer is saying but also to the non-verbal cues given by the customer. It is well known that non-verbal cues are more important than what is actually said. Successful salespeople can identify the often unstated needs and concerns of their customers via non-verbal cues and then match these needs and concerns to products or services.

Self-Talk
One of the barriers to being both an effective listener and a successful salesperson is inappropriate self-talk, which refers to the things we say to ourselves. Effective listening and self-motivation depend on being able to control one’s self-talk. It is easy to be distracted by self-talk (e.g., “this customer is very demanding” or “I have not had lunch as yet”) when a customer is talking and the trouble is that people notice when you are not truly listening. When this happens, you appear as insincere or disinterested and the relationship is damaged. Being a salesperson is tough because salespeople have to deal with rejection on a regular basis. Self-talk is the major way of motivating yourself. Successful salespeople know how to use self-talk to stay motivated and avoid self-defeating thoughts. Keep in mind that what you say to yourself colours how you see the world.


Article Contributed by Dr. Gian Casimir, Honorary Academic Advisor of Training Edge International and was a lecturer with Wharton School in the University of Pennsylvania. He currently lectures at the University of Newcastle in Singapore.

Email : Gian.Casimir@trainingedgeasia.com;
Website : www.trainingedgeasia.com