In psychology, when we are treating people, it always starts with a discovery process, that is, digging beneath the veneer to discover the client’s authentic self. Once we know who a person really is, we can begin to communicate with that person directly, which is when we really begin to resonate and make progress together.

 
The exact same idea applies to selling. In today's episode, Dr. Croner discusses the important of discovering your buyer's authentic self to boost sales.

  

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At SalesDrive, LLC, we help companies perfect the salesperson hiring process by offering a variety of tools, like a sales assessment and psychologically-based interview guides, that aid companies in never hiring a bad salesperson again. SalesDrive was founded in 2005 based on the single biggest frustration many companies face, selecting sales candidates who interviewed well, only to flame out when placed on the line. Dr. Croner reviewed more than 90 years of academic research as well as his own work in conducting intensive behavioral interviews and discovered that high-performance salespeople shared three innate personality traits. After identifying a gap in the marketplace, he went on to develop The DriveTest® sales assessment. The only sales assessment to measure the three non-teachable traits necessary for new business acquisition.
 
If you are hiring salespeople, request a free DriveTest assessment today: https://salesdrive.info/free-trial-request
 

 

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[00:00]  Katherine Abraham: Hello and Welcome to the Sales Psyched podcast, where we discuss strategies for leveraging psychology within the world of sales. Each episode is hosted by Dr. Chris Croner, who has a PhD in clinical psychology and has spent his career helping companies around the world build stellar sales teams.

[00:20]  Let's get started.
 
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[00:29]  Chris Croner: Buyers want you to discover who they are. Welcome to Sales Psyched!. The only sales enhancement program delivered by a psychologist. I'm Dr. Chris Croner and today we are going to discuss how buyers want you to discover who they are.

[00:47]  In psychology, when we're treating people, it always starts with a discovery process, that is digging beneath the veneer to discover the client's authentic self. Once we know who a person really is, we can begin to communicate with that person directly, which is when we really begin to resonate and make progress together.

[01:11]  The exact same idea applies to selling. When we first speak to a prospect, and in the early days of a client relationship, we're likely not speaking to his or her authentic self. Their defense systems are up, their egos are on high alert and we're speaking to the person they want to be. In this case, a buyer who is probably conditioned to be careful, defensive, skeptical.

[01:43]  It's our job, as salespeople, to break through this defense system. And the good news is the buyers want us to because all people want us to discover who they really are, so long as we do so carefully and with true empathy and support.

[02:04]  Why is this important? A couple of reasons . . .

[02:07]  First of all, as we've discussed before, buying is ultimately an emotional decision. Buyers analyzed intellectually, but when it comes time to make the leap, it's the emotional mind that gives them permission to jump. And that decision is coming from deep in their emotional world. A world they want to protect, satisfy and nurture.

[02:37]  Second, most salespeople, in fact, most people in general don't understand this truth and don't master the art and science of really getting below the surface to understand who the buyer really is and what turns him or her on or off when relating to another human being.

[02:58]  This is selling at its highest level. And it's not easy because it takes some research and patience to get to that inner core. Clues can be found on LinkedIn and Facebook profiles, but they're not enough because often people promote who they want you to think they are, not who they are deep down.

[03:22]  We need to stay alert and read the signs that pop out from the inside: fear, impatience, anger, laughter. Don't fall for first reactions. Those are usually defense mechanisms. And remember as a rule, we can always refer to that invisible sign we all wear around our necks that says, "make me feel important."

[03:50]  Remember, if you can discover who someone really is and communicate with him or her in a supportive way on that level, you will win their hearts and their minds.

[04:04]  I look forward to seeing you next time. 

 

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[04:08]  Chris Croner: Thank you for listening to the Sales Psyched Podcast. If you haven't already, please be sure to click the subscribe button and leave us a five-star review. If you found this information helpful, please consider sharing it. We'd love your help in spreading the word.
 
[04:25]  Until next time, take care!