The Power of Emotions in the Sales Process
Last week, we discussed handling rejection in the sales process. My aim for this week is to enable you to prevent reaching the point of rejection in the first place. 
Although sales came naturally to me, it took me years of selling to really master and fine-tune the sales strategies necessary to close more deals. In a masterful sales presentation, you say the right things and ask the right questions at the right time and with the right delivery techniques to ensure your prospect feels emotionally prepared to take you up on your offer.
When we are the ones buying, we like to think that logic and reason govern our decision-making. The truth is, people often make buying decisions based on their emotions. Feelings are powerful, and you can leverage that power in order to close more sales.
“When dealing with people, remember you are not dealing with creatures of logic, but with creatures of emotion.” ~ Dale Carnegie
You don’t have to be a psychologist to decode feelings that impact your sales, but there is a psychology to effective selling. Even more than a psychology, there is a Buyology to decode people’s decision making! As a salesperson, you need to be completely in tune with the emotional status of your prospective client in order to make the sale.
The first step is to understand the different emotions potential buyers can experience during the sales process.
While you may immediately get the feeling that your prospect is excited about what you offer, often the emotional states prospective buyers go through are less than positive.
Each prospect brings their own negative experiences, baggage, and reservations to the table, making the selling process a seemingly complex obstacle course you need to navigate to achieve success. Here are the main negative emotions buyers experience:
Fear and Anxiety
Buyers often fear that by maintaining the status quo, things will not go well for them. At the same time, they feel anxiety about the cost of services and nervous that they’ll make the wrong decision. It’s your job to show them that the value of the service exceeds the cost by presenting the many benefits your service provides, effectively showing them that proceeding is the only course of action to solve their problem.
Frustration
Your prospect can be annoyed at the idea of having to spend money on a service to solve a problem that previous service providers have failed to solve in the past. Acknowledge their frustration and ask questions about what didn’t work last time. It’s your responsibility to explain how your service is both different and superior to your competitors so that they won’t be on the hunt for a solution again anytime soon.
Pressure
They may be under tremendous pressure from their boss, business partners, or even family members. They might also put pressure on themselves to avoid missing out on something competitors or colleagues are doing to level up. As the seller, it’s your responsibility to deliver a sales presentation that takes the pressure off! Show evidence of how well your service works in the form of case studies and testimonials.
While prospects are feeling their negative emotions, many are subconsciously hoping you’ll succeed in erasing those less than pleasant emotions. As a woman with decades of sales experience, I can tell you this…
Your prospect doesn’t want to feel the gamut of negative feelings they feel.
Sales professionals and business owners need to learn to put their prospect at ease so that they’re open and receptive enough to hear what you have to say and see the value in what you offer. To do that, you must first know what the prospect values.
If you can succeed in putting your prospect at ease and guide them strategically through the sales presentation, you hear fewer prospects saying, “Sorry, I’m not interested,” or “I have to think it over.”
So, if customers don’t want to feel negative emotions during the sales process, how do they want to feel?
What emotions lead to a decision to purchase?
Before a prospect parts with their money, they want – and need – to feel a combination of the following:
- Your respect for them
- Your appreciation for their time
- That they are making an intelligent choice
- A sense that their decision to buy is important to you
- Comfortable and relaxed
- Safe and secure in what you’re offering and how they’re buying it
Using expert sales strategies, you need to get your prospect over their negative feelings to a point where they’re excited about saying yes to a solution to the problem they’re facing.
At Celeste Giordano Coaching, I teach my clients the skills and strategies they need to manage the emotions of each sale, welcome objections, and address them confidently. Learning to navigate the sales process masterfully will exponentially increase your closing rate and bring your business to a new level.
As a special bonus for you today, I’m inviting you to access a tool to predict decision-making in less than 90 seconds. Try it for free here. Be sure to use the code “giordano”.
Blueprint Magazine – Volume 4
“Celebrating Generations”
In this latest issue of The Blueprint, several articles focus on what to do as spring draws to a close and summer begins so that you can smartly meet your professional and personal goals. Articles are written by authors spanning all generations, filled with knowledge to inspire and motivate you.
Here is a sampling of what you will discover in this edition…
- The Best Gift Of All by Pauline Duncan-Thrasher
- Are We There Yet? by Joan Williams
- The Women of Global Change Youth Initiative by Cheyenne Hunt
- The Rise Of The New Economy by Cynthia Mabry
- In Life and In Work, Be Anything But Common by Celeste Giordano
- The Importance Of Reviewing Quarterly by Brigitta Hoeferle
- The Technology Buying Cycle: How Often Should Your Business Update Its Technology? by Jason Rush
- When It’s A Mistake To Hire A Writer & When It’s The Right Move by Katherine Copeland
- Ultimate Mission Impact: There Is Only One Solution by Sheree Allison
- and much more!
My hope is that The Blueprint inspires you in all aspects of your life – to grow your business, to prosper in your personal life and to serve the community and world around you.
Click here to subscribe for your free copy.
Celeste Giordano’s mission is to help business owners develop the skills, knowledge and attitude necessary to “DoublePlusTM” their income and become effective and inspirational leaders in their fields. Whether it’s taking your successful business to the next level or starting a new venture, she will teach you the exact skills and strategies you need to enroll more quality prospects, build a rock-solid team, and break through obstacles to achieve real profit and lasting success. Celeste is a professional business growth specialist, a master sales strategist, and dynamic speaker with 40 years experience in direct sales and managing high-performing teams.
To learn more about Celeste, click here.
Want to use this article? Please feel free to use this content as long as you keep it in its original format and include a link to the original post and Celeste Giordano’s brief bio.
