8 Simple Soft Skills To Persuade Customers
8 Simple Soft Skills To Persuade Customers
The power of persuasion is a vital tool to close a sale effectively. Memorizing a few essential tips can help you get in your customers’ heads and make that sale.
It doesn’t matter how reputable the store you work for is or how good the product is because if your customer service is poor, people will complain about it, and you’ll lose sales.
It’s possible to improve your people skills with a bit of practice. Transforming your customer service from poor to outstanding won’t take place overnight. It requires a commitment and a promise to change.
Persuasion is an essential sales skill everyone needs to perform accurately. Salespeople and consultants turn problems into solutions every day and change prospects into loyal customers. Believe it or not, 74% of consumers say they’ve spent more money with a salesperson because of positive sales experiences. It’s that effective. So, make sure you stay positive, speak confidently, and apply persuasive skills that lead to more conversions.
Persuasion helps customers feel more at ease and comfortable, which is more likely to purchase your recommended product. Anyone can learn and perfect customer persuasion; it just requires time and dedication to get it right.
There are simple psychology-based tricks you can do to help persuade your customers to buy. Closing the sale can be quick, simple, and straightforward when you apply these simple methods to help you use the psychology of selling today that fosters a genuine connection with customers.
Here are nine effective examples of the psychology of selling that you can use to close more sales today.
NOTE: Salespeople should not sell unless they are confident the product or service will benefit their customers. Persuading customers to purchase a beneficial product or service is one thing. However, stretching the truth and lying is another. Don’t cross the line.
1. Show Enthusiasm
The top example to help you close a sale is showing enthusiasm for the service or product you are recommending. That’s all! The first tip is so simple and very successful.
Enthusiasm is powerful because it generates a spontaneous but natural emotional reaction in your customer.
So, the first step is to learn how to show that you are excited (about the service, the store’s 5-star reputation, the seasonal specials, etc.). Remain upbeat and share your excitement with customers to close more sales.
2. The Power of a Smile
Another simple, minimal-effort strategy to help you persuade customers is to smile.
Smiling goes hand-in-hand with showing enthusiasm. If you smile during a conversation, customers will automatically consider you more helpful and engaged than a consultant who is not smiling.
Smiling also comes across as being more engaged and helpful, and customers will be happier to talk with you. Laughter has a similar effect, so sharing a smile and laughing can generate sales.
People can tell if you’re smiling even if they can’t see you. Smile when you are speaking to a customer over the phone. Smiling makes the sound of your voice uplifting, which can be infectious.
Smiling can help your state of mind; even a forced smile reduces stress levels and makes you happier. So smile, customers respond positively to your enthusiasm and upbeat mood, and it’s good for you.
The next time you are with a customer, smile broadly and show enthusiasm; you’ll be far more likely to close the sale.
3. Nod Along With Your Customer
The physical act of nodding shows that we agree, accept, or acknowledge the other person’s suggestion. In other words, we are saying, “yes.”
Nodding with your customer is a form of sales priming. Sales priming is a technique that uses specific actions, words, or images to condition customers to go along with your suggestions. Priming is similar to a hypnotic suggestion, and the simple act of nodding your head helps prime your customers to say yes during the sales presentation.
Research shows that people naturally mimic each other when visual cues, such as facial and body gestures, are present. And nodding is the simplest visual cue anyone can start using today.
So, nodding at your customer will likely be contagious and prime your prospect into saying “yes.”
4. The Power of Eye Contact (Even Over Digital Media & Email)
According to studies in the United States, eye contact cultivates a sense of connection with the other person. They suggest making direct eye contact for 40% to 60% of your conversation with a customer.
It’s easy to make eye contact in person, but it’s also a good idea to include a headshot of you smiling (naturally) on your email signature. A photo helps to “make eye contact” with your online customers when you cannot do it in person. Incorporating a headshot in your email is the easiest way to make that human connection over a digital medium and increases your chances of closing an online sale.
5. Create a Scene of Urgency
A proven psychological method to help make the sale is to convince your prospect of a real sense of urgency to buy the product or service. For example, less time remains before the special promotion is over. Likewise, other customers are buying their winter tires now, and appointments are filling up fast, creating a sense of urgency to help close the sale.
6. Be Courteous
Welcome
The word “welcome” is more of a relationship-building word than an actual “selling” tool, and that’s a good reason for saying it is so important. It is always good to be polite, and it doesn’t cost you much.
You want to connect with your customers, not because you’re interested in selling to them now, but to leave a good impression on them, even if they don’t end up purchasing from you.
While you are “welcoming” customers, always let them know that you also welcome questions, concerns, and suggestions too, so they shouldn’t hesitate to ask. Opening a conversation makes customers feel involved in a two-way dialogue and not merely on the receiving end of a monologue.
Another way you should use “welcome” is as a response to “thank you.” Your customers will probably say thank you during the sales consultation. Respond with a formal “you’re welcome” instead of the informal “no problem.” Replying with “no problem” sounds as though the customer interrupted you, but not to where it was bothersome.
You
“You” is about the customer, not the salesperson. Focusing the sales pitch on “you” or “yourself” can only spell disaster. Shifting the focus on yourself can come off sounding self-absorbed during the conversation and can make customers feel alienated.
Selling is all about the customer and their future. What car do they see themselves driving in the future? What challenges are they facing today? What do they need to overcome or ease those challenges?
Since it’s all about the customer, make it about them. Use their name wherever you can squeeze it into the conversation. Not only is learning and using your customer’s name common courtesy, it also reinforces your relationship and shows that you respect them as a person, separate from the business transaction. But saying their name too often sounds awkward and unnatural after a while, so alternating it with “you” and their name is a good balance.
Addressing the customer by name helps them picture themselves already owning the car you’re selling and makes them the conversation’s singular focal point. Using “you” causes them to think that they already own the car, and that’s an excellent primer to make the purchase.
Thank you
It’s good manners to say “thank you” when someone does something for you. The customer took the time to think of your store, took the time to call or come in to see you, and gave you their attention. So thank them politely and remember to be cheerful while doing so
Please don’t make them feel that you’re doing them a favor and that they need to thank you. That gets your relationship off on the wrong foot. You don’t need to butter them up either; just express your appreciation for their time.
“Thank you for your time, and I hope to hear from you soon.”
7. Focus On Benefits, Not Features (Well, Sometimes)
What’s in it for them? This is the first question you should ask yourself before pitching your sales script to customers. And to the answer to this question is, “what benefits will improve my customer’s life?”
While many salespeople focus on a car’s shiny bells and whistles (aka the features) to entice customers, they’re missing out on the actual draw. Focus on how the car will improve a customer’s life (aka the benefits) and how they feel about driving it.
A feature is something the car has, whereas a benefit results from when a customer drives the car. Features are logical, while benefits are emotional. When you focus on the benefits, you can turn a prospect into a buying customer.
Sales staff still need to ask customers, “what features are they looking for in a car?”, you should keep this short. Customers cannot see themselves driving off in your vehicle based on features alone. To close more deals, you need to focus on benefits.
Although discussing features is fantastic (and necessary), emotions drive customers to purchase. Get emotional and create a desire, solve their pain points, and connect with the customer’s emotions. It can pay off tremendously.
Transform features into benefits by telling customers how a particular feature will benefit them in the short or long run. Features lack emotional connection, but they can still play a crucial role in selling cars. However, features act as “proof” for the car’s benefits you claimed.
When you can engage your customers and leave them feeling an emotional connection, you’ve succeeded. You’ve made them relate, and now they trust you.
8. Focus On Customer Emotions
People like to think they make rational decisions while shopping. However, most luxury brands would be out of business if that were the case.
It’s impossible to justify the purchase of a luxury item rationally: We may want it, but we don’t need it. No matter how mundane, every purchase satisfies an emotional need—if nothing else, we want to feel good about the decision we made.
Emotions play a significant role in purchasing decisions. Salespeople should consider how customers want to feel: safer, happier, wiser.
Sometimes, your customers may want to feel good about doing business with you.