The Psychology of Sales Behind the sales process there’s a whole psychology of sales that is part of the interaction between sales reps and customers. What does that entail? As a sales performance consultant and coach, Anita Nielsen answers this question for her clients. She works with sales leaders and salespeople to help them up their game and get them to where they want to go. As a sales coach, Anita does one-on-one training and offers sales enablement services. She is known as a fixer when sales aren’t going smoothly. Anita is also the author of the newly published book, Beat the Bots. In recent years, sales reps have been ringing their hands about how robots are going to take away jobs. Anita’s book was the result of hearing these same fears over and over again. She doesn’t agree. She believes people who are great at customer service and building relationships will always have a job. The AIs won’t be able to learn empathy or trust and they can’t build that human connection. Buyers crave that connection more than ever due to the rise of technology. Customers want to work with people who they feel have their back and want them to succeed. They want sales reps they can trust and interact with. How AIS help the sales force Computer-based programs can do many things. AI can help with jobs that entail just dialing or deal with a template but they will never promote trust or empathy. The complex purchases won’t be handled by AI and technology. When they need specific business outcomes, customers still want a sales rep to help them figure out how to achieve those outcomes. Trust and empathy are two of the biggest factors that keep human connection in the sales force. Buyers want to work with people who can provide both. There are many things that a bot and AI can do. Some of the AIs are helping people to screen phone calls and can determine how long a salesperson spends talking to a customer or the length of time the customers is speaking. The technology won’t take away the jobs of salespeople. Tech is there to make sales people better by supporting their work. It’s not there to replace the valuable things salespeople do for their customers. Value is in the eye of the customer When Anita talks with sales leaders, one of the first things they say is that their sales team doesn't know how to articulate value to the customers. She then asks what they mean by value and Anita has yet to hear the same answers. What she does is break down value in three layers: There’s the basic inherent value, the general value. The general value is the reason why customers are buying. The second one is the company’s value. This value reflects what a company does that sets it apart from its competitors. A customer looks at who you are and what you stand for, and how well you understand your customers. As a company, these need to be brought together to bring personalized value to the customer. What can you offer to make your customers feel better or more successful? For salespeople and companies, the only thing that should matter is your customers’ perception of value and being to articulate how you can support those values. Salespeople’s job As salespeople, it is our job to tap into the emotion behind the purchase and figure out what the customers’ motivations are. This discovery, however, has to come from a place of good intent. Be a salesperson who truly wants to help your customers succeed. People can sense your intention and good intention goes a long way. It is this mindset that will guide your interaction with your customers. High performers are the ones who are instinctively tapping into these driving emotions. Anita was working with a saleswoman a few...

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