Sales EQ summary

It’s human nature to buy things. But exactly why do we buy what we buy?

Imagine the following scenario. After purchasing some items at the grocery store, someone asks you why you bought those particular things. If you’re like most people, you give what sounds like a rational reason – the shampoo makes your hair soft. But evidence suggests that, as a buyer, you’re much more irrational than you think. 

As human beings, we all have an overwhelming desire to be consistent in our thoughts, beliefs, and actions. It’s simply the way our brains are built. So, we experience emotional distress when our actions are inconsistent or when we hear information that contradicts what we believe to be true. This distress is known as cognitive dissonance. 

We’re always subconsciously seeking to reduce our cognitive dissonance. This urge is so strong that it can lead to denouncing new evidence or facts that are clearly true. 

Ultra high performers have a formidable intellect! They also have something that’s equally important: empathy. They put themselves in the other person’s shoes to get a sense of what their prospect feels. 

Let’s take a look at an example of sales-centric empathy.

Shannon had put months of hard work into a high-value prospect. At the final meeting, she encountered a problem during her pitch: one of the executives kept interrupting to correct her.

After the fourth negative comment, Shannon snapped. She fiercely shut him down. Then she added insult to injury by explaining to other participants why she was right and he was wrong. At the end of her pitch, she realized that she may have won the argument – but she’d lost the deal. 

Would you pay more for something because you liked the person selling it? The author’s friend found herself in this situation when buying an expensive, high quality mattress. She’d selected a mattress, but she didn’t like the salesman selling it. She couldn’t say why exactly; she just found something about him a bit “off.” 

So instead of buying the mattress from him, she drove to another store where they sold the exact same mattress – for more money. The sales assistant in the second store was charming and extremely likeable.

Seventy percent of Americans believe that most people can’t be trusted. Now, as a sales professional, think about your odds of being trusted. Yikes! Unfortunately, the stereotype of the disreputable salesperson abounds in popular culture. Gaining your prospective client’s trust is possible, but it’s a steep climb to success.

In today’s hypercompetitive world, companies and individuals are under huge pressure to make the right choices about who they do business with. One wrong decision could leave them suffering financially. With this in mind, your prospects will pay very close attention to how trustworthy you seem. Once they’ve decided whether or not they like you, they’ll start to assess whether or not they can rely on you.