How Simple Psychology Can Help You Win More Sales

You may think that psychology has nothing to do with sales, but that actually couldn't be further from the truth. Having just a basic understanding of how people behave and react to certain things can help sales teams increase their success rate and reach their targets.

Here's how thinking about simple psychology can make you a better salesperson:

People want to buy

Working in sales, you assume that the most important thing you need to do is persuade someone that they want to purchase something. However, people already want to buy. We all love spending money because it makes us feel satisfied and happy. This is why so many adverts, especially for big purchases like cars, travel or jewellery, try to tap into different emotions.

So instead of thinking 'how can I make you buy this', you should be thinking 'how do I want people to feel by making this purchase'. It might make their lives simpler, or keep their family safe, or something else, but it's a key part of the sale. Once you've decided on this, you need to make sure it's at the forefront of your mind throughout the buyer cycle.

Too many choices are confusing

Tailoring products to an individual customer is, of course, a key part of sales but giving people too many options can jeopardize your chances of finishing the deal. This is because the human brain suffers from analysis paralysis and there's just too much information for it to absorb.

This doesn't mean you have to limit the services you offer as a company, but find out as much as you can about a customer before you start telling them about your products. Knowing more about your audience will allow you to identify two or three options that are most likely to attract them, simplifying their decision-making.

People don't want to be left behind

Human psychology means that most of us are constantly comparing ourselves to those around us. If during your sales pitch, you can show your prospect what benefits other people are enjoying from your products or services, they're more likely to want to close the deal. This is why marketing tactics like customer testimonials can be so effective in pushing consumers through the buyer cycle.

Sales is like karma

The theory of reciprocity means that whenever someone does something nice for you, you automatically want to do something nice for them. In business, this means that if you're able to offer something of real value to a consumer, they're much more likely to do something for you. This might be buying your service or advocating your product to someone else, both can be like striking gold in sales.

Your sales pitch should then focus on providing value to clients from your very first point of contact. Whether it's having the information they want to hand, offering a discount or something that allows them to make a more well-informed decision, this can help your sale.

Creating urgency

Companies often give customers limited-time offers and this is because it plays into people's fear of scarcity. They don't want to miss out on a great deal. Of course, it needs to be something they genuinely want but if you can persuade them that the offer you're giving them isn't going to be around forever, you may find your sales increase significantly.

It's worth mentioning though, that people are much more likely to buy from companies they trust. So make sure you're not pushing customers too hard towards a sale or you may find that it has the opposite reaction.