Emotional resonance, improve communication skills, learn from sales

Jul 19, 2022

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In work communication, this is even more important. As mentioned in the article last week, in the workplace, everyone will protect the interests of themselves and their teams. The best communication mode in the workplace is to find the intersection of the interests of both parties and find common interests. It will be much easier to communicate from this starting point. Because "everyone is in the same boat".

Doing market operations, you need to understand certain sales skills. This can help the daily promotion copy to be more "grounded" and be more able to think about problems from the perspective of customers or users.

The so-called emotional resonance is to quickly establish an emotional connection with the customer during the sales process, and the completion of the final sale is actually a natural by-product.

First, the first point is to "unify knowledge and action". That said, a successful sale is never a show. If your personality is humorous and friendly, then there is no need to pretend to be cold in front of customers. On the contrary, if you are naturally introverted and down-to-earth, there is no need to act lively. A salesperson must first understand himself, and then find a way of communication that suits him according to his personality.

For example, when I was a consultant for studying abroad, I found that there are basically three types of consultants: pre-sales type, industry expert type and post-maintenance type.

Most of the pre-sales consultants are very talkative and are extroverted personalities. They can gradually establish their prestige in the process of communication, and then use the shortest time to "win" customers.

Industry experts are relatively introverted. They are usually very hardworking, trying to dig deep into the characteristics and application difficulties of each major, and then use their professional knowledge to crush all competitors in the sales process, and finally make customers admire.

A colleague of mine was like this. When everyone put her experience in the mainstream UK application, she tried to learn the Irish application process and the characteristics of each institution. As a result, she was almost the only person in the team who dared to receive advice on studying in Ireland, and the signing rate was so high that many clients who received advice from colleagues in Ireland would directly transfer them to her. From obscurity, she has slowly become the main force of the team, and recently I heard that she has been promoted to the director of the sales team.

A successful sale is never a show

Post-maintenance sales generally belong to a relatively "slow and hot" character. For them, it is better to maintain their existing customers, provide them with various value-added services, and maintain good communication with them, so as to form a very good industry reputation. Some clients will be willing to introduce friends who have the same needs to these consultants, so the number of contracts can remain stable in the end.

A good salesperson doesn't have to be outgoing or talkative. We've come across so many rhetorical sales that we can't wait to hang up right away or turn around and walk away. According to your own personality, find your own advantages, and then slowly build your own sales model. This is the first step.

Emotional resonance, improve communication skills, learn from sales

The second step is to build empathy. In other words, try to understand your customers and understand their real needs. This requires us to do two things, one is to ask, the other is to listen. In the past, when we received sales training in the company, the company told us what to introduce first, what to introduce later, and then at what time to make the next invitation or test for signing a contract, etc. At the beginning, we will communicate with customers in the way of training, but the effect is always not proportional to the score of the simulated consultation. In the language of this book, we speak for ourselves and fail to establish effective communication with our customers.

Excellent consultants will guide customers to communicate by asking questions, and will try to listen and observe each other. On the one hand, they construct a position in their minds, and on the other hand, they carefully analyze the information received by their eyes and ears to find the real needs of customers. It looks complicated at first glance, but in fact, if you break it down one by one, it's not that difficult.

The author believes that the importance of asking questions is to help you understand the psychology of the customer, what drives the customer's decision, and what the customer really needs to be satisfied. Therefore, the main purpose of asking questions is to collect various information, which can help you understand the real needs of customers on the one hand, and let customers participate more in the process of conversation on the other hand. Only by participating in it will you be more easily impressed.

The important thing to ask is that

Help you understand the psychology of your customers

Of course, the book also mentions a class of customers who have obtained some information through various channels, so they think they know it all. This kind of customer is usually more difficult to "get". In most cases, sales staff will feel that these customers know everything, and there is no need to ask questions and communicate.

In fact, the more such customers are, the more they need to ask questions, because after all, most customers are not experts (if they were, they would not need the help of sales staff), so their cognition is likely to be deviated from reality. If you sell the product directly to them without communication, it is likely to lead to later complaints.

On the other hand, if you let customers know something new through communication, you can also leave a good impression on them, which will also contribute to the success of the final sale.

The author uses childlike curiosity to liken sales. The salesperson should maintain a childlike curiosity about each customer, and then ask the customer questions. This also means that salespeople should not regard customers as their end-of-month commissions, but as emotional and lively people.

The book gives some tips for asking questions, such as starting with open-ended questions ("What made you interested in this?", or "Imagine using this product in the future. What do you want it to be like?"), control the conversation with a few optional questions ("Do you need packaging?" or "Is it you or your lover who makes the final decision?"), and close the conversation at the end to elicit the customer's decision ("Do you want this red shirt?" "When do you think we should sign a contract?").

Of course, for different fields, the skills and methods of asking questions may be different, so you still have to choose the most suitable communication method according to your own sales model and industry.

Emotional resonance, improve communication skills, learn from sales

All you need to do after asking a question is to listen. Listening is one of the first conditions for winning customers. Therefore, as a salesperson, on the one hand, we must exercise our attention, and on the other hand, we must exercise our ability to listen to others and put ourselves in their shoes. No matter how perfect the previous question is, if you don't listen to it, your previous efforts will be in vain.

At the same time, the author also mentioned that salespeople should pay attention to their body language. Such as eye contact, body leaning in the direction of the customer, etc. From a psychological point of view, sales must consciously establish a "weak connection" in the process of communicating with customers.

The one who speaks is sowing,

He who listens reaps.

For example, if you are in a coffee shop, order the same product as a customer; occasionally keep the same sitting posture as the customer; when a customer picks up a water glass, they also pick up the water glass to drink water, etc. The "weak connection" should be done quietly and subtly, so that the customer's subconscious will see you as "our own person", thereby reducing the psychological defense against you and increasing the favorability of you. But note that if it is too obvious, it will cause the customer to be alert.

According to the book, if you find that customers are willing to close the physical distance with you, it means that you have successfully won the favor of the other party. On the contrary, you have to think carefully about the countermeasures. Finally, there is an Argentine saying in the book: He who speaks sows, and he who listens reaps.

Emotional resonance, improve communication skills, learn from sales

The next step is to be flexible with different customers. This requires the salesperson to be attentive and to respond appropriately to the other party's intentional or unintentional actions.

In terms of body language, it includes physical distance from customers, gestures when speaking, body posture, etc. Of course, the speed and voice of the salesperson is also very important. During my study abroad, I occasionally met some classmates with strong body language. Coincidentally, most of them have served in the army, and one of the characteristics of their speech is that their arms will knock on the table consciously or unintentionally. People on the other side can clearly feel the vibration of the desktop.

The person who communicates with them will unnaturally keep their body away from the desktop, thus increasing the physical distance between the two in disguise. At the same time, the feeling of this desktop vibration will stimulate the body's "self-defense" system, resulting in rebellious and even hostile emotions. Therefore, there is such a phenomenon: when the group is working, they will avoid making such a person responsible for communicating with the teacher, because it is likely to directly affect the final score of the group.

Please focus on the speed of speech and rhetoric

language habits close to customers,

Let them adapt to us too.

The chestnuts above have gone a bit far. Going back to the original text, no matter how high your sales enthusiasm is, even if you have just hit a chicken blood, you should adjust yourself according to the rhythm and personality of the customer. For example, if the other party's voice is very soft and his speech and behavior are very calm and conservative, then you need to analyze the details, put data, speak logic, slow down the language, lower the voice, and try to keep the same frequency as the other party.

If the other party is a person who is enthusiastic and loves to talk and laugh, then maybe you should try to point out the common ground between the two parties, emphasize that you are the same type of people, that you can understand the other party's ideas, and use more positive cases to describe the future beautiful image.

As for the other party's physical reaction, such as the other party's body adjusting backwards, then what you need to do is not to follow up, but to adjust backwards as well, leaving a space for the other party to think and breathe. At the same time, as mentioned earlier, use a natural way to take actions similar to the other party, such as sitting, drinking water, or holding glasses.

Another very important point is language. Imagine your customers are very particular about their language, have standard pronunciation, and use idioms from time to time. Then you should also use more formal words at this time, such as "lover" instead of "wife", "parents" instead of "parents" and so on. Of course, it is best to jump out some idioms, so that the other party feels that you are people of the same level, can shorten the distance between the two sides, and more importantly, can quickly build trust.

Conversely, if the other person is a humorous, informal person, then you can use casual words, or even deliberately use some Internet vocabulary. In addition, the speed of speech is also very important. It is very difficult for both parties to communicate between a slow speaker and a fast speaker. The "memory" of the brain is all used to adapt to the other party's speaking speed, and there is no time to build trust and peace of mind. "Weak Links". Therefore, to quote the original words from the book: "Please approach the customer's language habits in terms of speed of speech and rhetoric, so that they can also adapt to us."

Everyone has a "reward center" in the brain, and sales sometimes have to be good at stimulating this area. For example, the online shopping page usually displays "You saved xx yuan today", or the downloaded software usually displays "Has saved you xxx hours". Therefore, as discussed earlier, to understand the needs of customers by asking questions, listening, and observing their every move, when you have clues, you can use language to stimulate the other party's "reward center". For example, as a car salesperson, when you see a customer getting excited about a car, you can start with something like: "This car must be a great drive, don't you think?"

Emotional resonance, improve communication skills, learn from sales

In the end, the author falls to the ultimate goal of sales - transaction. When the other party has made a decision to buy, the salesperson only needs to confirm and guide the customer's decision. At this time, too much publicity and information should be avoided to avoid talking too much.

For customers who are hesitant, the author also gives some methods of "promoting signing". For example, ask some preliminary questions ("Is this the service you want", "Does this meet your expectations", "Do you think this means we can start working closely together", etc.), and then Ask a closing question ("How about we just settle this", "Can we settle now", "I'll wrap this giveaway for you", etc.).

In addition to this, there are other strategies, such as vision strategies, that guide customers to imagine what they will be like after working with you or buying your product. For example, "Imagine, after we help you submit the application, while waiting for the admission notice, what kind of information do you want us to provide your child".

There are also reference strategies, such as: "Several students in your school have signed with us. I can introduce you to you later. Maybe they will be alumni in the future"; Requirements, such as "Then let's start to realize your dream of studying abroad."

The author also mentioned a "last resort" is the refund strategy. When necessary, it can be emphasized that customers can pay in stages, or are not satisfied with company policies such as returns and exchanges.

Finally, at the end of every sale, whether successful or not, there should be a formal conclusion to the conversation. This includes a brief summary of what the parties said, what was agreed, and what still needs to be done. And more importantly, thank the customer afterwards.

Emotional resonance, improve communication skills, learn from sales

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