In the world of sales, building and maintaining relationships is key to success. But what exactly drives these relationship sales? According to recent research, there are six emotions that have a major impact on relationship sales: greed, fear, altruism, envy, pride, and shame. By understanding how these emotions influence a buyer, sales professionals can be more effective in managing their relationships sales and driving revenue results.
Great sales professionals and entrepreneurs establish good rapport during the initial call. They focus on building connections through relatable stories, providing value, having integrity, showing respect for the prospect’s time, and demonstrating expertise and knowledge in their field. This establishes a genuine likeability and creates a feeling of trustworthiness.
So how do you increase your conversion rate when talking to a prospect? Tap into their subconscious mind to understand how they make purchases based on one of these six emotions.
Here are six emotions that will lead to more revenue results:
1. Greed - Will Gain Something
While there are many factors that can drive people to make a purchase, greed is often quoted as a primary motivator. The definition of greed is an intense and selfish desire for something, especially wealth, power, or ownership. When broken down, this emotion is simply the result of a prospect wanting something that they do not have.
Whether it's the desire to make more money in their business, have a bigger house, or invest in luxury goods, greed can cause people to overextend themselves financially in order to gain recognition or acceptance in their community.
There's nothing wrong with an individual wanting more for themselves, as greed can be a healthy motivator that drives people to achieve their desired goals. However, when taken to extremes, it can lead to financial loss and destroy relationships instantaneously.
As a sales professional or entrepreneur, it's important to make sure your service or product will best suit your client as more than likely they will be telling everyone about it. Word of mouth can go a long way while increasing your referrals as long as they can benefit from the purchase and gain something for their image.
2. Fear - Will Miss Out If They Don’t Take Action
Fear is a powerful emotion that can have a significant impact on people's buying decisions. When people feel afraid, they are more likely to make impulsive purchase decisions in an effort to mitigate the risk they perceive.
This can lead a prospect to purchase products or services that they may not need or want, simply because it makes them feel better in the moment. While using fear to convert more clients can make you more money, you also don’t want a negative testimonial after the fear factor has worn off. Making sure your prospect is ready is key to building a genuine sale.
While fear can motivate people to buy, the goal is to avoid buyer’s remorse later on which defeats the purpose of maintaining a reputable company. It is essential to tap into your prospect’s fears but avoid manipulation tactics like coercion or false promises as this can impact the integrity of your business.
3. Altruism - Will Help Others
Altruism is a common motivator for people's spending decisions. When people see a need, they often feel compelled to help out by purchasing goods or services that will support a good cause. The word "altruism" has many different definitions, but at its core, altruism is the act of selflessly helping others.
In recent years, there has been a growing movement of companies and consumers who are driven by altruism. Giving back to their communities or supporting worthy causes to make a difference in the world as they know they are doing something great. Altruistic consumers will likely convey in their language during the call that they are using their financial resources to support the movement or organizations they care about.
For many altruistic people, this feeling of satisfaction is worth more than the cost of the good or service itself. As a result, altruism can be a powerful force for buying decisions, driving people to make purchases that they might not otherwise make especially when your company supports a good cause.
4. Envy - Will Remain Competitive
Envy is a powerful emotion that can drive people to take action because it’s human nature to compete or compare. When a consumer sees or hears about something that they want from someone else, it can create a strong desire for them to purchase the same thing. This desire can often lead them to make a purchase, even if they can't really afford it. While envy is often seen as a negative emotion, it can actually be quite useful to businesses.
In some cases, people may feel envious of others who have things that they themselves desire, leading them to make purchases in an attempt to bridge the perceived gap. In other cases, people may simply envy the attention that others are getting, leading them to buy status symbols in an effort to stand out from the crowd. Knowing how to market your product or service can induce emotional purchases.
5. Pride - Will Need To Look Smart
Pride is a strong emotion that can drive people to do many things, including buying products or services. Companies often use this emotion in advertising, portraying their services as a way to boost self-esteem or impress others.
When people feel proud of themselves, they are more likely to want to invest that reflects their positive self-image. Whether it's purchasing services to grow their professional wealth or expanding their investment portfolio, they do things for bragging rights. When you consumers feel they made a great purchase and see the reward that comes with their risk, they feel more inclined to continue buying from you.
6. Shame - Will Avoid Looking Incompetent
In many cases, shame drives people to buy products or services that they believe will improve their appearance or make them more socially acceptable. People will make investments in an effort to cover up their shame or to compensate for feelings of inadequacy.
If a consumer has low self-esteem or doesn’t feel valued in their career, they are bound to make purchases that will have them save face amongst their peers. Feeling shame can cause a person to lose sleep if they don’t have the service or product they need to be seen as worthy.
Regardless of which emotions may be utilized when it comes to your clients making purchases from you, it's vital to understand how they think about buying during the initial call so you can continue to build the relationship over time by using their personal emotions to your advantage without being manipulative.
What emotion do you pull out of your prospects to close the sale?
Looking to improve your relationship sales? Check out our Relationship Capital Program
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