A few days ago a friend of mine went to a psychic. She was not only going for the entertainment value, but to hopefully connect on some level with family members who had recently passed. I spoke with her after her session and the response was very similar to previous post-visit conversations we’ve had in the past. It went something like this: “She knew about X, she knew about Y, she told me that I was going to Z”. As a matter of fact, this conversation was identical to many conversations that I’ve had with people after their encounter with a psychic!
So let’s break down what’s really happening. When my friend says “The psychic knew about my big promotion and she knew that my mom got remarried, what my friend is really saying is that the psychic validated her ability to ‘know’ things. This is a vital step in any sales process because you must first prove that you are the higher authority and have more knowledge on the subject before you can give any recommendations on the topic and expect prospects to follow them. Whether this psychic actually knew anything is not certain, but what is certain is the customer was satisfied with the level of knowledge this psychic demonstrated.
Next is where the psychic has to sell the intangible. She tells her customer about a future that cannot be substantiated in any way. If this is delivered well enough where the customer accepts that future to be the truth, then a sale was successfully made. Just so we’re clear, this post has nothing to do with your beliefs or my beliefs on psychics but has everything to do with your selling process. Many of us sell the intangible so it would be wise to discuss how some people can successfully sell a concept that no one has ever even proven to be true!
Before your sales team recommends that their prospects take certain actions (like to buy your product), their authority must be established. They must prove in every way possible that they have the information that will get the prospect to the promise land. If that is not established then it won’t matter if your sales team holds the secret to life because nobody will listen.
A parallel concept is a strategy that many NLP practitioners use: Fact, Fact, Fact, Idea. The psychic does this when she pins down certain events that can be substantiated by fact. There was a big promotion at work, the mother did get remarried, and there was a family conflict about moving out of state, now it’s time for the psychic to slip in an idea that can’t be proven- like what the future looks like. From the perspective of the listener, this idea just gets listed in the mind as another fact!
What are some ideas that you’d love your prospects to think of as FACTS? How about needing your product or service as the solution to their problem? This can either be just an idea of many different ideas they have, or a FACT that your solution is the solution to their problem.
To learn how to implement very effective strategies in your selling process, call MindStorm and speak with a strategy consultant about our Power Persuasion program: 844-MINDSTORM (844-646-3786)