The Psychology of Selling: Increase Your Sales Faster and Easier Than You Ever Thought Possible

“The top 20 percent of salespeople make 80 percent of the money, and the bottom 80 percent only make 20 percent of the money.”

There is no upper limit to your earnings in sales. You can make as much money as you want if you are intelligent, skilled, and selling the right product in the right market. But you should know some tricks. One such trick is applying the Pareto principle or 80/20 rule to sales, which means that the top 20% of salespeople should make 80% of the money. So, if you want to succeed, you should be in your field’s top 20%.

But how do you get into that 20% of the most successful people? Simply, by visualizing your success and accepting rejections as a regular and necessary part of selling, committing to becoming one of the best in your field, and not giving up no matter what happens. Once you adopt this mindset, it will be easy to determine the steps to success and follow them.

You should also model your actions after successful industry leaders rather than the average performance. It’s important to compare yourself to the top people, but keep in mind that no one is wiser than you - they just worked harder and educated themselves. Simply because your competition outsells you does not mean they are performing better than you; it just means they have figured out the key drivers of sales success earlier.

“Top salespeople are intensely goal-oriented.”

Many research studies have linked high levels of performance and achievement to goal orientation. Successful salespeople are not afraid to think big, and they have a laser focus on their final results. Top salespeople plan their income, and they know exactly how much they will earn by the end of the year.

If you want to be on top of the sales industry, you must establish exactly how much you want to make annually. Your sales operations will lack focus if your earnings goal is unclear. Even the best shooter in the world won't be able to hit a target they can't see. So you must be pretty clear about your target before you shoot. How would you do it?

First, you should define your yearly revenue goal and use that figure to guide your actions during the year. When you decide how much money you want to earn this year, you should analyze how much you have to sell to reach that personal income goal. The next step is to establish monthly, weekly, and daily sales and income goals and map out the daily actions you'll need to take to achieve them.

You also need goals for yourself and your family, especially if they’re the main reason you’re doing these things. That is why you get up in the morning and work all day, even when things don't go as planned or are hard. The clearer your family and personal goals are, the more motivated you will be, and the faster you will get back on your feet after a temporary setback or rejection. In addition, thinking about all the things you can reach, buy and do once you have enough money can motivate you to work harder and stick with your business goals, too. You can start by writing the top 100 things you would like to have in your life and everything that you would like to do.

Remember that success comes from hard work and sacrifice. If you want to succeed in your field, you must be willing to give it your all.

“What you must appreciate is that people buy for their reasons, not for yours.”

Customers might purchase your product or service for a variety of reasons. A key realization to make is that you can't expect customers to buy because of your values but theirs. One of the most common errors made by inexperienced salespeople is trying to convince a client to buy based on the salesperson's motivations rather than the customer's.

To succeed in sales, you must be able to discover your potential customer's needs effectively. People buy things and services to improve their lives, and every offer comes with a trio of options for the buyer: they can purchase from you or another seller or hold off.

Your responsibility is to convince the buyer that they need your goods. Competent salespeople always start with a detailed needs analysis. Asking the right questions and paying attention to the responses can put you in a better position to seal the deal. By doing so, you may zero in on the prospect's deepest unmet want and determine whether or not your product is the best solution.

Understanding the customer's needs and requirements will help you shape your presentation to convince them to purchase from you. The next step is to figure out the most important benefit your customers are looking for and devise a plan to present the value of that benefit in every sales conversation you have. In addition, you can list the things your customers will miss out on or lose if they do not buy your products.

Last but not least, make sure you look professional and friendly. To give the impression that you are a fully qualified professional, you should read about business attire and then apply that knowledge whenever you meet with a customer.

Customers must also sense your compassion rather than the impression that you are only trying to make a sale. In every interaction you have with a customer, you should present yourself to them as a friend, an advisor, and a teacher. Instead of trying to sell them anything, you should focus on educating them about your product and the benefits they will get if they buy it.

“Creativity is a natural characteristic of all top salespeople.”

Every successful salesperson has an innate capacity for creativity. Our level of creativity is based mainly on how we think and feel about ourselves. This means that you can practice being creative until it becomes an easy and automatic way to reach any goal you set for yourself.

The simplest way to describe creativity is that it promotes "improvement." You use your creativity when you find a way to make something better by doing things differently. Three main things that bring out creativity are clear goals, pressing problems, and focused questions.

A strong, focused drive to succeed can inspire you to develop novel approaches to achieving your objective. The more you want to find a solution to an issue, the more creative and original ideas you will consider. Similarly, the more precise the questions you ask yourself or are asked by others, the more creative the solutions you come up with will be. You should consistently engage in all three activities to maintain peak cognitive performance.

The "20 Idea Method" is one of the best ways to boost your creativity, open your eyes to new opportunities, and improve your sales success. Your income will rise by at least threefold in the coming months after implementing this strategy. So how would you do it?

Simple—all you have to do is write your most important goal or pressing problem as a question and then write 20 answers in it. Usually, one of these answers contains a solution that can completely change your path to success. Moreover, when you get these answers and act on at least one of them, you keep the creative ideas flowing all day!

Creative selling starts with a comprehensive understanding of your product or service. The more your knowledge and awareness of the product you sell, the more innovative you will be. The more you understand why and how your product is superior to the competitors', the more effectively you will be able to communicate it to clients and overcome their purchase reluctance.

A testimonial letter is one of the best ways to sell something. When you tell a customer that your product is wonderful and a good option for them, they don’t trust you immediately because, well, you are a salesman But if someone else who has bought your product says it is "good," the customer believes this and agrees with it! This is how powerful testimonials are.

“Human beings are greatly influenced by the suggestive elements in their environments, especially the human elements.”

A comfortable, confident salesperson may have a significant suggestive impact. When they’re serene, calm, neat, competent, and confident in their abilities and the quality of their offering, customers feel calm and at ease. They won’t doubt the accuracy of what you’re saying and will treat your product or service as their best option.

Several things can make you suggestive that you can control. The most important things are how you look, how you talk, and how you act. If you look good, speak clearly and confidently, and have a calm and positive attitude, the prospect will have a good first impression of you.

You can also control your appearance in almost every way by dressing professionally, caring for yourself, and standing up straight. It would help if you also devote some time to practice your presentation aloud in front of a mirror. Remember that your thoughts have a lot of power, so if you keep telling yourself that you are one of the best salespeople in your field, you may train your mind to have a better attitude.

Aside from your thoughts, your clothes can also say a lot about you. When you're well-dressed, customers subconsciously believe you're from a reputable firm and that your product or service is excellent. When you look like a top salesperson on your first meeting, the customer is more likely to take you seriously and listen to what you have to say. If you are not interested in fashion, you can imitate others’ outfits and dress like the wealthiest and most successful people in your field.

“Everything you do in the sales process, from the first contact through to the close of the sale and the delivery of the product or service, has an effect.”

The "approach close" is one of the most effective techniques to kick off a sales discussion. This approach may convince the customer to commit to taking action after hearing your pitch.

First, you need to put the customer at ease by telling them that you are not here to sell them something but to show them why your product is beneficial and why many people have already bought it. Here, you are offering an exchange, much like saying, "I won't try to sell you anything if you listen to me with an open mind." This way, your customers will feel more open and interested to know why people are buying your product.

This close has a powerful suggestive aspect to it, as you imply that the product is already well-known and consumed by many people. The customer only needs to agree or disagree with the same reasons other people use your product. You then begin your sales process by asking them what they’re currently doing and how your product or service could relate to their situation. Once you understand the prospect's circumstances and needs, you may promote your product as the best solution for them now. But what if the customer still hesitates to buy your product?

Well, in this case, you can use logic. Since you’ve already stated the facts about why your product is suitable for them in the previous conversation, it makes sense to add a logical phrase that’s something like this: "From everything you've told me, this sounds excellent for you right now unless I'm missing something."

This way, you may get the potential customer to explain their hesitation or objection. And you'll be able to overcome the issue and keep the sale moving forward.

“Excellence is a decision.”

The path to success can be summed up in a few simple rules. First of all, you need to decide that you’ll become a successful seller. With a clear and strong decision, you can move forward.

Every top salesperson is passionate about their work. So you need to develop a deep appreciation for your chosen profession and dedicate yourself to reaching peak performance. You may reach the high-paying ranks of sales professionals if you put in the time and effort necessary, if you put your heart into what you are doing, and if you develop a passion for the selling profession.

Work satisfaction comes from striving to improve at what you do and being the best version of yourself in your field. For this reason, it's crucial to make education a priority throughout your life.

The quality of your life and work performance is directly related to how productively you spend your time. Time management experts say planning your day can boost your productivity by 25%, or two hours. You should use a to-do list as a central component of your whole time and life management approach.

In addition to daily activities, great salespeople also plan their year, establishing goals and strategies to attain those goals. First, you need to determine what you want to achieve, write it down, select the necessary actions for success, and lastly, do something every day that takes you closer to your most essential objective. We should give our maximum effort and do everything in our power to achieve all our goals.

Achieving success takes more than just a decision to become successful and setting goals. It is also vital to reject failure. We shouldn't even think about the possibility of failing. Instead, we must stick to our plan and have a strong will so we become unstoppable.