When we talk about referrals, we’re talking about applied psychology.  It’s science in action!  And, the more effectively you apply it, the more rewarding your strategy will be.  Unfortnately, most sales people have not such strategy in place.  Duh.  If that’s you, let’s see what we can do to help you.  Think of getting referrals as simple psychology married to common sense and logic.

To turn your activities into a systematic strategy, just equip your current clients with the right language to use when they talk about you to their friends and colleagues. No politician goes into public without being well versed in his/her “talking points.”  All you’re doing here is giving the talking points to someone else.

The language you give them will include two connections: values and relevance. After all, you might share values but not be trained to help them. Or, you might be an expert in what they need, but possess vastly different values.

Ultimately, you want to give your clients a reason to talk about you with other people, and in order for that to be effective, they need to know what to say and how to say it.

Doesn’t that make sense?  Pam and I are writing a book on the psychology of referrals.  If you want to learn how to get more referrals, just send us an email:  michael@aboutpeople.com

Are you really creating value for your customers, or merely claiming to?  When we ask salespeople to say exactly how they add value, responses typically fall into one of three categories: 1) avoidance/no response;  2) A response based on a naïve (sometimes arrogant) belief that the product or service itself constitutes enough value; or 3) A description of pre-packed value as defined by someone in the corporate office with little or no understanding of real customers and their unique challenges. Suffice it to say, it’s a whole lot easier to claimvalue than actually create it.

Whose value is it, anyway?

Part of the disconnect lies in who defines the value.  If you believe that “you know best” and can decide what constitutes value for your customers, then you could be imposing your definition of value on them.  And, unless you’re a talented psychic, what you perceive as value and what your customer perceives as value are probably very different.

In the end, value is personal.  It’s a perception, like credibility and likeability.  And it’s not your perception that matters, the customer’s perception of value is the ONLY one that matters. Now, let’s look close-up at a more effective way to define value and present it.

You can’t add value to the customer until you truly understand your customer

Now, here’s the next wrinkle – You can’t add value unless, and until, you truly understand that customer. And we’re not talking about basic demographics or sales information, we’re talking about real knowledge of his/her business, industry, challenges and personal values and criteria.

If you find that maybe you don’t know as much as you thought about your customers, you’re in good company.  The fact is, few salespeople really understand their customers well enough to create meaningful value.  This is true in all sales but especially in high-end B-to-B sales.

Here’s what happens. Sellers often lose important sales because they lack credibility in the eyes of the buyer. And, the main reason they lack credibility is they simply do not understand their customer’s business.  Amazingly, those same sellers insist they are adding value.

It’s a simple fact of psychology; prospects are not going to listen to you pontificate about how important you are to them, or what you can do for them, once they recognize you do not understand them or their business. And, there’s no way to hide what you don’t know.

As Barry Farber says in State of the Art Selling, “You cannot relate to a man in business without understanding his business.  A man in the oil business wants you to understand the oil business, and what a drilling rig is, and what upstream and downstream means, and what crude and refined is, and what’s OPEC and domestic, and who his competitors are, and his recent history – has it been good or bad and why.  Too many salespeople don’t know anything about business, let alone the client’s business.”

For the rest of this article – click here.

A few months ago, Pam and I were interviewed on two radio shows:

http://www.ducttapemarketing.com/podcast.php?id=P1329

http://www.contacttalkradio.com/hosts/archives/eldontaylor.html 

During the Duct Tape interview, John Jantsch asked a question about using psychology in marketing.  We explained that the easiest way is to segment your target market by professions.  See, each profession attracts people who tend to have the same personality type.

For example, surgeons are cut from the same bolt of cloth.  They are people who want to be (need to be) the king of the mountain.  They want to tell other people what to do.   The must be able to make snap decisions and be right.  They have the Driver personality type.

Now, knowing that, all you’d have to do is appeal to that personality type to reach them more effectively.  If you approached them in any other way, they would filter out your message.

There are three or four different types of doctors.  Half a dozen different types of business people.  Several different types of financial people.  Each one is represented by a personality type, or a combination of personality types.  If you don’t have a solid understanding of personality types, you will completely miss out on this strategic psychological advantage.  So, isn’t it time to improve your knowledge?

Go to our website’s Store page.  That’s where you can find a description of our book Face Values.  It is the best book on the planet to learn about using types in your marketing and selling. 

Pam and I were interviewed on a radio show this past week. One of the questions asked dealt with using psychology in marketing. We explained that the easiest way to start using simple psychology in marketing is to discover the professions practiced by your target market.

See, each profession attracts people who tend to have the same personality type. For example, surgeons are cut from the same bolt of cloth. They are people who want to be (need to be) the king of the mountain. They want to tell other people what to do. The must be able to make snap decisions and be right. They have the Driver personality type.

Now, knowing that, all you’d have to do is appeal to that personality type to reach them more effectively. If you approached them in any other way, they would filter out your message.

There are three or four different types of doctors. Half a dozen different types of business people. Several different types of financial people. Each one is represented by a personality type, or a combination of personality types. If you don’t have a solid understanding of personality types, you will completely miss out on this strategic psychological advantage. So, isn’t it time to improve your knowledge?

If you are curious about it, just go to our website: http://www.aboutpeople.com/ and go to the Shop page. That’s where you can find a description of our book Face Values. It is the best book on the planet to learn about using types in your marketing and selling.

– Michael Lovas

For many years, Pam and I have been fascinated by the sales trainers of the world. Most of them approach selling as thought the buying decision is purely a function of superficial manipulation. Duh. Truth is, buying decisions are the products of a brain function, and the area of the brain that controls it is the same one that causes you to run like hell from a threat.

It’s called the Amygdala. What makes it so fascinating is that it’s part of what we call the “old brain.” That’s the most primative part of your brain. Its function was self-protection, self-preservation and procreation.

Today, we don’t worry about a T-Rex munching on us as a between-meals snack. But the Amygdala goes into action every time a sales person approaches you. Or, conversely, every time you approach a prospect. To the Amygdala, there is no difference between:

Tiger or pharmaceutical company
Snake or insurance agent
Angry dog or proctologist

If you are interested in learning how to make the Amygdala work for you, instead of against you, then visit this website http://www.whalenlab.info/ And, keep watching this blog for tips and information on how you can use science to make your job easier.

Michael Lovas

Step One — Learn to shut up.
Want to know the one thing you can do to dramatically improve your communication and rapport building skills Learn to shut up. Try following this simple guideline. Make sure the client talks at least twice as much as you do. Think about a 15 session. That means you have the floor no more than 5 minutes and they have the floor for 10. And make sure that when they’re talking, you’re actually listening, as opposed to planning the next thing you’re going to say.

“When I go to meet with a man,” wrote President Abraham Lincoln, “I spend one-third of my time thinking about what I am going to say, and two-thirds of my time thinking about what he is going to say.”

Step Two — Employ Other Messengers.
Tell me if you’ve experienced this Your teenager is screwing up big time and you know exactly what they need to do, but when you try to tell them what to do, they either look at you as if you had three heads or they pay no attention to you whatsoever. Now, along comes cool Uncle Cal who says exactly the same thing and suddenly they pay attention. What just happened? It’s called the theory of “other messengers.” It’s similar to the when you say it they doubt it concept, only this time you’re getting an intermediary to carry your message. Someone who has credibility and respect with the client, or the teenager or whomever it is you’re trying to influence.

Step Three – Be Patient.
Not everyone comes to a conclusion in the same way or at the same pace. Different people need different kinds of information and need to go through different kinds of mental gyrations. Your job is to make sure they have everything they need to get there mentally, then be patient and let it happen.

In order to know what they need, you need to be able to identify their personality and mental filter configuration. This will help you determine how best to help them. Analyticals, for example, will need lots of information and time to process, while Drivers want only bullet points. (See our Face Values program for details).