(By Loyd Ford) You snag a job in sales and you begin to listen to your sales manager, filter through company material and maybe even start purchasing sales books to figure out how to be more effective in generating more revenue for your company and more personal income for yourself. This is the well-worn path of learning the ropes.
More recently a lot of focus has shifted to how sophisticated buyers are and how important data is in the sales process (and I am a firm believer in the use of data in process).
But what if we suspended all belief in these things for a moment and look closer at another principle:
Man makes no progress.
Man (and woman) are largely driven by how they feel. People buy from people they like. That’s not data. It’s a feeling.
“People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care” – Theodore Roosevelt.
Now let’s get serious. If you want to improve your ability to close more deals, sell more advertising, grow your personal income, you zero in on how you make people feel in both registering and recognizing the way prospects feel so they see you care about them.
Buyers may not be as savvy as modern sales leadership might like to believe. Of course, buyers are going to work to press their advantages and they will look at available data to try to understand best value, but they will be driven by what they feel and what they ultimately believe is in their best interest. That’s very often a feeling.
Don’t overlook the human element in decision-making.
Relationships always matter, the best sellers listen carefully and actually hear what buyers are saying. You’ve likely heard this a lot: Buyers will give you what you need to close them if you listen carefully enough.
Don’t kid yourself. Emotion is what really drives purchasing behaviors. Don’t get me wrong. Logically, we all want to perform whatever our jobs are focused on the best information to drive the best decisions. Still, humans are very often controlled by emotion. Don’t skip how people feel about your process.
What is the subconscious, human element in the decision-making process? Humans are driven by feelings.
Of course, you should be armed to the teeth with the best data to show your product is effective with a great ROI. Of course, you should bring with you all the significant data that can show why your product will solve problems that buyers have to solve. However, don’t forget to pay close attention to how your buyer feels and what is driving their subconscious. Don’t waste time only focusing on data. Consider the buying experience and the X factor you can bring to the relationship between their business and your product. Consider how you approach potential customers, the words you choose should be chosen carefully, and you should always place intense value on their experiences with you. Face-to-face interactions and any other contact should give customers a certain feeling about your brand.
Become a professional seller who excels at this strategy, and it will often be the tipping point difference between you and other sellers. You’ll get the money.
Loyd Ford consults radio stations, coaches personalities, and provides behavioral and strategic programming to radio with RPC. If you’re on the Clubhouse app, you can join Loyd’s radio pro encouragement group “The Encouragers.” Reach him anytime. 864.448.4169 or [email protected].
In small market radio having a relationship with the account definitely matters. At this level, people from other radio stations and newspapers tend to come and go. The familiar face has an edge if they have a good product to sell. The issue for a good salesperson is, “do I have a good product to sell?” I don’t care how good you are, if you don’t have a quality product to sell, you’re selling on salesmanship. And now your job is a lot harder. Many small market stations have been gutted just like newspaper staffs and cutting to profitability has its limits.
Professional buyers, at least one who is any good, will put the “feels” behind any other factor. If a seller has a product I need, and I know from past experience that s(he) will protect my campaign, I could hate everything about the seller and still buy. On the other hand, the guy who takes me to lunch and give me concert tix won’t get on the buy unless it is deserved. Caveat, if I have a small balance left over I can throw lunch guy a bone, but that’s not going to make anyone’s career.
Admittedly, I was an agency buyer for many years, so I can only speak from that experience. Local businesses may act differently and likely less successfully
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