63% of what influences a buyer’s purchase decision comes from how well you can connect with the buyer’s immediate and long-term needs. A great sales professional strives to customize each meeting to effectively communicate the key features, benefits, and value of their solution that solves the specific prospect’s problem. As a seller, every word you say can make or break the way a buyer feels about their experience with you and your company.
One of the best ways to connect with your buyer is to give her the #1 thing she wants to know–WIFM.
WIFM stands for What’s In It For Me. WIFM is a concept that marketers and sales professionals use to assure that everything they say and do will best describe the benefits and value of using their solution for each specific buyer, rather than just generally listing the features it provides.
According to the customer satisfaction research by the CEB Sales Leadership Council, only 37% of influence on buyer’s satisfaction comes from the functional attributes of your solution. The other 63% of influence on buyer’s satisfaction is from the psychological attributes. As a sales professional that is really great news, that means the way you interact with the prospect is nearly twice as likely to influence your buyer as the actual product you’re selling.
Examples of Psychological Attributes:
- Providing valuable business perspective
- Helping clients avoid pitfalls
- Helping the prospect gain company-wide support for the purchase
- Accuracy and timeliness in responding to requests
- Displaying empathy and being dependable
Let’s dive into some tactics on how to interact with your prospects in a way that provides crucial psychological attributes.
Connecting with Other Styles
Have you ever been to a networking event and find that one person that magically works through the room and connects with everyone? Some might say this is a natural gift, but that’s not entirely true. No matter where your starting point is, you can develop, nurture, and improve your rapport with practice.
One of the most impactful skills a sales professional can have is OAR, the ability to observe, assess, and recognize the DISC Styles in the field. Once you’ve identified the DISC style of your prospect or client, you can adjust your communication style to better build rapport with other styles.
Download our WIFM guide for some tips on how to build rapport with other styles.
Don’t Just Say It, Show It
You will find that great sales professionals are able to professionally create an emotional connection or bond with their client which then creates a strong loyal partnership. When you ask purposeful questions that empathize with the prospect’s experiences, you can spark an emotional connection that leads to a positive buying experience.
One of the simplest ways to show your prospect empathy is to frame your sentences in a way that shows you understand your prospect’s position in the situation.
When your prospect explains their situation, they expect you to really listen. When you respond with the overused, “I understand.” response, you are telling your customer that you’re not fully engaged in their story, triggering your buyer to stop sharing with you. Instead, respond with words that show your understanding. Consider sentences that start with: “It sounds like…” or “It seems like…” or to show that you’ve taken your shoes off and stepped into the shoes of your prospect.
Download our WIFM guide for some tips on Empathy Best Practices.
Choose Your Words Wisely
Making small adjustments to your vocabulary in a sales meeting can make a big impact. When you use sentences with “I” and “me”, your buyer can become guarded and think that you are only looking out for yourself. Try to minimize the amount of times you say “I” or “me” and frame your sentences in a way that shows your buyer that you are tuned in to what is in it for them.
For example, it’s common for sellers to say something like, “I’d love to show you our new solution.” or, “I think our new solution would work perfect for you.”. This commonly used phrase places the emphasis on what the seller would like, instead of what is best for the buyer. Again, phrases that start with “Seems like” could be a game changer. For example, “Seems like our new solution could help you solve that problem, let’s take a look…”.
By removing the focus from yourself and your own needs and emphasizing the needs of the buyer, your buyer will feel more comfortable with your suggestion and see the sales process and something that is helping them solve their problem instead of helping you close more deals..
There are also several popular sales terminologies that can cause buyer’s defenses to rise when used. Let’s take a look at several common terminologies that you should avoid and alternatives that you can use:
- Contract can make a buyer feel cautious and one-sided, instead try using Service Agreement so that it feels more like a partnership.
- Sign/Signature can make the buyer feel committed, however authorize/approval makes them feel empowered
- Commission can make the buyer feel that you’re selling services/products to benefit your paycheck. Never use this word.
Download our WIFM guide for some tips on Sales Terminology.
Now that you know how to know how to appeal to your buyer’s psychological attributes by reframing your dialogue to make your buyers feel understood and comfortable, you need to make a conscious effort to practice these skills with colleagues, family, and customers out in the field so that skill becomes second nature.
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