As a sales team leader, do you find yourself wondering if some of your sale people may just be born to sell while others seem to struggle? It might feel like the ability to sell is something you’re born with, but according to some researchers, everyone is technically “in sales.” The sales skills that are needed when you actually work in sales require more targeted effort. While we all have our own natural aptitudes, anyone can learn to become better at influencing others, which is what selling is really all about.
Here are the top 6 science-backed techniques for creating the best sales skills habits for your sales team:
1. Contact Leads Within 5 Minutes
How long do you wait to contact your leads? Science shows us that buyers are more likely to make a purchase the closer in time to when they made the initial inquiry. However, every minute you wait before you contact the buyer results in a dramatic drop in their interest level.
Some salespeople will wait until they have a free moment to respond. If you do this, then you’re making a big sales mistake!
2. Smile and be Positive
What are the first words out of your mouth when you start speaking to your buyer? Is it small talk or chit-chat? You might think that making a comment about how terrible the weather is makes no difference, but it can actually have a knock-on negative effect on your likelihood to make a sale.
If you had a bad morning, keep it to yourself because scientific research shows that starting with a positive comment will be more profitable for you. One study found that waiters who simply said “good morning” to hotel guests and gave a positive weather forecast were able to boost their tips by 27%!
3. Say Yes to Optimism
When you look at a glass, is it half empty or half full? You might be wondering what the answer to this question can have on sales, but the science is clear. Psychologist Martin Seligman was the first to study optimism in salespeople. Over 30 years of research involving more than a million salespeople confirms that optimism is a valuable attribute.
Their most notable research was in 1986 when Martin Seligman and Peter Schulman tested 14,000 applicants at Metropolitan Life for optimism. The results showed that optimists consistently outsold pessimists.
This wasn’t a one-off; they were able to repeat the results in an 1995 study involving salespeople across several industries, including office products, real estate, banking, and car sales. They found conclusively that optimists outsold pessimists by between 20 to 40 percent.
4. Introvert? Extrovert? Be an Ambivert
If you're an introvert, you may have heard that extroverts make the best sales people. Well, it’s not entirely accurate. The best sales people are neither introverted nor extroverted. They are in fact ambiverts.
What is an ambivert?
An ambivert is someone who has both introvert and extrovert qualities, and bounces between the two without committing to one or the other. For example, an ambivert enjoys being around others, but they also enjoy their alone time.
Sound familiar? If so, then you're in luck.
A recent study of 300 sales professionals published in Psychological Science shared researcher Adam Grant’s findings that qualities of both introverted and extroverted personalities have their place in sales. But the key take away from the study is that on average, ambiverted sales people generated 32% more revenue than highly extroverted sales people!
5. Offer More Than One Option
How many options do you give your buyers?
In a study published in the Journal of Consumer Research, Daniel Mochon found that the number of product options had a big influence.
One of Daniel's most famous experiments was based on consumers who were asked to purchase a DVD player. When a single DVD player was shown, only 10 percent of the people purchased it. However, when Daniel introduced a second DVD player, the number of sales increased by 66%!
Your buyers are more likely to make a purchase if they feel confident about their decision.
6. Act Like Your Buyers
Do you notice how your buyers behave and respond to you?
The science shows that mirroring the gestures, expressions, and posture of someone you are speaking to can significantly increase their perception of you.
This technique, known as mirroring, is mostly seen in couples, but it happens in the workplace too—at meetings, conversations with colleagues, and networking events.
One study in 2009 involved 60 people who were tasked with negotiating with each other. By mirroring their partner’s speech and posture, they were able to reach an agreement 67% of the time, while those that did not mirror their partner were only able to reach an agreement 12.5% of the time.
Another study in 2011 involved over 100 customers and discovered that they bought more products and had a more positive impression of the company when the retail salespeople were told to mirror the behavior of their customers.
Mirroring the verbal and nonverbal behavior of your buyers will significantly boost their willingness to agree with you.
Remember it’s a lot easier to create new habits than change old ones, so try adding one of these science-backed techniques.
