When you meet someone new, for whatever purpose, what do you first do? The tendency is that you try to find some information about this person. You either look for them online or you ask people who might know this person. And once you’ve got information about this person, your trust or doubt for them solidifies, right? The same goes for sales. It starts with a product, but before the product, there’s the person first.
This is where the phrase “People Buy People First” comes in.
Sales Tips: “People Buy People First”
This is actually an old statement in sales. But the thing is, it’s mostly true. Research by Gallup consultants Benson Smith and Tony Rutigliano show that customer satisfaction and future business is based on an emotional connection with the salesperson. There have been countless times where a customer likes the product, but because of the person selling it (whether they are too pushy or too aloof), this customer decides not to buy from that salesperson.
There have also been a lot of instances where a customer is not particularly convinced with the product, but because of their connection with the or like of the salesperson, he or she buys it.
As a salesperson, even if the customer is interested in your product, there are still a few more steps before he or she decides to seal the deal. And it depends on you to help the customer reach that decision.
You need to get the trust of the customer first before you offer them your product or service. Yes, it’s the product or service that they’re buying, but you have to prove to them that it’s okay to buy it from you.
Buying is an emotional experience. Even when you think you are making rational decisions, you can unconsciously let your emotions decide for you. A salesperson needs to understand the customer, their problems, how they want to solve said problems, and the emotions that govern their decision-making process. Starting with the question “why”, you should try to understand what internal purpose, cause or beliefs have been awakened.
As you can imagine, gathering as much information as possible before any sale is a vital ingredient to success. It will help you address your customers the best way. You can position yourself and your product or service as the solution to their specific problem, and you can possibly tailor-fit the solution for them only.
