Do you know customers that have been in the same job since time
began? Or that have the same lunch every day? Or lived in the same house for
decades?
In sales psychology terms we call them 'sameness' people. They simply don't like change, certainly not in the contexts mentioned. Then again you may know customers who revel in change - at work, possibly at home, again it can depend on the context. We call these 'difference' people. There is no right or wrong - but if you can identify these particular characteristics in your customers, increasing sales is easy!
In sales psychology terms we call them 'sameness' people. They simply don't like change, certainly not in the contexts mentioned. Then again you may know customers who revel in change - at work, possibly at home, again it can depend on the context. We call these 'difference' people. There is no right or wrong - but if you can identify these particular characteristics in your customers, increasing sales is easy!
How about you?
When you think about buying new clothes for work do you think
about getting clothes like the one so and so is wearing....or do you think
about getting something that's different from the one that so and so has? Or how does your current job relate to what you were doing five
years ago? Do you focus on the similarities or the differences? How about
your current car...how does it relate to your previous one? Is it the same make
- or totally different?
Have you got a feel yet for your own 'sameness' or 'difference'
preference?
How does this help your selling skills?
If you can ascertain whether your customers are 'sameness' or
'difference', then you can tailor your language accordingly. You'll connect and
engage with customers more deeply more quickly - and achieve sales success.
Ask them a question such as "What's the
relationship between your work this year and last year?" - an
innocuous question that will elicit a reply which should provide you with some
real nuggets of information. Your question needs to be worded in the correct
context i.e. in this case work. And always use the word 'relationship'.
Never substitute this for say 'difference' as to do so would corrupt their
answer.
If their answer revolves all around how similar things are, then
they are 'sameness' orientated, whilst if they talk along the lines of thing
being completely different then they are 'difference' orientated.
Any ongoing conversation will help you decide their leanings.
And remember they could lean a little to both camps i.e. "it's like before
but ...."
What to do with the information?
To a customer with a 'sameness' preference: Begin by helping them identify commonalities and
similarities before moving on to how your service or product is better. When
talking about the differences frame them as small, gradual and
evolutionary.
To a customer with a 'difference' preference: Talk about newness, uniqueness, how your product or
service is different from things they have tried before. Introduce
commonalities and similarities casually.
The main thing is to use language that will light up your
customer - irrespective of your own natural tendencies. Please ask if you would like to know more about this wonderful
sales psychology technique.
Until next time.
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