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$treet $mart$: 60 Seconds or She Dies
$treet $mart$ (vol. 27)
Sales Insight
Early days of my sales career, when I sold a customer, I got the same feeling as winning a college football game.
However, sales is not a finite game.
This means, there isn't a declared winner or loser at the end of the deal. At least not if you want to have a long career and build long-lasting relationships.
Win-Loss negotiators don't typically make it very long in the business of sales, because they are always looking for new clients verse selling the ones they already have. But that's a different article, for another day.
As you climb the ladder of sales and begin selling higher-ticket products and services, you quickly realize that no one likes to feel like they are losing in a negotiation; not you or your customer.
That said, low-level sales training coaches us to ask probing questions, in order to get to "get to the problem". This isn't a tootsie pop!
Probing questions are a lot like exploratory surgery; you are just cutting someone open, hoping to figure out what is wrong.
But what if, instead, they explicitly told you their problems and how you could help them, wouldn't that make everyone's life better?
Introducing Tactical Empathy.
Tactical Empathy in Negotiations
Made popular by Chris Voss, and the Black Swan Group, Tactical empathy turns traditional sales questioning on its head.
The core attribute of tactical empathy is..."Stay Curious"
When we stay curious we remain in a positive state of mind. And when we are in a positive state of mind our brain functions 31% better.
It also helps us make one important adjustment,
We remain unattached to the outcome. And emotionally connect to the customer.
As a result, we naturally establish rapport, build good faith and give your negotiation partner the illusion of control.
Here are 6 ways good negotiators employ tactical empathy in sales conversations, according to Chris Voss in his Tactical empathy module at Masterclass.com:
Demonstrate that you are negotiating in good faith. The idea is to show that you are not here to deceive or exploit the other side—sometimes showing deference can be key.
Be genuinely interested in what drives the other side. Understanding their goals, motivations want, and fears will help you navigate the negotiation effectively. An authentic connection with your negotiating partner will help lead to an optimal outcome for both parties.
Don’t suppress emotion. Negotiators used to assume that eliminating emotion from the process would create the most logical (i.e., best) outcome. But what we understand now through neurological research is that there is no way to cut people’s feelings out of the process. Nor is it desirable to do so. In reality, suppressing emotions—specifically negative emotions—will hurt the process.
Work to deactivate negative feelings. Try to dispel fear, suspicion, anger, aggression, and distrust. From a neurological standpoint, this means trying to defuse activity in the amygdala, the part of the brain that houses those feelings. Watch your negotiation partner’s body language and tone to determine when they might be experiencing negative emotions.
Aim to magnify positive emotions. People are actually smarter when they’re in a positive frame of mind. Building trust, comfort, and rapport will help you accomplish your goals. By appealing to your counterpart’s emotions, you can build mutual understanding, influence, and—ultimately—deals.
Look for tells. We all have one way of telling the truth. If you can identify how your counterpart looks and sounds when he or she is being honest with you, then you’ll be able to detect any deviations from that pattern that may signal a lie.
How can we use this in everyday life
In life, we are either selling or being sold. My best and biggest sales have always come when I was naturally inclined to help people, no matter how high-stress or high-stakes the situation. Whether it's a customer, an employee, a child, or a spouse, if we stay curious we will have a much higher probability of finding a win-win for everyone.
"60 seconds or she dies"
Sales
(
noun)
Generate revenue:
Point of sale, method of sale, sales model
the exchange of a commodity for money; the action of selling something.
Best,
Samson
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