Persuasion is known as the art of convincing/charming people, creating a close relationship with the consumer/partner, proving that the offer/product will bring them many benefits.
Persuasive communication is capable of generating empathy, based on authority and also on the commitment offered by the company to achieve organizational objectives in a strategic way. It means putting yourself in the other person's shoes and creating bonds of trust.
To talk about the power of persuasive communication in generating results, we invited Erik Schell, our Sales Development Representative team coordinator and advisor here at Lean Sales:
LS: What is Erik Schell's story at Lean Sales?
ES: To begin with, Erik is a proactive and multidisciplinary professional. He is extremely enthusiastic about information technology, neuropersuasion, marketing management and business management.
At Lean Sales, I'm responsible for coordinating and guiding the team of Sales Development Representative team, from the beginning to the end of projects. I seek to optimize the dealflow and minimize no-show of the entire outbound process, together with team management.
Today, my focus as a professional at Lean Sales is to promote good organizational practices by looking for strategies to impact the organizational culture in a positive way.
Over the years I've developed a wealth of skills and knowledge, from information technology to marketingAs a result, I have taken on other responsibilities that involve helping to continuously improve internal processes and developing people, specifically the individual improvement of the SDRs' technical functions.
LS: When did you start learning about persuasion?
ES: I've always admired people who speak well in public, especially when they manage to influence and impact many people positively. I looked up to people like Anthony Robbins, Flávio Augusto da Silva and Conrado Adolpho, so I decided to delve into topics related to persuasion, storytelling and copywriting.
LS: How does the way you communicate influence the generation of results?
ES: Before preparing any speech or pitch, I first try to strategically identify the objective of the message and the main objections I will encounter throughout the process.
When I start any sales pitch, whether it's to sell a meeting during a cold call or to sell an idea to someone, I initially try to create a connection with the person I'm talking to in order to start the pitch.
An important tip that is worth putting into practice is to study the scenario in which the prospect's company is inserted, from the vertical to the behaviors and thoughts of the decision-makers, in order to use this as arguments in the meeting.
The way I communicate and, above all, the way I think makes my meetings much more assertive and the conversion rate increases absurdly. Together, I manage to create a synergistic working environment with my colleagues, positively influencing their output.
LS: What are the main techniques you've learned about persuasive communication?
ES: In order to create authority, credibility and convince someone during a conversation, we have various techniques to make this happen. I use a lot of mental triggers in my pitches:
Anticipation
The main purpose of the anticipation mental trigger is to develop an expectation in the mind of the potential customer about something that is to come, for example, the benefits of the product or service they are about to enjoy.
New
Everything that we consider new takes us out of our comfort zone and brings with it a session of unparalleled pleasure. Throughout human history, we have always learned to want the new and never settle for what we already have. For these reasons, if this mental trigger is used well, it can speed up the potential customer's decision-making process.
Scarcity
When we lose something, most of the time we have that uncomfortable feeling of believing that it was essential in our lives. Scarcity, when used well, usually at the end of a sales pitch, can make potential customers make a decision not to miss the opportunity, while at the same time it's always necessary to stick to the truth, otherwise we can lose credibility when using this trigger.
Social proof
By nature we are social beings and always try to fit into groups with which we have some affinity. Because of this, the social proof trigger becomes very powerful in certain situations because it has the ability to change the potential customer's perception and make them follow the path of other people simply because they feel a sense of belonging.
However, I believe that the greatest differentiator for a salesperson is the ability to conduct a conversation in a humanized way.
LS: How important is empathy when negotiating?
ES: Bringing empathy into the psychological term, it means the ability to feel the same pains and pleasures that the other person feels if they were in the same situation. In this way, we must try to understand what the other person is feeling in a rational way in order to understand their feelings and emotions.
From this point, we can create rapport during a conversation with the prospect. Using these scenarios of pain and pleasure to present the benefits of the product or service provided in the form of resolving the pain or obtaining satisfaction.
LS: What techniques do you use to better connect with the prospect during the call?
ES: As I said earlier, I really like to create any connection with the prospect before I start my pitch, whether it's about an aspect of the segment in which the company is inserted or about some common pain of the target companies.
Afterwards, I use some of the SPIN techniques I learned from the book "SPIN Selling", written by Neil Rackham. In this way, I'm able to get a deep understanding of the potential client's scenario, their pains and, above all, their problems.
One thing I often do, which I learned about from the book "You won't be able to sell like this anymore", written by Guilherme Machado, is to repeat in other words what the prospect said in summary form. With this technique I can demonstrate that I really understand their pains and anxieties, creating an unparalleled feeling of connection. Often, just expressions of agreement or facial expressions are not enough to create a feeling of connection with the prospect.
LS: In addition to communication, what other skills do you consider important for your role?
ES: We can divide these skills into two types: the hard skills e soft skills. For an SDR to be successful, some of these skills need to be developed even before they are hired.
In addition to communication, it is extremely important to have:
Customer Relations
Anyone who works as an SDR and has any previous sales experience will make a significant contribution when it comes to creating a connection between a company and its customers.
Creativity
An SDR does many activities during the day and the greater the level of creativity that person has, the greater the number of ideas and different ways to optimize the whole process.
Motivation and Mindset
When initiating a call, the SDR needs to enter the call thoughtfully in order to convey this positive energy during a call with the aim of really wanting to solve the prospect's problem.
Emotional Intelligence
There are several key situations in which the SDR needs to be able to deal with a given circumstance and carry on with their routine, regardless of whether other emotions are involved at the same time.
Active Listening
Any sales process will always be a conversation. So an SDR really needs to pay attention to what the prospect is saying, to use it as valuable information and, in a way, to empathize throughout the call.
Resilience
Any SDR will receive a lot of "no's" during the day. However, you have to continue the process regardless of the previous call, good or bad.
Coachability
From the start of an SDR 's journey, we receive a lot of feedback. It is essential to have the ability to absorb an explanation of what was expected in a given situation and be able to put it into practice in the next activities.
Ability with Portuguese
When we talk about sales during a conversation, we need to convey authority and credibility in what we say. It's therefore very easy to lose authority in such a competitive market by making several mistakes in Portuguese.
Competitiveness
The individual who likes to seek first place, and who won't settle for little, will make the environment more competitive. It's important to note that this is totally different from wanting to pass others by at any cost.
LS: How do you learn from a "no" from a prospect and prepare for future calls?
ES: As said in the previous question, an extremely important skill is resilience, the art of continuing the process regardless of the situation.
I try to understand the reason for the no, because there are internal and external factors. If the factor is external, out of my control, unfortunately there's nothing I can do.
On the contrary, I try to understand what I can improve in the next call and make it more pleasant for the prospect. In these cases, I always have the following mentality: "The sooner I make a mistake and can identify it, the sooner I'll get it right and, as a result, generate good results".
LS: What are your tips for getting around the most common barriers encountered in the negotiation process?
ES: There is always a standard for all barriers in the negotiation process, and it can vary from market to market.
My tip is to find all these patterns and what the target audience's main objections are. From there, create a speech that is strategically tailored to each situation.
This way, when the barrier occurs, the negotiator will be prepared in advance.
LS: What books, videos or content do you recommend for those who want to improve their communication and persuasion skills?
ES: Finally, I recommend the books:
- SPIN Selling (Neil Rackham);
- You won't be able to sell like this anymore (Guilherme Machado);
- He Who Sells Gets Rich (Napoleon Hill);
- The Wolf's Secrets: The infallible sales method of the Wolf of Wall Street (Jordan Belfort).
There is other literature, but these are excellent to begin with.
To learn more about persuasion and communication, I recommend Anthony Robbins' content and videos, which talk a lot about human behavior. Conrado Adolpho's content for those who want to learn about the sales journey. And also Outbound Marketing content, which talks about the whole Outbound process, which in a way is totally linked to communication and persuasion.
Have you thought about how to start persuasive communication in your company? Take advantage of these tips and start now.
Keep up with our content, we've already talked about process optimization for SDRs, leads qualification e the importance of good customer relations.
Want to speed up your business? Get in touch with Lean Sales. See you next time!