7 Ways to Use Jedi Mind Tricks (aka Sales Psychology) in B2B Sales The human mind is a quirky thing. Volumes have been written on the techniques of persuasion, and most are applicable to a career in B2B sales. Don’t be mistaken… using sales psychology is not about tricking your prospects or pulling one over on them. It’s about leveraging natural human tendencies and psychological predispositions to help them acquire a solution that could benefit them. The following SlideShare uncovers seven idiosyncrasies that salespeople can use to their advantage.

1. 7Ways to Use
Jedi Mind Tricks
(aka Sales Psychology)
in B2B Sales
Presented by

2. Ditch the
Poker Face
Use Positive Emotions

3. Numerous studies have shown that
POSITIVE emotion
has a commanding effect on other people, making
them less antagonistic.
In a study from the University of California-Riverside,
it was shown that when salespeople
displayed positive sentiment,
prospects perceived that those salespeople
BELIEVED in what they were selling.

4. Dump the
HUGE MENU
of items

5. If people have too many options, they often
choose none because they can fall into
ANALYSIS PARALYSIS
Instead of putting every product you have on
display, be consultative and
FUNNEL PROSPECTS
to the right solutions.

6. Story Time about
‘Offering Fewer Options’
A Columbia University professor set up a free
jelly tasting booth at a supermarket.
On the first day,
24 flavors of jelly were available
And the next day,
6 flavors were available

7. When 24 jams were available
60% of the customers stopped for a taste test
and
3% of those purchased
When 6 jams were available
40% of the customers stopped for a taste test
but
30% of those purchased
While the larger display pulled in more people, the smaller
display sold more jam –
about 6 times more to be exact, a 600% increase in sales.

9. See Things from
Your Prospect’s Perspective:
The Concept of
RECIPROCITY

10. One of the most basic human instincts is
RECIPROCITY
Persuasion is an amazingly complex
social interaction, and it helps if you have
the ability to take the prospect’s point of
view.
When you can
PUTYOURSELF IN THEIR SHOES
you are better at answering concerns and
anticipating problems.

11. Lose the POWER TRIP.
Social psychology research says that when people are
encouraged to feel powerful, they struggle at taking
others' perspectives.
If people feel like they have all of the power and
information, they focus on their own point of view.
By assuming a lower power position, you can
concentrate on
understanding the prospect
rather than coercing them.

12. The concept of
LOSS AVERSION
“Losses Hurt More than Gains”

13. A proven truth about people:
People will fight harder to
PREVENT LOSING SOMETHING
than they will to gain something.
Prospects respond when you tell them what they might be
MISSING OUT ON… because loss looms larger than gains.
Not only do you need to tell prospects what
they’ll GAIN when they purchase,
you also need to clearly state
what they’ll LOSE OUT ON if they don’t purchase.

14. The Almighty
TAKEAWAY

15. The TAKEAWAY has been used by salespeople for years.
It need not be brash, but can be as simple as building
urgency with an expiration date:
“Unfortunately, this promotion is not available after this week.”
According to social psychologists,
the phenomenon occurs because
people want what they can’t – or think they can’t – have or get.

16. The Use of MIMICRY

17. Humans instinctively copy each other, sometimes without realizing it. But
salespeople should be doing it consciously. A variety of studies have found
that mimicking prospects helps people sell and move others.

18. According to a study at the Universite de Bretagne-Sud in France
People buy more from you when you act like them.
By mimicking customer behavior,
79% of the customers ended up
buying the product.
Without mimicking
customer behavior
buyers only made
a purchase 62%
of the time.

19. Another study was conducted with Duke
University undergrads where participants
were told that its purpose involved the
impression formation, process and
marketing of new products.
The study was deployed to see if a buyer
would be influenced to purchase based on
a sales person mimicking customer
behavior – even when the buyer was aware
that they were interacting with a
salesperson.
Turns out the buyer was
MORE THAN
TWICE AS LIKELY
TO BUY
when mimicking was employed.

20. Strive to be an
AMBIVERT
(a what?)

21. One dominant personality
stereotype is that outgoing,
extroverted people are the
best salespeople.
And shy introverts shouldn’t
even try a career in sales –
they’ll just get run over.
But neither are very accurate
according to a study at
The Wharton School of the
University of Pennsylvania.

22. According to the study, people
whose personality scores put them
in between extreme extroversion
and introversion
(aka “ambiverts”)
turned out to be the best
salespeople.
They sold
24% more than introverts
32% more than extroverts

23. Why?
Ambiverts embody traits from
BOTH SIDES
of the personality spectrum.

24. “The ambivert advantage stems from the
tendency to be assertive and enthusiastic
enough to persuade and close, but at the
same time, listening carefully to customers
and avoiding the appearance of being
overly confident or excited.”
-Adam Grant-