Dale Carnegie Training, tampabay.dalecarnegie.com

Dale Carnegie said, “When dealing with people, remember that you are not dealing with creatures of logic, but creatures of emotion…” If you remember this statement during every one of your customer service interactions, you will be half way to understanding how to deal with customer complaints. You must be prepared to first deal with a client’s emotions and then deal with the actual issue. Unless you can respect the client’s perspective, it will be difficult to deliver a solution that turns a negative situation into a positive one.

One of the easiest ways to turn a negative customer experience into a positive one is by avoiding an argument. The easiest way of avoiding an argument is to simply show respect toward the client’s opinion and never say, “You’re wrong.” By avoiding an argument and respecting their opinion, you will be able to find out what the real issue is and come to a timely conclusion.

It is also very important to listen to the client or customer. Let them explain their situation and what they find to be challenging. By letting the client do a majority of the talking, you will gain useful insights to a possible solution, as well as a better understanding of their point of view.

By listening to your client and understanding their point of view, you will be more sympathetic to their ideas and desires. This will allow you to resolve any issues while providing value to your client.

Remember to avoid arguments, let the client do a great deal of the talking, and be sympathetic toward their ideas and desires. As a result, you will be able to effectively deal with client emotions and, in turn, resolve their complaints.

Dave Kurlan, Understanding The Sales Force

Dave Kurlan is a top-rated speaker, best-selling author, sales thought leader and highly regarded sales development expert.

One of the many changes to affect selling during the last several years is that salespeople are making fewer face-to-face sales calls than ever before and more of the selling has moved to the phone.  This has resulted in more calls (although shorter), more resistance with a longer sales cycle, and greater success in closing sales, deals and accounts which might not have been possible just a few years ago.  The biggest difference though?  It might just be the music.

Back in the good old days, many of us played music on the way to sales calls while some listened to sports, news, or talk shows.  I’m focusing on music today, so I’ll we’ll discuss how music could serve to:

1. Motivate
2. Calm
3. Stop the Thinking
4. Improve Focus and Resolve
5. Boost Adrenaline

While some might play classical, easy listening or new age music to calm their nerves, others play genres that could motivate them for upcoming calls.  In much the same way as a pitcher or hitter has a personal music clip played to get their adrenaline pumping as they enter a baseball game, music can have a similar effect on the psyche of a salesperson.

If a salesperson has a one-hour ride to the next sales call, it would require about 10 tunes to fill that time. I invite you to join today’s conversation by sharing your pre-sales call playlist (or the tunes you would include if you had one).  I’ve shared mine and encourage you to contribute yours. It will be very interesting, perhaps even exciting, to see all the variations (or not) in the styles of music and specific songs that everyone prefers prior to a sales call. There is no right or wrong, just personal preferences.

Here are my 10 (Frank, you’ll notice that the band Chicago does not appear in my Top 10 Pre-Sales Call Playlist):

1. Hi, Hi, Hi – Paul McCartney and Wings
2. Go All the Way – The Raspberries
3. It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me – Billy Joel
4. Lucretia Mac Evil – Blood, Sweat and Tears
5. Rock and Roll Band – Boston
6. Gonna Fly Now – Maynard Ferguson
7. In the Mood – Doc Severinson
8. Birdland – Maynard Ferguson
9. My Music – Loggins & Messina
10. Long Train Runnin’ – The Doobie Brothers

Okay, it’s your turn.  Which ten songs would you listen to prior to a sales call?

By Tony Cole, Sales Brew

Got your attention, or at least I hope I did. There is nothing more urgent than that word itself and of course, even more urgent is what it means. I know what it means in my personal and sales career but just for a minute; let’s visit what the experts say:

Urgent: an earnest and insistent necessity, of pressing importance requiring speedy action, imperative

Stop for a minute if you will and think about what in your life is urgent. If you are fighting a serious health issue, I’ll bet you are in that state of mind and being. I’ll bet that taking care of whatever health issue it is that is affecting you is pretty urgent and you are focusing a lot of resources and effort around that.

The reason that I’m bringing all this up with such urgency is that I just participated in a sales meeting and was reminded about the urgency of meeting the goals that we set for ourselves. Our sales coach pretty much put it on the line with us. If you can’t make the goal, then don’t agree to them. If you aren’t meeting your goals, then they aren’t urgent. And why not? Gave me pause to think.

What creates urgency? Is it pain or is it pleasure or is it that we are just competitive and will not, absolutely will not fail a goal that we have set. All of those reasons are great ones but right now, I want you to stop and think about your goals and which ones are urgent for you. Do you feel the drive, the will, the energy to do what you need to do to reach them? And if you don’t, why not and what do you want to do about that?

Here’s what I know for sure. I know that others have created urgency for me in my career in terms of reaching deadlines or delivering on a project or bringing in the revenue. Usually though when others have created urgency for me, it’s been a less than satisfying end result. When I truly want something and create urgency for myself, well that’s when great things happen. The urgency we self-create is the blood running through our veins. It is ours. It keeps us ticking and alive and makes things happen.

I adopted my son from Guatemala almost 3 years ago now and there were all sorts of problems in the process. The system created a lot of stress and yes urgency for me when they told me after 8 months that perhaps I should plan to adopt another child, not Steven, not the child that I had met and held for two days. The urgency of that moment and what I felt and did after that is how I define urgency. Total commitment. Complete focus. Unquestionable tenacity to achieve that goal.

And what an achievement it has been! Without the financial goals and success that I had urgently pursued and achieved in my past, I may never have had this unbelievable child in my life. That’s what urgency does for us. So take a look at your goals right now, and think about what it is that you feel urgent about. Because these will determine your future and what types of amazing accomplishments you will experience in your life.

By Michael Hess, CBS MoneyWatch.com

(MoneyWatch) COMMENTARY Money and its material manifestations are the most typical measures of a person’s professional success, but they’re not always telling or even accurate: We all know it’s possible to buy nice things without being financially successful (debt is an unfortunately common substitute for net worth). So I rarely make assumptions about a person’s business or other financial accomplishments based on clothes, cars, boats or houses.

Knowing and dealing with many highly successful people, I’ve found that there are behaviors and characteristics that are much less superficial and more telling than just acquiring status symbols. In my observation of ultra-high achievers, the more professionally successful they are:

- The less stuff they carry: The most successful people I know never carry laptops, briefcases or much of anything else, other than (usually two) phones.

- The fewer calls they answer or return: Even with those two phones, top dogs rarely return calls that aren’t critical to their own business or personal needs.

- The harder they are to reach by anyone or any means.

- The less time they spend at a computer.

- The shorter their e-mails. You might say that Alphas use less alphabet.

- The less social media they use (except for celebrities).

- The less they know, stay current, or care about pop culture (again, except for celebrities).

- The less TV they watch (except sports, especially anything involving their alma maters).

- The more non-leisure stuff they do that’s not directly related to their business (charities, boards, outside investments).

- The more newspapers they take off the flight attendant’s cart in First Class (unless they’re on their own plane, which makes all the other points moot).

The less stuff they carry: The most successful people I know never carry laptops, briefcases or much of anything else, other than (usually two) phones.

- The fewer calls they answer or return: Even with those two phones, top dogs rarely return calls that aren’t critical to their own business or personal needs.

- The harder they are to reach by anyone or any means.

- The less time they spend at a computer.

- The shorter their e-mails. You might say that Alphas use less alphabet.

- The less social media they use (except for celebrities).

- The less they know, stay current, or care about pop culture (again, except for celebrities).

- The less TV they watch (except sports, especially anything involving their alma maters).

- The more non-leisure stuff they do that’s not directly related to their business (charities, boards, outside investments).

- The more newspapers they take off the flight attendant’s cart in First Class (unless they’re on their own plane, which makes all the other points moot).

Some of these behaviors are obvious, some may seem ironic, and of course none are meant to suggest that business and money are the only measures of a successful life. Some of the observations are made with a little ribbing intended, and none are scientific, though I’ll bet they could be: I don’t know a single mega-successful business person who doesn’t exhibit at least half of these traits.

Truth be told, much of the list doesn’t bode well for me, much less my shot at that sweet Gulfstream 650 I’ve had my eye on. I carry a laptop (I sort of have to, since I make bags for them), I return more calls and messages than I ignore, I only have one phone, and I’m not well-known for brevity in my e-mails. And for the most part, I don’t care — I don’t like some of these characteristics in others, and there are parts of my life, personality and business behavior that I’m not interested in changing. If that keeps me out of the most rarified air, so be it.

But there is an important central theme that’s valuable to all of us, regardless of where we are on the ladder, whether we admire these behaviors or are put off by them, or whether the list accurately reflects our own style or aspirations. No matter what combination of these characteristics the Masters of the Universe might possess, the bottom line is the same: Without exception, the people at the very top of the business ladder don’t waste time.

Michael Hess is founder and CEO of Skooba Design, and also serves as an advisor to other entrepreneurs. He is “obsessed to the point of insanity” with customer service. Read the philosophies that make Michael and Skooba Design tick here.

By Steve W. Martin, Heavy Hitter Sales Blog

I have had the privilege of presenting the Heavy Hitter sales philosophy at more than two hundred national sales meetings and annual sales kickoffs.  Below, you will find my top 10 hotel locations to hold a sales conference. Be forewarned, this list is based upon my personal experience and I wanted to include properties you may not be familiar with from all across the country. Also, I did not want to focus on mega-hotel locations like Orlando and Las Vegas (you already know all the places there). Finally, my list is based upon reasonably priced hotels (even though some may sound expensive) and these hotels offer something  beyond the generic meeting place.

1. Château Elan (Atlanta, Georgia) – www.chateauelan.com  Incredible property, great facilities coupled with impeccable attention to detail at a reasonable price make the Cheateu Elan number one on my list.  Atlanta provides good year round weather and is easy to get to from anywhere in the US and even Europe.

2. Camelback Inn (Scottsdale, Arizona) - www.camelbackinn.com  A beautiful hotel in a fabulous Southwestern mountain setting make the Camelback Inn one of the best locations for a sales meeting.   

3. La Costa Resort (Carlsbad, California) – www.lacosta.com   North of San Diego, the La Costa Resort is a great place for a meeting any time of year. If your meeting will also include your business partners and channel resellers, this is the perfect place.

4. Claremont Resort (Berkeley, California) –  www.claremontresort.com  Just twelve miles from San Francisco, the Claremont Resort is a wonderful Silicon Valley location for small and mid-size meetings.

5. Amelia Island Plantation (Amelia Island, Florida) – www.aipfl.com  A very different Florida meeting location (better priced in the off-peak season).

6. Rancho Los Palmas (Rancho Mirage, California) - www.rancholaspalmas.com While Palm Springs may require an extra airplane connection to get to, the Rancho Los Palmas is worth the extra effort. Highly recommended activities: rent out the Palm Springs air museum for a nighttime event and “Field of Dreams” softball park for team building event.

7.  SeaView Marriot (Atlantic City , NJ) www.seaviewmarriott.com  A great place for a meeting in the Northeast US that you probably have never heard of.

8. Marco Island Marriott (Marco Island, Florida) www.marcoislandmarriott.com  Marco Island is interesting alternative to the standard meeting in Orlando.

9. Long Beach Hilton and Executive Meeting Center (Long Beach, California) - www.hilton.com Good meeting facilities and a great location that provides some excellent evening event possibilities– group dinner at the Aquarium of the Pacific or on the Queen Mary.

10. Embassy Suites (Burlingame, California) – www.embassysuites.com I know you are probably surprised to see an Embassy Suites on this list, but this is a great place to have a meeting in Silicon Valley for up to 500 people. It’s only 5 minutes from San Francisco International Airport and situated right on the bay.

Here are some Honorable Mentions:

Westin – Indianapolis, Indiana

Hyatt Regency – Newport Beach, California

Hartford Marriott Downtown – Hartford, Connecticut

Carmel Valley Ranch – Carmel, California

Biltmore Hotel – Phoenix, Arizona

Pinehurst Resort – Pinehurst, North Carolina

By Geoff Alexander, Inside Sales Telesales Tips Blog

Today’s topic is sales contests. Are they effective at motivating salespeople and creating more business, or not? Here’s a query from last week’s mailbag…

Hi Geoff, Do you have any suggestions on creating contests that generate motivation for a sales team? Do you think contests are worthwhile? Is a contest age specific; different motivators for different age groups? I’ve been in situations where contests are laughed at behind the manager’s back because they’re not rats looking for cheese. Other situations a contest added motivation because the prize was an iPad for younger group of sales reps. What do you think about contests? Are they worthwhile for temporary gain to “make your sales numbers”? Thx, Jerry

Jerry, the question of running contests comes up frequently when I’m designing our customized sales training classes, and generally, I’m in favor of them, if they’re fun, of fixed, short duration, and have a prize that is actually valued by the eventual recipient(s). Here are 7 ideas that will help to ensure your sales contests are achieving your intended objectives:

1) Make the contest of short (e.g. two weeks) duration. People’s attention tends to wane when the contest runs too long and they could lose interest in getting the prize, too. Attention spans on contests are linked to how exciting the contest is, so keep it short, to provide maximum attention.

2) Make it doable. It’s not very motivating when the contest objective is so difficult that nobody wins. If that happens, you’re not going to get people very motivated when you want to run another contest. A good rule of thumb, if you’re a manager who has done the job yourself, is could I do it, or have I done it myself? And if your best rep has done it before, you’ve got proof it’s doable, and leads to success.

3) Have a contest objective that’s sales-oriented, not work oriented. I’m aware of contests that reward inside sales reps with the most dials per week. In these cases, the winners leave a lot of voicemails, but often don’t have as many quality conversations as the “losers.” A better contest might consist of most qualified leads entered into the system, or something more in keeping with sales-oriented Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). To ensure you really do have sales-oriented KPIs, read my blog post on KPIs, and test your own against the model.

4) Give reps prizes that they value. Jerry brought up the following point: “is a contest age specific; different motivators for different age groups? I’ve been in situations where contests are laughed at behind the manager’s back.” I don’t necessarily think age has anything to do with it, but it’s a good idea to ask the sales team, prior to the contest, what they’d consider to be a good prize. If 2/3 of your team already owns something similar to the prize (e.g. electronic gizmos), it’s not going to be much of a motivator. I’d guess a dinner for two at a really expensive restaurant, that none on the team would really consider to be affordable, might be a good one. But it’s only a guess. To be sure the prize will be perceived to be of value, ask your team.

5) Consider making an “out of the box sales” contest objective. In one of my application development tools clients, the reps weren’t always asking the nature of the application their prospects were developing, nor were they getting project names. The result? They were missing business in enterprise accounts, where multiple teams working on the same project could have used the same tools, sold by my client. They were also missing out on certain vertical markets that hadn’t been formally identified, but ultimately were found to be a strength of my client. So we had a contest that was two weeks long. We asked the reps to compete on two items: 1) What was the craziest application that they’d discovered?, and 2), What was the kookiest name for a project? I can’t remember what the prizes were, but the company had a reputation for being generous. The contest was so off-beat and fun that the reps loved it, and had a lot of good fun one-upping each other. Based on what we found after reviewing the appropriate CRM fields, the reps were finally asking those questions and getting answers. This contest helped to change their behavior, and the company never again experienced a problem with reps not getting application project names and data.

6) If you’re engaged in sales training, tie it to material taught in the class that you really want to emphasize. I always emphasize the value of reinforcement after training. When the team is still pumped after training, why not offer a contest specific to one or more elements addressed in the class that you want to emphasize?

7) Multiple winners are OK. You may want to consider running a contest in which there’s a common high-mark, and everyone achieving it wins. When that happens, you may find everyone pulling for each other and helping each other out, which improves team communication, and encourages your best reps to mentor others who may be struggling. The whole department gets better that way, and some managing skills may surface among your reps that may one day help determine who’s the next manager or team lead. And with more than one person over-achieving, your company should make more than enough money to cover the cost of multiple prizes.

So there are 7 great ideas to help ensure that your sales contests provide the outcome you’re looking for. If you’re a manager, add them to your Best Management Playbook, and if you’re a sales rep saddled with uninspiring contests, considering copying them and forwarding them to the appropriate parties. Any of you out there in blogland have input, either positive or negative, on sales contests?

By Lori Richardson, The Customer Collective

Did your team receive iPads or other tablet PCs and you find them under-utilized? As a long time PowerPoint user myself, I have felt guilty about my iPad being my glorified Evernote platform and e-mail source on the road.

Ashley Furness, CRM Market Analyst at Software Advice recently wrote about this very issue – teams of salespeople have received or will received tablets but do not have clear deployment plans. One company we know bought them to appear to be on the “cutting edge” over their competition, but they don’t do anything unique or amazing with them.

While 78% of businesses plan to deploy tablets by the end of 2013, more than half lack an articulate deployment plan. Ms. Furness asked 7 sales and technology experts what advice they would give to business leaders in this situation. Some top recommendations include:

1.    Monitor & set goals for usage

2.    Create dynamic content that goes beyond PowerPoint

3.    Invest in custom apps that address the team’s unique needs

I echo her point about thinking big when it comes to rolling out any new technology. The classic mistake is where you choose one app and in very short order, the sales team will want and need something to integrate with that. Instead of throwing together your plan as you go, create a deployment strategy. Read the insightful article here.

Marketo also has a helpful article written by Silicon Valley veteran Phil Fernandez on how sales teams need to adapt to the new ways of selling and using a tool like a tablet to do that.

Has your company invested in tablets throughout the sales force? If yes, what applications are you running, and how do they work for you and your sales team in general? Do you have a plan?

Lori Richardson is recognized as one of the “Top 25 Sales Influencers for 2012″ and one of “20 Women to Watch in Sales Lead Management”. Lori speaks, writes, trains, and consults with inside and outbound sellers in technology and services companies. Subscribe to the award-winning blog and the “Sales Ideas In A Minute” newsletter for tips and strategies in selling.

By Dave Stein, Commentary on Sales Effectiveness

Too often companies invest significantly in a major sales training program only to see little improvement.  Again and again sales managers say, “sales training programs are a waste; my people just do what they’ve always done sixty days later.”  Of course one mistake many companies make is to treat sales training as an event rather than a ongoing process.

There is one trend ESR is happy to see: the growing appreciation among sales managers that reinforcement is a critical part of learning.  It’s what extends the experience of learning long enough for new behaviors and habits to take hold.  One age-old reinforcement tool—role-playing—is making a real difference for some salespeople facing the challenge of adopting those new behaviors and building those new habits in the midst of their difficult selling environments. Role-playing with your sales teams shortly after the formal training has taken place can be a game changer.

If your sales training partner offers role-playing as part of their approach, you’re probably in good shape.  Avail yourself of what they have. If not, you’ll have to take matters into your own hands.

Even as competitive as they may be, peer pressure and performance anxiety can strike much more fear in some salespeople than presenting to customers.  For this reason alone, understand that strong performance in role playing situations generally translates well to customer situations.  Role-playing is not a simple undertaking but if you heed the following six principals, you’ll be encouraged by the results. (If you’ve adopted ESR’s approach to hiring salespeople, they will have gone through two role-playing/simulation exercises as a prerequisite for being hired into the position they now hold.)

1. Be prepared to invest management time – Involve your sales management and marketing/brand teams in playing the role of the customer. This requires researching the customer so that your sales reps are challenged with realistic questions and objections.  Hopefully you’ve developed buyer personas to support this approach. Have your group develop a schedule that devotes at least two hours per week over three months after training has taken place.  Consider the customer preparation “homework” aside from regular responsibilities.
2. Sales reps need to do some real homework – Since you don’t want to sacrifice valuable selling time, you’ll want to lay out at least three rounds of work all to be done outside of the normal work day:

• Initial call role-play – Review web site and pertinent materials to conduct a customer needs assessment
• Solution proposal role-play – develop a presentation (perhaps a PowerPoint) that aligns with needs
• Negotiation/ Close role-play – At a minimum, be prepared to handle customer objections. Of course targeted negotiation skills training should have its own reinforcement including exercises and role-plays

3. Be prepared for multiple tries and multiple rounds - Some of your reps— the veterans and those with less self-confidence—may object to these exercises. It may not go smoothly in the beginning either.  Nonetheless, you’ll need to stress the importance of sharing best practices and how each team member can help each other. Reps get to be critics too. That may get the reluctant ones on board.

4. Be guided by your sales team in terms of pace of progress –  With a full commitment level, you’ll see that your reps have a  real desire to be successful.  Many sales managers indicated that it took two or three times before some reps felt comfortable and ready to move ahead.  Be patient and follow their lead.

5. Consider a third party coach only after reaching an initial comfort level in first round – These exercises are intimidating enough initially so there is no need to add additional pressure.  When comfortable though, a third party can often provide a needed objective point of view as those on the brand may be just “too close to it”.

6. Bolster your own observations with customer feedback – Keep embracing the new culture you are working to establish.  Employ your coaching process with your team when you’re on calls with them.  If the situation warrants, go the extra step and talk to your customers about the increasing effectiveness among members of your team.  Most sales managers we talk to leverage positive customer feedback to reinforce the value of role playing.

By Tom Searcy, CBS MoneyWatch

(MoneyWatch) Salespeople are hired to be fired. So when it comes time to find that next sales job, just what is the person doing the hiring looking for in a new salesperson?

Research suggests there are three key factors prospective employers look at to predict the success of an employee. If you hire salespeople, you should be looking for these factors. Shockingly, many sales job-seekers are unable to produce a shred of evidence that they possess any of these qualities:

Knowledge or ability to learn. Managers want proof that a potential salesperson has the necessary knowledge, training, and experience to do the job, or least the capacity to learn how to do it. Preferably, the prospective hire has both. What is important is not just the training and experience, but the demonstrated ability to learn.

Employers value certification of the ability to do the job, or certification of the knowledge and skills that would allow the new salesperson to learn how to do the job. A track record of success in similar jobs is preferred, but the key is to be able to point to evidence that demonstrates this ability to perform and learn.

Employers know that the nimbleness of their organization and the rapidly changing marketplace require them to have salespeople who can adapt and change with the marketplace. Direct experience, while relevant, is not as important as showing that you can adapt to new circumstances and perform well.

Dependability. Employers want evidence that the prospective salesperson will be dependable at work, including that the person report for work every day. Surprisingly, few prospects mention their attendance record at school, at work, or in the training/certification program they may have just completed.

There have been instances of a job candidate being selected after a lengthy interviewing process, but having minor attendance problem during the company orientation. Despite the time and energy invested in finding the salesperson, many companies perceive even minor attendance problems as early indicators of future problems and swiftly fire the lackadaisical new hire. They would not spend any more time, effort, or money on someone who was casual about showing up for work.

Punctuality. Similarly, employers want to know that a potential hire will come to work, as well as internal and client meetings, on time. Punctuality is another key attribute companies are looking for in salespeople. Face it, employers think that good attendance is not good enough; the prospective sales person should have a track record of being on time.

Habitual lateness, even just for meetings, is viewed as disrespectful. Many meetings are now virtual meetings, with remote attendees. The need to be on time becomes more critical with virtual meetings. Tying up several employees waiting for another is more than rude; this lateness becomes increasingly expensive and decreases productivity.

Being a few minutes late may not seem like a big deal, but employers view from the perspective of what it costs the business. Chronic lateness has been shown to cost employers billions of dollars.

Employers have many options in the current marketplace for recruiting salespeople. They can hire someone from within. They can hire no one and fill the position with an outside contractor. Hiring a salesperson is a big investment for most companies, and even more so for small and midsize companies.

Remember, a salesperson’s ability to do the job, as well as learn and adapt to the job, are viewed as necessary, but not sufficient. Employers want salespeople who show up on time every day for every meeting or assignment. These basic guidelines can make or break a new hire.

Tom Searcy is a nationally recognized author, speaker, and the foremost expert in large account sales. Tom is the author of RFPs Suck! How to Master the RFP System Once and for All to Win Big Business and the co-author of Whale Hunting: How to Land Big Sales and Transform Your Company. 

By Jeb Brooks, The Brooks Group, SalesEvolution.com

We’ve always believed that “Buying is an emotional event.”

Science, it turns out, backs up that statement. In his book, “You Are Not So Smart,” blogger David McRaney shares a couple of anecdotes that are useful to salespeople…

“Elliot” was a successful man by most measures. He was an excellent student who met with a great deal of success in his career as an accountant. Then he developed a brain tumor. Even though it was removed, the procedure left his Orbitofrontal Cortex (OFC) damaged.

After the surgery, “Elliot” spiraled out of control. He divorced his wife, quit his job, and had trouble holding a new one. He succumbed to a scam artist who took most of his money, he drifted away from his friends and family, and remarried a prostitute. All of this happened because he would become completely debilitated when making even the simplest decisions like what to eat or wear. He suffered from extreme “paralysis of analysis.”

The Orbitofrontal Cortex

The reason? The OFC is critical to decision-making. When it becomes damaged, you might swear excessively, compulsively gamble, abuse drugs, or become unable to empathize.

In Elliot’s case, he froze-up. His emotions (the OFC) couldn’t communicate with the more logical parts of his brain.

“Elliot’s” experience is evidence of just how critical emotions are to making decisions.

An experiment in 1990 made it even more clear.

Professor Tim Wilson (of the University of Virginia) presented two groups of students with a free gift. Students in group 1 were allowed to select a poster from among several and keep it. Members of group 2 were also given the opportunity to select a poster, but they had to justify their choice by writing about why they liked it. Most of the members of Group 1 selected an attractive poster. Group 2, on the other hand, tended to choose a poster with meaning (like one of those with an inspirational quote overlaying a picture of an eagle). So, that’s kind of interesting. If buyers are forced to justify a selection, they’ll make choices that seem more socially acceptable.

But, it became much more interesting (at least to those of us in sales) about six months later when the students were asked how they felt about their choices. Group 1 overwhelmingly loved their choice. Group 2 overwhelmingly hated it.

The sales lesson? When your prospects and customers are asked to think about a decision (like when procurement gets involved or they have to present a case to management), you pay less attention to emotions and more attention to logic. And when people are denied access to the emotional part of decision-making, they not only freeze up, but they might also suffer from buyer’s remorse. This is so fundamental that it’s hard-wired into our brains.

But, buying – choosing – is an emotional action. When organizations attempt to place boundaries on the emotions (Formal RFPs, Procurement Departments, etc.), the emotion is drained. Your job is to find the emotion and sell to it.

When has emotion in a sales interaction impacted you?