We make buying decisions based on emotion. The latest iPhone you’ve convinced yourself you need. The overpriced, artisanal roast dinner that reminds you of grandma’s cooking. The flashy sports car you shelled out for (when what you really need is a SUV).
It’s how our brains are wired. While we tell ourselves our choices are based on level-headed logic, cognitive science suggests that we careen through life making snap-decisions based subtle (and sometimes, not-so-subtle) emotions. Then we justify our choice with logic.
Emotions play a critical role when it comes to business decisions. But long before it’s time to buy, emotions are also key to initiating and developing valuable sales relationships via social selling.
Whether personal or strictly business, all relationships are built on emotion. We form impressions of the people we’re buying from based on emotional reactions. And if we like and trust the person selling to us, or believe they like us, we’re more likely to buy.
The best salespeople know how to trigger emotions in their prospect. When done skillfully, this can help them create connections, inspire interest in what they’re selling, and close the deal.
Social selling is a great strategy to do this at speed by arming salespeople with insights.
Connect With Emotion
Social selling is geared towards building emotional connections. With a wealth of insights on prospects right at your fingertips, you can instantly make a warm connection—rather than going in cold. To increase your chances of getting a response, make your initial outreach personal and aim to engage the right brain.
Check out their profile before you make contact to glean insights on their interests, passions, and career goals. Look for common ground—did you both graduate from the same college? Root for the same team? Browse the recent posts they’ve shared, liked, and commented on. These may be clues to the business problems they’re grappling with right now—the problems you can help solve.
A personalized engagement yields better results than an impersonal email from a stranger. It’s the difference between a subject line that reads “Boost you ROI!” and “Loved your recent article on growing a small business!” Which are you more likely to open?
Dazzle With Logic
Emotion is just the tip of the spear: once you’ve got a foot in the door, hit them with logic. You’ve delighted your prospect with an unexpectedly friendly message. You’ve drawn them in by establishing a connection. You’ve sparked emotion. Now, you have to appeal to the logical left brain.
This is when you give something meaty. Teach them something new. Surprise them with an insight about their profession, company, or industry. Hint at how your products and services will help them solve their business problems. When you combine a logical message with an emotional connection, the logical reasons to respond will resonate much more strongly.
Social selling is just that: social. And that means emotional. From initial outreach to building the relationship and closing the sale, feelings drive every decision your prospect takes. Emotional connections should always be the first step. Trigger the right emotion and your prospect will be much more receptive to your logic-driven sales pitch.
Selling should be simple—it’s all about human connections after all. But with increasingly more power in the buyers’ hands, sales can be a tricky process. Social selling simplifies things.
Find out how in our Simplifying Sales: The Effortless Guide to Using Insights for Sales Success eBook.
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