Whether you want to admit it or not, you are using something to your advantage to get someone to buy from you. You do it all the time. Sales people are the kings and queens of taking advantage of the things we call “buying signals” and applying leverage in whatever way we can in order to get a deal done. I know I do it all day long at my office. You may think that you don’t, but you do. And, if you really believe that you dont...you are lieing!
What am I talking about??
I am talking about the fact that we, as salespeople, take advantage of the emotional triggers that every single human uses when making a decision.
There are seven of these triggers in total. And, regardless of whether or not you have been aware of this list in the past, you are keenly aware of how to use them to your advantage. These emotional triggers are the very things that everyone uses in order to make a decision. They include:
The Friendship Trigger – This trigger activates both trust and agreement through bonding on a social level. Essentially, this is the trigger that you apply directly to your sphere of influence. You use this on your friends, family, close acquantances, etc, that most sales people rely on as their base clientele. They can also include past clients that you speak with on a regular basis. The application of this trigger is specifically designed to leverage your friendship with them in the hopes that, when needed, they call upon you because you are friends. Social networking to build business fits into this category also.
The Authority Trigger – This trigger activates acceptance through expertise. A perfect example of this is agents that specialize in REO property or in high-end luxury property. That specific specialization makes them an "authority" and those that need this type of specialized help would instinctively choose them as a result. Another example of this is the multiple designations that an agent can get and list behind their name in an attempt to seemingly appear to have more authority or training than another agent by comparison. This trigger is specifically designed to cause someone to choose to work with you because you have the knowledge to be able to help them.
The Consistency Trigger – This trigger motivates potential customers by causing them to recognize consistency with your past actions and repeat contacts. In other words, this is your follow up skills hard at work. (As a smart person once said, it's the squeaky wheel that gets the oil.) You leverage this trigger every time you follow up with a lead or schedule appointments (and keep them!) with potential customers. You want your potential customers to recognize that you are consistent in your efforts to earn their business and you will be there when they decide to move forward based on your previous attempts to earn their business.
The Reciprocity Trigger – In short, you give, you receive. This trigger is based on the idea that you use the services and businesses that your clients own or work at and they will do the same for you. For example, if you use the services of a mechanic locally, when he needs help with buying a home, he contacts you. This is also the “you scratch my back, I scratch yours” trigger, if you will. If you have a client that needs a roofer, you know who you will recommend because they are good at what they do…AND you know that person will recommend people that they hear about to you when they need your service or expertise.
The Contrast Trigger – This trigger is the one that is used any time you do a side-by-side comparison of options to show that one is more attractive than the other. Any time that you list the pros and cons of given options, you are leveraging this trigger.
The Reason Why Trigger – This trigger is specifically used to invoke emotional reasons to make decisions. Buying is an emotional thing. So, we keep coming up with emotional reasons to say yes. This trigger is based on ‘thinking with your heart’ and not your head. When your clients see things inside a home you are showing that ‘they just love’, this trigger has been tripped. Instictivly, you will remember that and remind them of that, if needed, at a later date in order to leverage this memory to assist in a decision.
The Hope Trigger – This trigger is specifically designed to instill positive expectations to help persuade one side of an argument. In other words, this is the application of positivity. In order to effectively leverage this trigger, you have to get your client to “see the bright side”, as it were.
Whether you know it or not, you are using one of these to your advantage to get someone to buy from you. Chances are, you are using more than one of them at any given time with any one of your potential or current clients. In fact, in some instances, you have probably used all of them in order to get a deal done.
For more information on these seven triggers, you can check out www.seventriggers.com. Hit us up on Facebook...and follow me on Twitter!
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