In “Do You Truly Have a Sales Problem?” Leanne Hoagland-Smith is right about the second rule of sales. People buy on emotion and then justify their purchase with logic. Indeed the full importance and value of that statement often gets lost. Yet there’s still much more to it.

Pretium has found that salespeople often rely way too much on the practical. Salespeople think if they just tell customers enough about their product then their customers will surely want to buy it. By focusing on the practical side, salespeople leave out the important emotional side. They must meet their customer’s emotional need as well, since a purchasing experience is almost always an emotional event.

So here’s the third part. People buy on emotion and justify with logic to fit their needs. In order for that little phrase to truly work, you have to include the “needs” part.

And there’s even more … Years ago we added the following concept to our sales training: People buy on emotion, justify with logic and make decisions in silence. Knowing when to be quiet, knowing when to shut up in a sales presentation is vital! We have found in our sales performance training that learning when to be silent, learning when to let the customer think, and learning when to let the customer make a decision is a very difficult skill to learn and put into practice, even for experienced salespeople.

Yes, it’s true – people buy on emotion and justify with logic. With this idea, the third part must be added to make it truly effective. Again, people buy on emotion, justify with logic and make decisions in silence. This little addition helps us to train many salespeople in the art of knowing when to be quiet, how to close, how to ask for something, how to ask for the order, and how to wait for a response.

In our sales training we work hard so individuals truly understand how to tap into and leverage the emotional side of a sale. In order for that old adage to ring true (people buy on emotion and justify with logic), it must be expanded to people buy on emotion, justify with logic and make decisions in silence. Reminding salespeople that people make decisions in silence helps them to remember and learn that they have to become quiet at the right time to allow the customer to actually make the buying decision. It’s only during the silence that the customer can really absorb all a salesperson has been talking about and truly make a decision.

When you ask a closing question, always use silence and wait for response. We often see the sales process halted because the salesperson talks too much and fails to create the silence necessary for the customer to make a decision. Often after a closing question or decision question is asked, salespeople feel awkward. They can’t stand the silence, so they continue to talk. Talking interrupts the customer’s thought process cycle and postpones the decision. The customer stops thinking to listen to the salesperson or the customer service person. Using silence keeps the focus on the decision and allows you to close more sales and create happier customers.

Remember this new adage – People buy on emotion, justify with logic and make decisions in silence.

Share your experiences and tell us what you think.

Author: Jack A. Dempsey     Jack A. Dempsey on the Web Jack A. Dempsey on Facebook Jack A. Dempsey on Twitter Jack A. Dempsey on LinkedIn Jack A. Dempsey on Google Plus Jack A. Dempsey RSS Feed

Jack Dempsey heads Pretium Solutions’ Customer Experience & Sales Area focusing on Customer Loyalty, Brand Loyalty and Customer Retention Strategies. He directs Pretium’s revolutionary customer loyalty program, the Golden Touchpoint™. Pretium Solutions is the premier provider of cutting-edge, sustainable and globally recognized customer service, call center and sales training, consulting… View full profile

This article originally appeared on Pretium Solutions » Latest Thinking – Blog and has been republished with permission.

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