Don’t Be a Half-Brained Sales Professional

People (customers) are both logical in nature and emotional. That is to say, our brains are constructed in such a manner that the left brain and right brain (the two distinct anatomic halves) function differently—with specific tasks and processes for which they are designed and ordained to adhere to naturally.

The left brain is that half which seeks for details, facts and figures, the literal interpretation of things. The “other” half, the right brain, is quite different in its function. It is in the right brain that our intuitive senses reside. It is the retreat for all our feeling, fears, and beliefs. The right brain is the seat of our emotional being and is, therefore, the domicile of our impulse to act and to buy. The two are interconnected as a right brain process.

Where the left brain analyzes things—the right brain understands, empathizes, decides, and is moved to action. So together, the left brain and the right brain form all our thoughts and behaviors as human beings. And when the decision is made to buy something (a right-brain process), the planning and organizing needed to accomplish the act is processed in the left brain.

“These two minds, the emotional and the rational, operate in tight
harmony for the most part . . . In many or most moments these
minds are exquisitely coordinated; feelings are essential to thought,
thought to feeling. But when passions surge the balance tips: it is
the emotional mind that captures the upper hand, swamping the
rational mind.”

Daniel Goleman
Emotional Intelligence

Customers feel first and think second. This statement is not meant to be an indictment against customers, but is simply a recognition of how people process information and react to emotional appeals or stimuli. People buy out of emotion (right brain) and justify later with logic (left brain).

“Emotions influence every aspect of our thinking life: they shape
Our memories; they influence our perceptions, our dreams,
thoughts, and judgments—and our behaviors, including our
decisions whether to return to a place of business, how much we
are willing to pay for a product or service . . .”

Janelle Barlow
Emotional Value

Medical science and marketing research have proven that the customer-mind in relation to the buying behavior is anything but completely logical. A clear hierarchy exists in our thinking; we buy on feeling or emotions and rationalize our behavior afterwards with facts.

“The intuitive gut feeling is the engine of the decision train, and
logic and rationale are the cars it pulls behind. Yet in many of our
presentations to clients we spend too much time filling the
rationale boxcars with facts and figures and not enough time
trying to influence the engine that pulls the train—the gut feeling.
A powerful presentation first influences the emotion that drives the
decision and then adds logic as the client asks for it . . . Buying
decisions hinge more on feeling than they do on fact.”

Scott West & Mitch Anthony
Storyselling for Financial Advisors

So then, what does this all mean to the sales professional? It
means that in order to sell well, you must get emotional with customers! Get emotional with customers? What does that mean?

It means that in order to improve your sales, learn to speak and communicate in the language of the right brain. Don’t be a half brained sales professional—the kind that is always appealing to the logic of the left brain; who feels comfortable within the realm of facts and is all too eager to explain to the customer the internal rate of return of a whole life insurance contract versus a universal life policy, for example.

Be honest with the customer . . . be factual as well. That’s part of being a sales professional. But for your own sake in having a successful career in sales, and for the sake of the customer who is seeking clarity, understanding, guidance, and simplicity . . . be emotional in your sales conversations! Don’t hurt the customer’s “brain” with a bunch of facts and figures only. That can be overwhelming and taxing. Besides, it does not bridge the mind to the emotional right brain where the impulse to buy resides.

“There is no expedient to which a man will not resort to avoid a
real labor of thinking.”

Sir Joshua Reynolds
Influence

Make the sales conversation as easy to understand as possible while at the same time understanding that emotions rule our desires and impulses to buy.

“You know, Tom and Mary, waiting to buy this life insurance protection when you feel you are ready is a little like waiting until you’re ready to have kids. It never feels like you’re ready, but you know in your heart there’s no better time than now. Wouldn’t you agree that there’s no better time than now for you to ensure that your children, Lydia and Thomas, won’t have to move from the home you worked so hard to provide for them in the event you were to die?”

Or

“I understand the loss of a loved one can never be replaced. But what we have proposed here for you two is a plan for $200,000 in life insurance on each of you in order to avoid having the bills pile on as a result of lost income and all the worry that comes with not having enough money to live your life. That would be awful. That’s the last thing you’d want to see your family endure especially after the loss of a loved one. What do you think?”

OR

“Tom and Mary, after analyzing your situation, what is recommended for you in regard to auto liability coverage is $250,000 for bodily injury protection and $100,000 in property damage coverage. What this means to you is that if either of you or your teenage son, Thomas, were to be in an accident and found to be at fault, we will provide you with protection when the other driver comes after you for money for any injuries sustained up to $250,000. Our society is very sue conscious...and it is very common for the other driver to get an attorney and sue when you are at fault..."

"The same goes for any property damage, such as vehicle repairs or replacement and other damages to someone’s lawn or fence, for example, up to $100,000 of protection. At first glance, these amounts may look like a lot, but an auto accident can easily require these amounts if it were to be of a serious nature. Besides, we would step in and handle all the legal issues and damages on your behalf that your policy affords—protecting your personal assets like savings and investments from being seized as part of a settlement and avoiding the hassle of finding legal representation if you are sued by the other party. In that light, it’s worth it. Do you see how that would work for you and your family?”

We may debate on the exact verbiage of the preceding examples. And it is certain that someone reading this book will find some fault with the script. But don’t fault the effort I make in discussing the facts so much so as to support some of the emotional reasons why people buy life insurance or auto insurance as the two script examples suggest.

“If you want to influence, persuade, or motivate people, you have
to make emotional contact with them.”

Bert Decker
You’ve Got to Be Heard to Be Believed

Before holding sales conversations, plan out word-for-word what you are going to say to the customer. Get used to using emotional language, metaphors, stories, and illustrations in order to stimulate not only the left brain (the factual side or logical side of the mind) but also the right brain (the seat of emotions and the impulse to buy).

Again, don’t be a half-brained sales professional. Make the emotional contact with the right brain of customers as well. Use their names in the sales conversation. Use their children’s names as well. Paint illustrations of what it means to them to have life insurance, health insurance, auto or homeowners insurance with you. Remind them not only of what it is that they are buying, but what it does for them as well. That is the real art of the sales conversation.

It is easy to rattle off facts and figures—but what those facts and figures mean to the customer and how that is communicated can be the difference between a successful sales career and a mediocre or failed sales career. So plan to be successful by first considering the common emotional reasons why someone may buy a particular line of insurance or financial services product from a particular agent.

Some of those emotional reasons for buying are:

peace of mind, love of another person,
no hassles, ease of transaction,
moral/ethical obligation, convenience,
ease of accessibility,fear of loss,
reliability, expectations of gain (greed),
trust, dignity/self respect,
friendly staff, choice/freedom,
pride, make me feel special,
no worries, a good conscience

The above examples simply provide a baseline for you to begin planning out your sales conversation.

By way of another example, if I am in a conversation with a couple about life insurance, and through my questioning (interview/probing) I uncover that they have an overall need of $450,000 apiece in order to meet their specific needs arising from a death. But I discover that the two are most concerned about maintaining the other’s standard of living if they were to die. That is, they are seeking peace of mind emotionally when it comes to why they are really going to buy. A purchase isn’t made for what something is—a purchase is made for what something does for the buyer.

In our scenario, it would be incumbent upon me then to articulate how $450,000 insurance will pay the bills—but better yet, how the money will allay any of their concerns and fears about their children and either spouse having to suffer through the awful ordeal of selling the family home to downsize into something more affordable, changing schools, looking for additional work and sources of income, etc.

This is the language of the right-brain . . . If you want to sell well...to be different...better...and more successful as a sales professional, learn to speak it and not be a half-brained sales professional!

Copyright © 2009 - Tony Cefalu