For many business owners, the idea of making a sales pitch sends them into cold-sweat territory. The awkward silences. The beady-eyed stares. And OMG, they’re gonna ask questions!!!

Well, yes. Because you’re talking to a person with a brain. But that brain can be soothed, influenced, and persuaded with these top ten sales psychology tricks. 

They’re so easy and so universally effective that you’ll be closing more deals and upping your confidence with sales in no time. 

Ready? Let’s get down to it. 

What’s sales psychology anyway?

Sales psychology is the study of your target audience’s psyche. It is the process of getting inside their heads so you can better communicate with them, and it makes closing deals more effortless. 

The best thing about sales psychology is that when you have a good understanding of it, you don’t have to work so hard at pitching prospects. 

You’re not convincing your ideal customer that they need to buy your offering. Instead, you identify their current needs and wants and use that information to market to them more effectively. 

10 easy sales tips and tricks you need RIGHT NOW!

Running a business is hard enough. So why make it even more complicated? Instead, use these top ten tips and psychological selling tips to close deals and up your conversions faster and easier.

#1. Make your customer the center of the universe

Everyone likes to be catered to and made to feel special. So when a prospect approaches you or vice versa, they’ve got two main, burning questions about the interaction:

• Will this conversation be a total waste of my time?
• Will the product or service help me fix a problem that’s been bothering me?

You know an awful lot about your offering. But the prospect does not. When pitching a lead, you want to make the conversation all about them. Center the dialogue around the issue they’re having and how your particular offering will solve it. 

Avoid marketing jargon when demonstrating your expertise. Instead, talk to them like you would if they were a friend. 

If your loved one was struggling with something and you had the solution, you’d share it with them, right? And you’d talk to them like you were having just a regular old conversation. So it wouldn’t sound like a pitch. 

The bottom line is that people want to quickly know what they’re getting and that it’s going to be good. So if you don’t clearly explain it to them, or at all, you’ll be seeing the back of their head. 

If you spend most of the conversation talking about how your solution will improve the customer’s life, it’s less of a pitch and more of a low-pressure, easy, natural conversation. 

People appreciate conversations. Not sales pitches. 

#2. Simplify the process with fewer options.

Life is complicated. People are busy. And life is often confusing. Do you know why? Because we’re bombarded with too much information and way too many options. 

So, make life easier for your clients. Give them a simple decision-making process by offering just a couple of options. 

In many instances, less is really more. For example, when people are accosted with too many options during the buying process, it’s much harder to decide. And when they do decide, they’re often insecure about it and may get all twisted up in psychological knots, worrying that they chose incorrectly. 

Regardless though, too many options mean a higher chance of them walking away without making any decision at all. And that’s not good for your business. 

But what if you’re offering a wide range of products or services? 

There are a couple of things you can do to prevent decision paralysis and close more deals. 

• Research — Do some research into your prospects before you pitch them. This will help you decide on which specific offerings to tell them about. Or you can talk about specific categories of products to help simplify things for the prospects. 
• Ask qualifying questions — If you’re unable to research your prospect ahead of time, ask qualifying questions to narrow down the customer’s needs and wants. This will help you determine the offering they’d most likely be interested in. Only pitch solutions that would meet the needs you’ve identified. 
• Offer packages — Consider packaging or bundling certain offerings together. This will give your prospect a good idea of what services or products work well together. They can make one large purchase that’ll meet their needs and budget instead of making frequent, smaller purchases, which adds unnecessary friction to the process. 

As you can see, simplifying the process with fewer options helps your customer and helps you. 

Fewer options and options smartly presented and packaged together lessen the chances of purchasing paralysis and help you close more deals. 

#3. Leverage fear of loss.

The fear of loss is more powerful than the hope of gain. As a result, even skeptical customers have difficulty turning down an opportunity. And that’s especially so if they think they’ll lose something if they say no. 

All right, so how do you tap into this part of your prospect’s psyche? 

What you want to do is frame the offering as something they would otherwise lose if they don’t make a purchase. Communicate this so that it relates to the customer’s specific situation. 

For example:

• What’s their life like now without the solution?
• Why would they regret not buying it?
• Say they turn down the offer. Would a competitor have an edge over them?

Highlight the loss they’d experience if they don’t make a purchase — instead of just the value-added. 

#4. Reassure customers they’re in good hands. 

How do you tap into this sales psychology tip? First, you want to showcase your expertise to build credibility. The trick is to do it in everyday language — not with industry jargon. 

You want to come off as personable yet authoritative. Doing so makes it easier for prospects to trust you and your sales pitch. 

Start with focusing on your body language. Often, we get so caught up in using the right words that we forget about how we look while communicating. 

Some pro tips:

• Lean in and smile
• Make appropriate eye contact
• Maintain good posture

Also, punctuate your sales pitch with tips and helpful information. 

While it’s true that you’re looking to make a sale, information that would be helpful to the customers doesn’t have to be a jealously guarded secret. Offering some small bits of advice while conversing with the customer will help you come across as an expert who’s also genuine and trustworthy. 

#5. Play to their emotions. 

Another sales psychology tip I can’t stress enough is to play to the customer’s emotions. While people love facts and figures that demonstrate credibility, they ultimately make decisions based on how they feel about something. Or this case, someone — you. 

Playing to the customer’s emotions makes you memorable, too. So aim for positive emotions, like humor, hope, or inspiration. 

#6. Demonstrate social proof.

People want reassurance that they’re making the right decision. Usually, humans don’t want to be the first person to try something. By demonstrating social proof, you’re showing prospects that other people have purchased the offering and were glad they did. 

How can you do this without directly quoting a review in your sales pitch? That would be kind of weird. 

Do this instead:

• Post reviews on your site — In today’s world, people Google a brand before contacting a sales rep. Post reviews and testimonials on your website so leads come across compelling social proof before you make a pitch. 
• Namedrop notable customers — Talk about big-name customers during the pitch. Or provide anecdotes of situations where your offering gave someone fantastic results. 
• Refer to popular options — If you have multiple offerings, refer to the most popular choice during the pitch. Tell them it’s a best-seller and guide your prospect to buy it.

People are more likely to trust fellow customers than salespeople. Play to this innate part of human nature and freely demonstrate your social proof. 

#7. Ask prospects to explain objections. 

Remember, you’re talking to a human with a brain. So it’s only natural they’d have some objections, and it’s not necessarily a reflection on you or the offering. 

The easiest way to overcome someone’s objections is to ask them to explain their reasoning and then poke holes in it. 

Roleplay your sales pitch with a trusted friend, colleague, or family member. Use the exercise to practice honing your counter-arguments and getting yourself comfortable fielding and overcoming objections. 

#8. Use storytelling to your advantage. 

This sales psychology tip also ties into demonstrating social proof. Listing your product’s benefits and features is one thing. But to really drive it home, telling prospects a relatable customer story is incredibly powerful. 

Storytelling is an effective technique for connecting with your customers. But it also helps convince them and overcome common objections, motivating them to buy. 

With stories, you’re also showing them how your offering works its magic — not just telling them it works. 

[H2] #9. Tap into people’s reciprocal nature. 

If you give the prospect something for free, it will do two things:

1. Make them feel appreciated. 

2. Compel them to do something for you. 

There are a few things you can do to get the benefits of this sales psychology tip. For example, you could offer an exclusive discount for new customers. Or provide new customers with a bundle deal, freebie, or goody bag. 

Depending on your offer, you could give prospects a free demo or let them use your solution for a free trial period. This encourages reciprocity and gives them time to make a purchasing decision. 

In some cases, taking the pressure off your customer can compel a sale. But not always. You’ll have to use your best judgment. And this, ladies and gents, brings me to my final sales psychology tip and trick. 

#10. Scarcity

Instilling urgency into the process and making an offer time-sensitive can go a long way toward getting someone to take the desired action. Communicate to your customer that they’ll miss out on a good deal if they don’t act now. 

This ties into #3 on this sales psychology tips and tricks list. But what you want to do here is drive home the time-sensitive nature of the offer — not so much what they’d miss out on. 

But yes, this scarcity trick can definitely be used along with tip #3, where you play to their sense of FOMO. 

Here’s what you can do:

• Give the offer a clear deadline
• Have seasonal, limited-time-only sales that tie into a holiday
• Offer a steal of a deal or a freebie to the first X# of customers only

Match this tip with social proof. Use expert reviews and testimonials to drive home to your audience that they will seriously miss out if they don’t take the offer now. 

Sales psychology tips: Punchline

It’s so easy to freak out at the idea of making a sales pitch, especially if it’s your first rodeo. Likewise, talking to potential customers can be nerve-wracking when you’re new to running a business. 

But these sales psychology tips and tricks should ease the jitters and make the conversation easier for both you and your prospects. 

Use the tips outlined in this article to give yourself ideas for ice-breakers and things you can use to compel a quick sale. 

Your leads will appreciate a smooth transaction and enjoyable sales pitch that will feel more like a conversation with a good friend!

Sometimes, we all want a little hand-holding. My Strategy Call Script is just that. 

It gives you a reliable roadmap for how to open up a dialogue with prospects, overcome common objections, and how to close more deals with ease. As a result, you’ll never feel at a loss for words again when speaking to your customers. 

Download it today and level up your sales pitches for bigger, faster, easier conversions. 

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