It’ll fall underneath the psychological category of “cognitive error.” It’ll take us to a place we don’t want to go. It’ll keep us from helping a client and closing a deal in the way we should.
In other words, it’ll kill sales – on a daily basis.
Confirmation bias
According to our Sales Training Chicago Illinois consultants, it is referred to as “confirmation bias.” Abbreviated layman’s definition: as we enter a sales circumstance with a pre-conceived notion, we search for confirmation to support that notion.
One example is going to serve us well. Entrepreneurs develop a mindset that she can’t land a sale upon the initial appointment.
“It’s a relationship sale,” she tells herself, “and a relationship takes time.”
She approaches her customer and starts that crucial process of relationship building, knowing that another visit is a given. Her confirmation bias will cause her to hear all statements that support her beliefs.
And 5 minutes into the conversation, her client says, “And just so you know, we’ve only just started the process of deciding our furniture needs.”
And we have a winner!
“I knew it!” states the entrepreneur’s brain subconsciously. “You cannot obtain the sale on the initial appointment.”
Pre-conceived beliefs
Now, perhaps you connected with that example, and perhaps you didn’t, but according to our Sales Training Chicago Illinois consultants, confirmation bias will show up in several ways:
Pre-conceived belief: “Many individuals are merely reviewing their options.”
Confirmation bias trigger: “We only just began to look at this.” (Here it is — proof they aren’t going to purchase, right?)
P: “You must have all of the decision-makers present.”
CB: “Our finance director will want to see this.” (So, fair enough, yet are you able to decide without him?)
P: “Individuals from a few cultures are definitely ruthless negotiators.”
CB: “Are there any incentives”? (It’s simply a question, and not a character attack.)
P: “Our pricing seems a bit too aggressive.”
CB: “Is there any room in the price?” (Here, it’s the same thing — just a question.)
P: “The purchasing process takes time.”
CB: “We aren’t in a hurry.” (They didn’t say they would not buy today.)
This may take a bit of soul-searching, yet you consciously must immediately crush the confirmation biases you carry around inside your head.
Begin by assuming that those biases do exist inside your own mind. Identify these biases, develop a new positive paradigm and then beat them down using a stick.
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