{"id":12281,"date":"2020-05-15T11:46:40","date_gmt":"2020-05-15T11:46:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sandler.dsstaging2.com\/case-study\/sandler-rule-sales-is-a-broadway-play-performed-by-a-psychologist\/"},"modified":"2022-10-18T16:02:12","modified_gmt":"2022-10-18T16:02:12","slug":"sandler-rule-sales-is-a-broadway-play-performed-by-a-psychologist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sandler.com\/blog\/sandler-rule-sales-is-a-broadway-play-performed-by-a-psychologist\/","title":{"rendered":"Sandler Rule: Sales is a Broadway Play Performed by a Psychologist"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>How do your prospects <em>feel<\/em> after sitting across from you in a sales call?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Maybe the answer doesn\u2019t come instantly to you. That\u2019s OK. Here\u2019s another question: Ever been to therapy? Don\u2019t worry, it\u2019s a rhetorical question\u2026 but it\u2019s OK if you have. A career in sales can certainly lead to an occasional need for a therapist!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here\u2019s why I ask. Generally, a therapy session leaves you with stronger memories of <em>how the therapist made you feel<\/em> than of exactly <em>what<\/em> she said to you. If at some level you don\u2019t feel good about yourself or your future as a result of the session, you\u2019re unlikely to return to that counselor. Not only that: You will probably associate any negative feelings you have with the person in the other chair!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Wait a minute\u2026 this sounds a little like sales. We as salespeople could learn a lot about how to run a sales call from what the most effective counselors, therapists and psychologists learn in their training.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Therapists face a number of interesting challenges that we as salespeople may recognize in attempting to do their job. For instance:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>\u201cSeeing\u201d and \u201chearing\u201d the other person\u2019s concerns from their perspective, while avoiding the temptation to \u201cproblem solve.\u201d<\/li><li>Expressing sincere empathy while remaining emotionally neutral.<\/li><li>Asking insightful questions without sounding intrusive.<\/li><li>Bringing up painful issues without being seen as the source of the pain.<\/li><li>Leading the client to self-discover an answer to their situation without \u201cselling\u201d specific ideas or solutions.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>None of this comes automatically. Expert therapists have learned over time when and how to play certain roles to produce certain positive outcomes. In fact, when you consider all the challenges facing both therapists and salespeople, it\u2019s no surprise that David Sandler suggested that a bit of acting might be required for success in selling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The very best salespeople have taken lessons, whether they realized it or not, from the best psychologists. Here are a few of those lessons, translated for use in sales:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The sales call is not about you, your company or your product. That means no presentations or recommendations unless and until you\u2019ve \u201cseen\u201d and \u201cheard\u201d the prospect\u2019s problem\u2026 from their perspective.<\/li><li>Create rapport that allows you to express genuine empathy while remaining emotionally detached on the inside. That\u2019s a tall order, but you can learn to do it with practice. You won\u2019t serve yourself or your client well by becoming emotionally wrapped up in their situation.<\/li><li>Get permission to ask difficult and possibly painful questions. Educate your prospect with questions, not with presentations. When people decide that they want to buy because of conclusions <em>they <\/em>reached, they feel ownership of their choice and are less likely to back away from it.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>One definition of psychology is: the mental and emotional factors governing a situation or activity. When you think about that definition, you realize that there is a strong connection between selling and the kind of counseling that psychologists and other therapists deliver. Perhaps the first order of business for any salesperson should be to take a close look at psychology!&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If, in a sales call, we could stop selling so much and start being a part-time actor and a full-time psychologist, then our prospects would likely <em>feel <\/em>better during and after the meeting \u2013 and who knows, maybe buy something, too!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Learn more about the psychology of sales, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sandler.com\/resources\/sandler-books\/sales-psychology\/\"><strong>here<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>How do your prospects feel after sitting across from you in a sales call?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":167,"featured_media":12282,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1120],"tags":[1105,1225,1194],"class_list":["post-12281","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","tag-sales-process","tag-sales-process-development","tag-sales-prospect"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.6 - 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