Why Emotional Endorsement Must be Key in Your Sales Process
Imagine you’re single and that we’re friends. We’re having a cup of coffee together when I say:
“So, I hope this is okay…I met someone who kinda made me think of you. I mean I know you’re sort of looking for a relationship and I’m thinking this might possibly work. Again, I hope you aren’t mad at me, but I set up a date for you with this guy/girl on Friday night at Buffalo Wild Wings. Here’s the good news…if the date isn’t great at least the wings are.”
How excited would you be to go on this “date”? I am going to go out on a limb and guess you would rather:
- Watch paint dry…
- Straighten out you sock drawer…
- Shoot me there on the spot!
You know why? I did not properly present the proposed date with positive emotion. Words and phrases like hope, kinda, possibly and “I hope you aren’t mad at me” caused you to feel extremely skeptical (and probably angry!)
But what if I presented the situation differently?
“I’ve got something exciting to tell you! The other day, I met an amazing guy/girl and I think you two would get along great! You have so much in common. He/she is hysterically funny, smart and could be a model! Also, he/she loves animals, does volunteer work and has a successful business. And, here is why you are going to thank me…I got you a date with him/her! You’re meeting at Buffalo Wild Wings on Friday night – and you’re probably going to put me in your will!”
At Shore Consulting, we call this an Emotional Endorsement. Your goal as a sales person is to Emotionally Endorse your product or service before your customer is even introduced to it, sees it, or uses it.
- “The home I’m about to show you will knock your socks off. It has every feature you mentioned and the back yard is stunning!”
- “I can’t wait for you to test drive this car! Once you get behind the wheel you’ll have a new appreciation for high performance.”
- “You have to get the rib eye! Not only is it the most popular item on our menu, it just received the best-dish award in the entire downtown district.”
Unfortunately, most salespeople become desensitized to their own product and service. You see your product every day, so it makes sense that it would lose its flare to you.
But if you want to intensify your customers’ experience, you must maintain excitement about your product or service.
When you properly endorse your product with positive emotion two things happen:
- You change your customers’ focus. Most people are looking for ways to dismiss you and your product. It’s how we’re wired. But, with the right Emotional Endorsement, your customer’s focus is positively redirected by your enthusiasm about your product/service.
- You raise your customers’ level of Emotional Engagement. People buy emotionally. A customer’s positive emotional engagement with a salesperson and the product/service they are selling is what typically leads to a sale. That being said – get excited about your product/service and watch your customers do the same!
I encourage you to practice Emotional Endorsement. You want to get to the point where you would buy your product from yourself! When you achieve that level of Emotional Endorsement, you increase your chances of winning the sale.
