In a conversation with a customer, a famous sales expert accidentally mentioned a special product that seemed to be an indirect competitor. This product appeared here by “complete coincidence”. Many customers have fallen for this “fishing rod”. Some car salesmen are very good at “acting”. You like a certain car, but it turns out that this car is a rare type that was ordered only by customer request and has already been sold to customer X. Of course, it is “impossible” to order a car like this at a special price with “elegant, polite” equipment.
However, if you really like the car and beg the salesperson to be flexible, you will probably get it. The salesperson will do you a favor by having to deal with a difficult problem: they will have to find a similar car for customer X, and they will likely be “late in delivering the car” to the customer, which of course “won’t be very nice.” So, you have to make a decision right away. Business ethics? Of course. The best salespeople rarely feel guilty about “doing the deed.”
1.1 Instead of beating around the bush diplomatically, try being direct!
In the Harvard model, the salesperson is always something strong, at the same time very flexible and ready to change. “Never insult the other party!” - that is the basic principle in negotiating, negotiating or talking, according to which, the negotiators are not allowed to express their opinions clearly and specifically to avoid creating provocative situations. Instead, people work together towards the next step of development, laying the foundation for the next step and gradually moving towards the discussed goal.
The use of adverbs or person changes in communication, such as perhaps, in fact, possibly, wish, if only, in case of possible – in general, the list of words that limit specificity is very long. The overuse of these words can lead to absurdity. In the pile of language that is likened to a haystack, everyone tries to find a common thread to communicate with each other.
In contrast, the Provocative Selling model does not rely on Harvard-style fluff and instead focuses on practical language. It avoids long explanations that can be confusing and mentally exhausting. Because Provocative Selling requires the salesperson to start short and concisely, its top priority is data or facts. The word “presentation” means “to present a position or point of view.”
The aggressive salesperson often likes to discuss and evaluate someone's point of view but he doesn't put himself on that position.
While the Harvard model uses the so-called rule of limitation and gives up evaluating the value of words in the message, the provocative salesperson uses the rule of caution, according to which he uses very “polished” language, clearly defining the position of prepositions and adverbs, as well as how to use them to emphasize his ideas.
One minute check
In summary, please write down your understanding and application of the above theory:
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One of the differences between the two models is that the Harvard salesman always wants and tries to negotiate fairly and politely. He does not attack the other person and tries not to show that he has an advantage over the other person. This type of sales model does not allow for competition or create rigid rituals.
The provocative salesperson is different. He seeks out people who are superior to him, discusses all issues with them on an equal footing, and demonstrates his persuasiveness in the conversation. He remains in control of the content of the conversation. Although he enjoys arguing, the content and the results are still very positive. In addition, the provocative salesperson also follows the following rules:
· To position clearly, a concise key message is needed.
· Each answer or message should hit the nail on the head.
· In certain situations, for example, when using negative words or shouting – the conversation gets out of control.
· Practical language will help the conversation achieve success.
· Position determination value.
· Mastering the skill of moderating what to say in a conversation will create content success.
· “Whoever asks the question will lead the conversation” – this is not necessarily true because it also reflects the lack of information of the questioner, on the contrary: “Whoever speaks captivatingly will lead the conversation”.
A little test
In summary, give your own comments and describe your conversation model.
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1.3 Psychological distance and basic psychological models in discussion
There are always differences on each “psychological level”. The Harvard model does not accept tactless, unconfident conversations.
In contrast, the Provocative Selling model uses the underlying psychological model of the conversation (or at least blocks the other party's negotiating position), thereby clarifying the other party's position in the negotiation. To put it crudely, if you don't know:
* Program
* Remove program
* Reprogram
* Stabilize program content
* Set conventions
* Take shortcuts smartly
* Change the transformation model
and other simple social psychology methods to influence buyers then you are just a low level salesperson.
Only those who are aware of this model in Provocative Selling can become the best salespeople.
One minute check
In conclusion, describe the application of the above theory in your field.
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Chapter 2
The Social Psychological Basis of Behavior in Provocative Selling
Germany, a few years ago. At an important meeting of a famous strategy consulting firm, the new CEO stood up to give his inauguration speech. For an hour, he spoke passionately, enthusiastically, making commitments to his colleagues, motivating them, and discussing the future.
In this same speech, he mentioned the name of his main competitor 14 times without mentioning his own company's name once.
Now comes the psychological issue. If you constantly mention your competitors, how will the salesperson force the customer to buy your company's products?
For the above reasons, we continue to require the use of psychological knowledge in sales, including in Provocative Selling, because:
Provocative Selling Technique always gives rise to a contradiction in our thinking: On the one hand, it reflects all the models, formulas and methods of selling from the past to the present. But on the other hand, it is also a special art that applies all the linguistic techniques as well as the social psychological methods to achieve the set goals in the most effective way. This is the art of persuasion with the change (if necessary) of the framework conditions as well as the content of the negotiation, the ability to give way to the interests of others.
So, the person who wants to provoke in sales needs to know or be aware of some basic principles. The question is, where does the academic theory end and where does the psychology of life begin? Where do they intersect?
In the following sections, you will find important fundamentals that will help you in different ways to communicate with customers and that you can use as models and rules. These models and rules are not systematized, but have the most basic, natural characteristics.
All methods are based on modern psychological knowledge and research, a list of which is presented in Robert Lavine's book "The Art of Creating Charisma". In addition to the references to the original documents, in this book, we can also find many examples, evidence as well as useful information sources for researchers.
We will give you a general overview of the theory, clarify its essence and supplement it with the methods of Provocative Selling. The general methods will be transformed into practical instructions, however, they are only to be considered as a reason for thinking and as a guide in the search for alternative solutions.
But our primary goal remains helping salespeople gain confidence in their actions – confidence that comes from a pre-cognitive understanding of those actions that lead to sales success.
Success in sales is achieved only within the framework of certain psychological rules or outside of them. However, it is necessary to pay attention to these principles and apply them flexibly. Thus, influencing customers is a process of social communication along with compliance with framework conditions.
However, you also need to be ready to change something, be flexible in responding to changes in the sales model, and trust your intuitive knowledge.
As you read this book, learn from the mistakes of others…
It is also possible that the methods presented above do not reflect all actual needs, and they are only suitable for each individual, in each situation, each given goal and each conversation content of the partner. Each instruction may be very "obvious" to you, but I often find that many salespeople ignore the correct predictions.
Additionally, for each of our tips, you should take a “minute check,” reviewing each situation and how to apply the methods presented above. It’s a good thing if you have doubts or ambivalence – they will lead you to the necessary responses.
The following tips are all quite complex, and because they overlap and are not systematically arranged, they are only intended as a guide for work.
