For the most part, people doing sales for HVAC and Refrigeration businesses are not seasoned sales experts. They are HVAC and Refrigeration experts who are selling what they do. If that’s you, we have some sales psychology advice that can help you be more successful.
5 sales psychology tips that can help you win business
Sales psychology is all about understanding how people tend to think and behave in purchase situations. Today we’re offering some tips that can help you shift your own thinking and behavior as a sales professional, and also tips that can influence your customers’ thinking, behavior, and ultimately their purchasing decisions.
1. Shift your focus
When you walk into a sales presentation, it can be paralyzing when you’re thinking “I have to make this sale!” even before you meet the customer. That kind of thinking can undermine your confidence and make you try too hard to get the customer to like you. That’s not necessarily helpful and can be a turn off.
Instead, leave your ego at the door and consciously focus on your customer and their needs. Remember, your primary goal should be to learn about the customer: their space, their equipment history, the problems they are experiencing, and their priorities and goals. Ask questions and listen. That can take the edge off your nerves and help you make a personal connection with your customer.
2. Appeal to emotions
We tend to assume that people make rational purchase decisions based on logic. That’s why you see so much advertising and promotional content focused on facts and figures. The truth is, people do want that information, but in the end they often make their choice based more on emotion than logic.
In your sales interactions, it’s important to pay attention to the emotions your customer is projecting. Are they worried? Are they annoyed? Are they distracted and not really paying attention? Try to pinpoint what they are feeling and why. The best way to do this is to let them talk and share their concerns. When you do that, you’re more likely to understand what to offer that truly meets the customer’s needs.
For example, if you perceive that the customer is panicking because of their cash flow situation, you can offer financing solutions, or possibly offer a retrofit that can put off the need for a new system for a little while.
3. Become familiar
Psychological studies show that the more often you are exposed to something, the more likely you are to find it attractive. That applies to people, companies, and products. That’s why cold-calling as a sales tactic is so ineffective. If the customer doesn’t know you from a hole in the wall, there’s a very slim chance of making a sale.
That’s why marketing and branding can help you make sales. Your marketing efforts help people to become familiar with your company. They see your ads and social media posts online. They might get a newsletter with helpful content from you occasionally. Maybe you send holiday greetings to your customer base. With coordinated branding, they see your trucks in their neighborhood, and see familiar technicians wearing a uniform with your logo.
These small things add up to an impression that they know your company, and that makes it more likely that they will decide to purchase from you.
So, make sure you appeal to that familiarity in your sales pitch and all your sales materials.
4. Help customers conform
People tend to be more comfortable making a purchase decision if they know lots of others are making the same choice. It’s a psychological principle called conformity: people want to fit in. The conformity effect is an even more powerful sales psychology tool if the customer identifies with, and feels similar to, the “lots of others” making the same choice.
As a sales professional, you can appeal to this tendency by showing a homeowner which other residents in their building have purchased maintenance contracts from you. Or, for commercial accounts, how many similar businesses are installing indoor air quality systems, for example.
5. Value your integrity & reputation above the sale
Customers tend to purchase from companies and salespeople that they feel they can trust. That’s especially true of HVAC and Refrigeration products and services because of the price tag and the long-term nature of the decision.
One important way to build trust is to prioritize your own integrity and reputation, even if it sometimes means giving up a sale. For example, if a potential customer’s need is outside your wheelhouse, don’t try to be something you’re not. Instead, refer the customer to another company that’s a better fit for their needs. When you do something like that, the customer knows you’re acting in their best interest, which makes you more trustworthy.
Make it a point to keep that prospect on your list of marketing contacts, so you keep building their familiarity with you. In the future, if they have a need that’s a better fit for what you do, they are very likely to reach out to you.
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