How to Overcome Psychological Sales Debt
December 26th, 2006 by Megan Mahan
Well, after being closed for three days last week (followed by a holiday weekend), it’s back to work as usual here at InsureMe. In catching up with my reading today, I was struck by this recent post over at Landing the Deal, which deals with overcoming psychological debt when it comes to sales.
What’s psychological debt? Sales veteran Tim O’Connor explains:
I was receiving a lot of positive feedback from prospects:
“Tim you are really good at this.”
“You are going to be really successful in this business.”
“You really know your stuff.”
Kind words, yes; but a sale, no.
I sought out my good friend, Larry, who was making over a million dollars a year selling insurance. I told him of my plight: lots of compliments, but no orders.
Larry, the insurance sales guru, told O’Connor that by educating prospects, lending his expertise and being friendly and courteous, he was building a psychological debt:
“They owe you, and the way they pay off the debt is with a compliment. Once you accept the compliment, the debt is paid.” And, thus, no sale.
To fix the problem, Larry encouraged O’Connor to refuse compliments from prospects. If you don’t accept a compliment, Larry explained, the debt still exists. “Now when you get an order and a compliment, say ‘thank you very much.’”
The subject of sales psychology is of great interest to me. I hope to read a little more about it and post my findings here. For now, read the full post to learn more about overcoming psychological debt, and see if it can’t help you convert a few more sales leads.
