Page 72 - Lighting Magazine February 2018

on the mark “Persuasion
Is the Art of Ge ing People to Do Things That Are Both in Their Best Interest and Also Yours.”
people to buy from us. Emotion, Logic, and Social Proof are just three types of in uence employed in face-to-face selling.
Emotional reasoning is a state of mind that the customer operates in automatically without any thought or e ort. With eons of human evolution behind us, emotions are relied upon when making choices. What I mean is that client emotions must be taken into consideration as it causes people to take action when making purchasing decisions.
While emotions are present in everyone, it takes good questioning and listening skills to determine which emotional triggers, if any, are going to cause a response from your client. Are the customers building their forever home, is the piece breath- taking to look at, or will the light be the focal point of entertaining?
hoW to emPloy loGic
The statement “Once the emotional buying deci- sion has been made, logic justi es it” has been reiterated many times without much discussion on how they are connected.
For increased closing rates, tie emotion to logic when the customer responds or expresses a feel- ing and link that emotion to a logical anchor in the form of a question.
For example, when pointing out the features of a chandelier the client response of “Oh my!” is an emotional indicator, but we don’t know which emotion. Don’t let this selling jewel slip by, instead ask, “What is it that excites you?” The answer will either provide you with the information to close with or indicate which features to stay away from.
ethicS are imPortant
Tech has changed how customers meet us and has placed our ethics on display. One of the adjust- ments caused by the digital shi is that products, businesses, and people are all judged before you ever know who your client is. The buyers we work with now are incredibly informed. They are doing more research than ever before when preparing to make a purchase or deciding whether to visit a showroom. This self-directed client investigation requires that we use ethical persuasion in our marketing, and then carry the same moral themes into our in-store signage and displays.
The major online players have jumped ahead of their showroom competition by building credible and ethical reputations online. As the functions of
sales and marketing continue to blend, the sales team takes the emotional connection that market- ing is creating and combines it into their selling conversation. This conversation can happen face to face or online. It is no longer an option whether to interact with people on social media or not; in fact, the closer to real-time the be er and always use their name.
While some segments of ethical in uence are common sense, they deserve to be reviewed. Telling the truth seems pre y basic, a er all we teach children to do it from an early age. When the public begins interacting with a salesperson, however, they o en believe they will be lied to in order to make a sale. Sadly, this is the lingering reputation from the dark days of selling, and we must squash it.
With all the information available to the public we, as professionals, cannot entertain any truth stretching or awkward embellishment. In fact, tell- ing the hard truth based on the customer’s best interest will set you apart.
It is impossible to persuade someone who is not interested in you or your showroom. The au- thenticity you project as a lighting expert is one way of reaching prospective clients. Demonstrate authenticity to your community daily in social me- dia feeds. The content is about who you and your showroom are and what activities you do profes- sionally or civically. Customers prefer working with companies that are socially responsible. One thing digital competitors have a hard time doing is supporting local e orts. This is an area that show- rooms can excel in.
Show examples of how you solve problems or provide answers to questions that the customer may face. The term “paying it forward” also applies to ethical marketing and sales team interactions with clients. With each social media post or real- life conversation, do it with respect for the person who is your customer.
As a lifelong student of in uence and persua- sion, I nd the topics and details to learn are endless. One sure re way to succeed at persua- sion is to adopt one method and then practice, practice, and practice it some more. Hone your skills with role play and test your cra on the showroom oor, then track your results.
I can assure you that if you invest time in this vital skill, you will be rewarded at the end of 2018.
Happy Selling!  www.enlightenmentmag.com
Mark Okun is Business Contributor to enLIGHTenment Magazine and President of Mark Okun Consulting & Performance Group. He has more than 30 years of hands- on retail experience training and coaching sales associates in the lighting and furniture industries. Mark@bravo businessmedia.com
68 enLIGHTenment Magazine | FeBRUaRY 2018