Chris Burry @ European Innovation Academy Summer Session 2013

1. The Psychology of Sales
Chris Burry
Co-CEO US Market Access Center

2. or
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Which Outcome Do You Want?

3. Just a quick review….
More startups fail
from
a lack of customers
than from a failure of
product development
And to get customers
we need to SELL
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4. People utilize both emotion
and logic when buying
Emotions
 Desire / want / pain
 Fear / uncertainty / doubt
 Culturally dependent
Logic = Justification
 Not always logical
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The basic psychological challenge in selling

5. Common wants / needs
1. Love
2. Wealth
3. Praise
4. Comfort
5. Safety
6. Give me more…
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People are always looking for something
Emotions
Logic

6. Fear, uncertainty and doubt are
central to stopping sales:
1. Am I paying to much?
2. Will the product work?
3. Will it deliver the value
promised?
4. Can I afford it?
5. Is there something better?
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Want / need is counter-balanced by FUD
Emotions
Logic

7. 1. What if the price goes up?
2. What if they sell out?
3. If I don’t buy it and my
competition does will I
lose?
4. Can I afford it?
5. Is there something better?
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FUD can help you too
Emotions
Logic

8. In my career, I have lost more
sales to one competitor than
any other than any other
Any guesses?
Do Nothing
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The most common ‘competitor’
Emotions
Logic

9. People use logic (often faulty)
to rationalize and justify their
decisions.
It is the process of resolving
the split between
Want / Need vs.
Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt
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How do we get past do nothing?

10. Chris’s simple rules for selling:
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Ok, so now what do I do?

11. People have emotions
Ignore the emotional
component of sales at
your peril
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Rule # 1 –You are selling to people NOT machines

12. You must ‘get to know’ what motivates them,
what they want, what they fear and their cultural
and societal norms.
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Rule #2 – You must know your audience

13. I learned this from Jeffrey
Gitomer.
If they don’t like you, they
aren’t going to buy from
you.
More relevant to in-person
sales than on-line
Like comes before trust
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Rule #3 – People do business with people they like

14. If they don’t trust you,
they aren’t going to
buy from you.
How are you going to
get your customers to
trust you?
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Rule #3 – People do business with people they trust
Bonus Topic – Watch this TED Talk
Paul Zak: Trust, morality -- and oxytocin?

15. People get ‘stuck’
when presented with
too many options
They want some
choice, but not too
much
Remember that ‘do
nothing’ is always the
default choice
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Rule #4 – Don’t give them too many choices

16. This is why we talk
about a “Value
Proposition” not a
“Price Proposition”
Selling is helping your
customer find value
The increase in value
must offset the FUD
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Rule #5 – Focus on Value not Price

17. You get to ‘propose
value’
The customer gets to
‘decide value’
But… you can offer a
framework that helps the
customer decide
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Rule #6 – Value is Defined by the Customer

18. I have talked a great deal about
what is happening in the customer’s head.
Not let’s talk about
what is happening in yours.
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Changing gears

19. If you aren’t confident,
they will sense it (and not
trust you)
If you give off ‘negative
energy’ they will sense it
(and not believe you)
You have to learn to
listen
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Rule #7 – Your attitude matters!

20. Selling involves rejection
Most people fear
rejection
That fear stops them
from selling
Success in selling means
managing your fear
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Rule #8 – Manage your fear
How do you avoid losing to ‘do nothing’

21. Again, selling is about
humans
Making a connection
enables ‘like’ and ‘trust’
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Rule #9 – Make a connection

22. Learn from your
successes
Learn from your
failures
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Rule #10 – Learn from each sales call

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Questions?

24. Let’s Connect
US Market Access Center
10 South Third Street, 3rd Floor
San Jose, CA 95113
Our Headquarters
facebook.com/usmarketaccess
@usmarketaccess
linkedin.com
Groups – US Market Access Center
San Francisco
Palo Alto
San Jose
+1 (214) 673-5187
Phone
cburry@usmarketaccess.com
Email
Chris Burry
Co-CEO
Contact
www.usmarketaccess.com
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