How to Recognize and Diffuse Hidden Pressures in Sales Conversations

Wouldn’t you like to have your sales conversations be pleasant for both you and the other person?? Of course, you do!? And the best way to do that, is to completely eliminate sales pressure.?

Whenever potential clients feel sales pressure, they almost always respond with defense and resistance.? If you can avoid the ways you bring sales pressure into your sales conversations, then you will stop triggering “The Wall.”

Sales pressure can be hard to pinpoint, it can take many different forms, and most always, people are unaware that what they are doing is causing sales pressure.? So, to help with this, below are four of these hidden sales pressures that happen in sales conversations and some actionable ways to practice eliminating them:?

1. Focusing On the Sale?

If you're like most salespeople, you're hoping to make a sale -- or at least an appointment. The problem is the people you reach out to somehow almost immediately notice your mindset. They sense that you are only focused on your goals and interests, rather than on finding out what they might need or want. This short-circuits the whole process of communication and trust building.?

So, try this. Practice shifting your mental focus into thinking, "When I have sales opportunities, first I'm going to build a conversation. From this, a level of trust can emerge which allows us to exchange information back and forth. And then we can both determine if there's a fit or not." When your focus shifts from making a sale into making a conversation, there’s no sales pressure. Many people enjoy conversations. Moreover, as long as you’re sincere, this will be one of them. ?

You’re also exchanging information rather than “informing” someone of your product or service. This helps your potential client know that he or she matters to you. This means you’re not being experienced as “pushy.”?

Keep in mind that letting go of trying to force the outcome of the conversation into a sales event means being totally relaxed with the idea that your solution may not be a fit for them. When you’re exploring right along with another person whether there’s a “fit,” then that person feels no sales pressure. ?

2. Talking About Ourselves First?

When we start a sales conversation with a mini-pitch about who we are and what we have to offer, we’ve introduced sales pressure right away. The other person knows we want to make a sale, and they have to respond to that pressure. Most will respond with defense or rejection.? So instead, start your conversation by focusing on a need or issue you know the other person is likely facing. Step into their world and invite them to share whether they’re open to exploring possible solutions with you. ?

3. Forcing the Conversation into a Pre-Planned Strategy or Script?

Here’s a hard one to avoid if we’re using scripts or carefully planned strategies. When we rely on these methods, it’s usually because we just don’t know how else to “do” a conversation. However, when we take charge of a conversation in this way, the other person almost always feels like they are being maneuvered. That’s pressure. ?

If we aren’t allowing someone else to be fully involved in the conversation, then we’re using sales pressure to try to control the outcome. Potential clients feel this sales pressure, even when it’s subtle. Therefore, once again, “The Wall” goes up. ?

I’m not suggesting that we don’t prepare and plan for a sales conversation. There are some really good ways to begin them that we’ll want to use over and over. Additionally, there are special phrases we can use that convey well the fact that we’re interested in solving a problem for the other person. ?

What we want to avoid, however, is trying to control a conversation. This almost always happens with scripts and old-style sales strategies. Potential clients feel this pressure and respond negatively. ?

4. Over-Enthusiasm?

The problem with over-enthusiasm in conversations is that the other person has to make a decision whether to “buy into” our perspective, or reject it. They feel the hidden sales pressure that wants them to be carried along with our enthusiasm. This usually means braking, whether gently or abruptly. ?

With over-enthusiasm (which is often just an offshoot of our tension), potential clients feel somewhat boxed in. They feel the pressure of our expectations, so they feel compelled to respond either positively or negatively. Most will almost always respond negatively. ?

Completely eliminating all sales pressure from your sales conversations will certainly invite the other person to respond much more warmly and positively. ?

Ari Galper is the World’s #1 Authority On Trust-Based Selling and the creator of Unlock The Game?, a new sales mindset that overturns the notion of selling as we know it today. His personal insights on how to build trust between buyers and sellers continues to break new ground. Thousands of Business Owners worldwide have been transformed by his trust-based sales approach. You can get a copy of his new book?“Unlock The Sales Game”?or his Free Masterclass at?https://www.UnlockTheGame.com ?