Neuro-selling - Neuroscience is cool

The discipline of neuroscience has become a trendy subject lately. While once it was an area of interest mostly geared to those in the medical and psychiatry fields, significant new discoveries about the human brain and how it works are being made daily which makes it a lot more interesting for the rest of us.   

As amazing revolutions unfold, everyday people like you and I are finding ways that neuroscience applies to us - in both our personal and our professional lives. Neuroscience has suddenly gotten a lot more exciting! It’s intriguing. 

What is Neuroscience?  

Neuroscience is where biology meets psychology. It’s the study of the structure and function of the human brain and how it relates to how we think, what we do, and ultimately, who we are. It focuses on scientific things like neurons, cellular and molecular biology, anatomy, physiology, human behavior, and cognition and how those things come together to make us tick. So, what makes you tick? and, what makes your customers tick?

There are billions of brain cells called neurons in our bodies. As extensive as the research has become, scientists still don’t completely understand even one single cell. But...they’re getting closer. Tons of new information about the brain as it relates to human behavior is continuously being unravelled every day. 

Modern technology has brought about fascinating findings in the field of neuroscience.  While many of the base concepts about the science of the brain and its behavior have been in existence for years, the day has finally come that the pieces of the puzzle are being put together and it’s exciting times.  

The information now available is so captivating and all-encompassing, everyday people, like you and I, are finding. 

Science - As It Applies 

I’ve never been a computer expert.  I knew enough about them but never dove into website building, HTML, graphics, and programming. I just never had the need. It was only when my career endeavours called for a website, creating content, understanding programming, visually attractive graphics, and video content that I dove in and learned the ropes. I suddenly had a keen interest in those things because they benefited what I was doing. 

I now know a whole side of web development, digital marketing, apps and programming languages I never knew before and would have never learned had it not related to what I was doing. 

The same can be said of neuroscience. It’s a subject that doubtfully interests you unless there is some way it relates to you. 

Maybe you’ve never had an interest in delving into the science of the mind and human behavior. Perhaps it’s not a huge interest to you that neuroscience is making huge strides in finding a cure for diseases like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. However, if you or a loved one, god forbid, were diagnosed with one of these conditions today, you might suddenly find yourself more interested. Why? Because it would apply to you. That is my definition of “applied science”. 

If you are in the sales industry, the advance in neuroscience is all about to get personal because more than ever, they apply! 

Neuro-selling 

Neuroscience has opened up another field recently too. It’s called Neuro-selling. Neuro-selling applies Neuroscience by using strategies and tactics that trigger buying responses in customers.   

Now is your interest perking up? Mine sure did.  Why?  Now, this is a science I can definitely apply.  How about you? 

Evidence from psychology and neuro-economics revels that many decisions we make have to do with internal and external influences. Understanding both ways of how influence occurs is necessary because they determine how people receive and respond to ideas. 

How it Works 

Neuroscientists have discovered that the frontal lobe of the brain is responsible for making decisions.  Not only that, they are finding out more about how it does that.  First, the information is presented to the brain where everything is weighed out. Then, it processes through some options. Those options are translated into rewards. Decisions are made according to the rewards they produce.     

The Reward System 

Just as I made a decision to learn more about technology based on the reward, and you obviously decided to keep learning about neuro-sales based upon the rewards, is the same with our potential customers they make buying decisions based upon rewards. You may have noticed that the pulse of buying has changed over the years. 

What was important to buyers fifty years ago is not a top priority these days. The value of purchase used to trump all other aspects of it. The reward of saving money was the determining reward. Now, our society is more focused on the emotional experience of purchase. 

Consumers want the warm fuzzy feeling that accompanies buying a product or service - whatever that entails to them.

The trend in buying is fueled by selling an emotional experience. The emotional experience is the reward. 

The Limbic System 

Also, within the frontal lobe is the limbic system which is involved in emotions, motivation, learning, and memory. When the thick scent of blueberries in the air takes you back to a familiar warm feeling from your childhood, reminding you of times when you and your grandma used to bake blueberries pies together, that brain activity is taking place in the limbic system within the frontal lobe. 

In an article about the limbic system by Gregory L. Jantz on the Psychology Today website, it’s explained like this, “The brain has a reward center within the limbic system. The limbic system is the control center for emotional responses and controls the release of a chemical substance produced by the body called dopamine. Dopamine makes us feel good, even euphoric.” 

So, how do you find that sweet spot on your potential customers? That’s when you become an armchair therapist. It’s not as crazy as it sounds. Many professions double as counselors. Bartenders do it all the time, and it’s even part of the lesson plan in Cosmetology school. 

Analyzing Your Customer’s Wants and Needs 

To give your customers what they want or need, you must first find out what that is. What emotions do they wish to experience? 

You may be sitting across the table from your potential customer at a fancy restaurant, enjoying a nice lunch while engaging in conversation. To maximize this meeting, however, picture yourself in the counselor’s chair and him on the couch. How do you get him to open up so you can find out more about him?     

What do therapists do? They ask open-ended questions. They talk about feelings. Most of all...they listen.   

And that is how it is done in neuro-selling too. 

Happy Hormones 

When positive emotions are felt, happy hormones like Endorphins and Serotonin are secreted throughout the body, heightening the sensation even more.  Ahhh, it feels good to feel good. 

Discovering what it is, that makes your clients feel good is vital. It’s all about triggering a good feeling brought about by finding more on what “turns them on”. There’s more to it though. Don’t worry; this is the easy part. 

The Lizard Brain  

There are three parts to the brain. The largest is the cerebrum where the frontal lobe and the limbic system are housed. The cerebrum is in charge of such things as vision, hearing, the interpretation of touch, speech, reasoning, learning, fine movement control, and emotions. The cerebrum takes care of balance, posture and voluntary movements. The third part of the brain is the “lizard brain”, also known as the “old brain”, but is officially called the brain stem. It controls breathing, blood pressure, and other vital functions and is also responsible for primitive survival means like “flight or fight”. The lizard brain also makes decisions but its main job is to avoid pain. 

In 2008, the University of Rochester published a review entitled “Our Unconscious Brain Makes The Best Decisions Possible” which sparked a new way of looking at the old brain. Once thought to be a flawed and inadequate decision-maker, the research concluded the complete opposite. “It is actually hard-wired to allow us to make the best decisions possible with the information we are given.” The report read. It went on to expound that the old brain is responsible for 60 to 90 percent of the decisions made by an individual.   

The brain consumes a lot of energy and is smart enough to realize that. To conserve energy, when it can, it bypasses a high-energy consumption area of usage and naturally relies on another area that uses less energy. That’s where the lizard brain comes in.  

It helps out when making decisions, and we are finding out that it actually makes more decisions than we realized and quite good ones at that. 

 It also decides what information to pay attention to and what information to ignore.   

The very first impression a person gets of you will come from the old brain. It will identify you as a friend or as a nemesis. If you come across stressed, angry, or threatening in any way, you might as well walk away. You’ll never be trusted...or heard. 

According to the Neuromarketing agency, SalesBrain, the lizard brain (which they call the “reptilian brain”) is the attention gatekeeper. It is the part of the brain you want to target to grab the consumer’s attention with such things as advertisements, landing pages, or a commercial.   

We all know that feeling of being “rushed” by a salesperson in a department store. They stalk you from the time you enter until the time you leave, which usually isn’t very long. Those pushy types set off an alarm within our old brain that identifies the salesperson as a threat. Flight is in order, you simply feel like flying the scene! 

On the flip side, there are those salespeople who are friendly and charismatic. They seem to really “get” you. You feel safe and... your old lizard brain gives you the go-ahead to hear them out. 

Savvy television commercials have capitalized on the lizard brain concept through Neuromarketing. When you see a cute little baby or an adorable puppy, trust is instilled. Waterfalls are likely to give off safe and serene signals. Colors even portray good feelings that promote your attention and gain your trust.

The lizard brain is a fantastic sales tool you have at your disposal.   

How it All Falls Together 

It’s kind of a “no brainer”, or...old brainer that the first step in selling is to make a great impression. While the old brain doesn’t actually deep think, you’ll never be heard without appealing to the lizard brain immediately. 

Once you are accepted, so to speak, it’s time to relate to your customers. People love attention. It’s a need we were born with, and as you become the psychologist, you ask about their day, their kids, their new house, and all other areas they may be interested in. Then, you strike a chord. “Did you mention the grandkids?” You are in. 

All sorts of happy hormones begin to flow. It is your job to keep them coming. This technique is called “buyer-responsive selling” and is basic, but now, you can put a neuro-selling twist on it. You are providing what the buyer wants - a positive emotional experience. 

We turn more and more to technology, but one thing that has never changed is the human desire to make real connections. 

Processing the Process 

Do you see how it can apply in your personal and professional life?   

How do you see the study of the brain and human emotions to help you boost sales?   

Main Sources: 

www.sciencenews.com

www.psychologytoday.com  

www.salesbrain.com