Stepping Into the Ring

For many in Sales, stepping into a sales cycle is like stepping into a boxing ring. You’re going to be throwing punches, and hopefully those punches are going to land and strategically win you the round, and potentially the fight. You must duck and weave to avoid blows that could disable you or knock you out. The goal is to remain focused at all costs, not lose your nerve, and engage every tactic at your disposal to win.?

In boxing, emotions are key. If you’re a going for a title, you’ve probably studied your opponent—but there is yet a fair degree of fear involved. You’d be understandably fearful of placing yourself squarely before somebody dedicated to doing you bodily harm. An unexpected right hook landed squarely in your eye can instantly anger you and cause you to lash out uncontrollably. Memories of past losses—sadness—can impress themselves on you while your opponent is whaling away at you with blows, causing you to lose will and strength. But if you’re going to have any shot at winning that fight, you’ve got to remain in control of those emotions.

Legendary boxer Muhammad Ali is probably the best example of a fighter who maintained an awesome degree of emotional control. If he was fearful as he stepped into that ring, he certainly never showed it. He never let the potential of loss (sadness) affect him in any way. And anger? Not only did he keep any of his own anger well in check, he totally played on the anger of his opponents, verbally baiting them through the entire match to the point many would lose control—to their own downfall.?

Emotions in Sales

Sales used to be a lot more like a boxing match than it is today. It was a scenario of the “salesperson versus the prospect,” with the salesperson’s aim to wear down prospects until they gave in and purchased.

Today the landscape has radically changed, and we are much more involved in a relationship economy. Successful salespeople have moved out of the contact-pitch-close cycle of yesterday—today it is all about fostering, establishing and nurturing relationships. Even brands, which used to be such an enormous advantage, are coming in second to that all-important relationship. Buyers today purchase from people they trust—and that relationship makes for the trust that will bring them to you, no matter the brand.?

One of the 5 qualities that guide an insight seller’s success is listed as “emotional intelligence.”

Relationships in sales are a popular topic and expert advice is readily available. Although the approaches have so dramatically changed, there is one enormous central issue that hasn’t: emotions. Although it may be less of a “ fight” than it used to be, emotions in sales still get right down to financial survival: emotions can make or break a sale and win or lose a commission.

Mike Schultz and John Doerr of the RAIN Group pointed out the importance of emotions in sales in their ebook, entitled Your Guide to Insight Selling and Success. One of the 5 qualities that guide an insight seller’s success is listed as “emotional intelligence.”

The authors write, “Insight sellers understand and manage their own and others’ emotions. They can handle difficult personalities and adjust their style based on the buyer. They don’t panic, get distracted, or react emotionally. Without it, sellers don’t create or succeed in situations that require tension. They get flustered and lose focus easily. They also have a difficult time creating and maintaining a peer dynamic.”?

Emotions are actually involved in a sale from the very beginning, even before you are. People inquire about your product or service in the first place because of an emotional response. There is some issue or problem in a company that has a definite emotional component to it: people don’t like it, they don’t want it, they want to change it. The first act in establishing a seller-buyer relationship is fully understanding the emotions connected to the buyer’s issues, as this is a huge part of the buyer profile that will guide you all the way through a sale.

But as the RAIN Group authors point out, the wild card is the buyer’s emotional landscape. Buyers—just like anyone else—will exhibit the whole gamut of emotions. You can have a buyer who’s suspicious of your motives as a sales- person. You can have another who’s eager, willing to listen, and interested in what you have to say. You can have another who is distracted and saddened by personal issues you know nothing about. You can have another who is antagonistic to the world in general and is a pain for anyone to talk to.?

If you as a salesperson aren’t confident in yourself and able to tap into and use your own emotions, you can easily be thrown off by these various buyer emotions. A prospect, just by being direct and no-nonsense, can cause you to become inwardly angry (I’m being so nice—why is he being such a jerk?) A comment from a buyer that they’re also checking out the competition can make you overly fearful that you’ll lose the sale. Someone who is sad can make you wonder what you’re saying that might be making them more sad. These reactions on your part, even if subtle, can cause a sale to go sideways.

The bottom line: you can never predict and control what kind of emotions your prospect is going to display. But like Mohammed Ali, you can predict and control how you are going to react to those various emotions. Since you are the constant and they are the variables, you do best to strengthen that constant.

Because sales today is all about relationships, buyers have certain expectations from you as a salesperson. They expect you to be honest, authentic, and professional. If you don’t have a good degree of control on your emotions in a sales situation, you can come across as artificial—you’re saying one thing, but your facial expressions and body language are saying something completely different.