Negotiations and psychology: what a sales manager should know

Three important rules

1. To greet every customer, organize a “duty” in the entrance area of ​​the store.
2. After the buyer has been greeted, give him the opportunity to look around the sales area. Train employees to recognize the signs that indicate a buyer is ready to make contact. He can stop and look at a certain group of products or take some product from the shelf. The buyer can look around and look for staff or even make a gesture.
3. If this does not happen, take a break of 2-3 minutes and begin establishing contact.

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Starting a conversation between seller and client: gender differences

They say that ladies love with their ears.

It is very important to find the right approach to the buyer of the fair sex. You can start the conversation with a neutral compliment or an abstract topic. For example, you can clarify where she managed to find such a beautiful handbag, the main thing is “not to go too far.” The compliment must be sincere. If you can’t come up with a compliment, it’s better to start with a stock phrase.

Women love to talk. By asking a series of the right questions to the buyer, you can easily discover the needs. It is appropriate to use the active listening technique here. And then try to tell in detail about your product, focusing on the buyer’s needs. Don't skimp on comparisons and epithets. Women can come for a raincoat and leave with a skirt, blouse and a new belt. Be patient and you will be rewarded.

With men, on the contrary, there are fewer words, more action.

Try to ask clear, meaningful questions. As a rule, a man goes to the store when he needs something specific. This is to your advantage: find out through open and alternative questions about his purpose and - go ahead! Justify the advantages of the product, use numbers, and compare two similar models. Your presentation should be structured and logical. A man will trust you if he sees that you understand what you are selling.

It is worth special mentioning the work with children.

Often children over 4-5 years old are already ready to communicate directly. Ask about their expectations; you can ask them about the parents’ opinion in the third person. This is perhaps the only case when it is worth addressing the buyer on a first name basis.

Do not try to offer your child an expensive product; this may cause a negative reaction from parents. It is optimal to communicate with both the parent and the child at the same time. If you sell toys, give your child the opportunity to try the product in action.

For example, attracting customers through children is the calling card of Mc'Donalds. Remember how much children love these restaurants. Precisely because toys await him here in sets with food, as well as free “enticements” in the form of coloring books or bright erasers. Spend the weekend in your store, for example, giving out free balloons and children will be happy to drag their parents to you.

Methods of influencing the client

In this paragraph we will discuss some of the techniques that underlie the implementation of the above mechanisms of corrective action.

Interpretation. As a rule, in order to shake the counselee’s established views on the existing problem situation, a fairly universal technique of psychological interpretation is used. Interpretation is a psychologist-consultant’s interpretation of information about the nature of the client’s psychological problems in order to improve his understanding of the nature and causes of his own difficulties.

It differs from variable repetition of what has already been said (paraphrasing, summarizing) in that it contributes to the emergence in the client’s mind of new personally significant ideas about himself and his behavior.

According to their function during consultation, interpretations can be aimed at solving the following tasks:

- establishing connections between supposedly separate statements, problems, events;

— emphasizing any features of the client’s behavior or feelings;

— interpretation of the client’s psychological defense methods, his reactions of resistance or transference;

- linking current events, thoughts and experiences with the past;

- providing the client with new insight into feelings, behavior or problems.

Forms of interpretation can also be different. Its most commonly used type is interpretation as a comment -

interpretation or presentation from a new perspective of what was said or demonstrated by the client, as well as what was identified using diagnostic techniques and procedures before and during communication.

Specificity of interpretation as a generalization

consists in moving to a different scale of vision of the situation or in bringing together into one logical system the disparate and often unrelated details of the psychological situation in the client’s mind, raising him to a new level of understanding of the problems.

Interpretation as inference

will be appropriate when cause-and-effect relationships between phenomena are discovered, i.e. options for solving psychological problems logically follow from the situation, but this is not obvious to the client.

Toward interpretation as analogy

resort when, with the help of a vivid image, metaphors stimulate the client’s mental potential, suggest ways to independently search for ways to solve a psychological problem.

When resorting to interpretation, using one or another interpretation scheme, it is necessary to indicate within the framework of which theoretical direction or approach the analysis is carried out. In any case, the interpretation must be clear to the client. It must connect to what the client already knows. The interpretation of the client’s statements should also be based on a certain amount of information, and not be a product of the psychologist’s own conjecture. In some cases, interpretation is used to reduce the client’s anxiety, relieve neurotic syndrome, transforming the symptom from an obstacle that is incomprehensible to him into an established task that can and should be solved.

The consultant must be able to understand clients' reactions to the essence of interpretations. The client's emotional indifference should make the consultant think about the consistency of the interpretation with reality. However, if the client reacted with hostility and immediately rejected the interpretation as implausible, there is reason to assume that the interpretation has touched the root of the problem.

The most reasonable interpretation will be one that is based on systematized and theoretically verified psychological and psychotherapeutic concepts and models, the results of scientific and experimental psychological research, or individual achievements of various branches of the human sciences. That is why a specialist’s erudition should be as broad as possible. After all, every life situation is unique. In one case, an apt expression that sank into the soul is enough, for example, a summary interpretation to a woman who is painfully going through a divorce: “You have lived your whole life for your husband, when will you start living for yourself?” In another, it will be necessary, for example, to convincingly substantiate the errors of role interaction from the point of view of E. Bern's transactional analysis, so that a person projects the role positions presented there onto himself and understands the essence of his difficulties in communicating with other people.

Confrontation. Confrontation can be defined as any reaction of a consultant that contradicts the “ambivalent” behavior of the client, with the aim of showing him methods of psychological defense with which he seeks to avoid discussing important topics, as well as preventing him from seeing and solving his pressing problems in real life. Dual behavior can be “games”, tricks, hiding facts or unfounded justifications for one’s actions, apologies, etc.

The following functions are identified that confrontation performs in the counseling process:

- drawing the client’s attention to contradictions in his behavior, thoughts, feelings or between them;

— helping the client to see the situation objectively, contrary to the client’s idea of ​​it in the context of his needs;

- drawing the client’s attention to his avoidance of discussing certain problems (in some cases, to changing the topic of discussion during the narration).

Technologically, the implementation of the confrontation technique is divided into two steps - statements from the consultant:

- at the first step, he states a certain aspect of the client’s behavior;

— at the second step, the contradiction itself is represented.

The scheme of the consultant’s statement is as follows: “Yes (I agree, this is so)…, but (however, at the same time)…”.

The following rules must be remembered for using confrontation:

— it cannot be used as a punishment for unacceptable behavior of the client;

— it is not intended to destroy the client’s psychological defense mechanisms (only to help recognize these methods);

- Confrontation should not be used to satisfy the needs or self-expression of the consultant;

- it should not be categorical and aggressive (it is necessary to begin with the words “it seems to me”, “if I am not mistaken”, which express certain doubts of the psychologist and soften the tone of the statement).

Paradoxical questions. You can also move the conversation to a new plane using the technique of paradoxical questions, which allows you to shake the “absolute truths” with which the client operates. For example, when a client, who approached about disagreements with her husband, at one point in the conversation exclaimed in anger: “I can’t tell my husband about this (sexual disharmony)!”, the psychologist retorted: “Why shouldn’t he tell me about it?” say? Let's think about what would come of it."

In many such cases, all it takes is a small nudge to make a person think about what was previously unquestionable, and then find constructive ways to overcome the problems that have arisen.

Discrepancies between what the interlocutor stated at the beginning of the conversation and what he says throughout the subsequent conversation will also help to achieve a deeper understanding of oneself and others. You can draw the client’s attention to them using short notes or schematic drawings that the psychologist creates throughout the conversation. From time to time, it is worth introducing these materials to your interlocutor in order to avoid misunderstandings in the future.

Information obtained during diagnostic procedures skillfully woven into the consultative process may also have similar uses. For example, in the questionnaire that was offered for completion at the beginning of work, the client answered that she could not come to terms with the fact that her husband was so spineless and wanted him to be a real man. And soon, in a conversation with the psychologist’s questions: “Do you think that your husband has the right to his own opinion?” replied: “No, he must agree with me”1.

Pauses of silence. Organizing and recognizing pauses in a counseling conversation is one of the important counseling skills. Pauses of silence can be specifically used by a psychologist (so-called organized silence) in order to allow the client to “immerse” himself, study his thoughts and feelings, and understand his responsibility for the conversation. In general, the range of semantic nuances of silence in counseling is quite wide and they can express the following aspects:

— the client’s anxiety, poor health, confusion, etc.;

— the client searching for the right words to continue the story or the psychologist thinking about the most important issues;

— the hope of the consultant and the client for each other to continue the conversation;

- searching for a new direction in the conversation if it reaches a dead end;

- client resistance to the counseling process;

- a summary without words of the information that was discussed before.

Provision of information. Providing information to the client is realized through the consultant expressing his opinion and answering the client’s questions. As a rule, the provision of information is preceded by questions from clients, behind which deeply personal problems with accompanying anxieties, fears, and hopes are hidden. By asking a question, the client subconsciously hopes for confirmation that his fears are false, and the consultant must take this into account. You cannot avoid answering or answer vaguely, as this further alarms the client, deepening his doubts and concerns. Sometimes questions are asked with the aim of avoiding discussion of certain issues, probing the psychologist’s opinion in relation to specific situations, phenomena or events, in order to guide their further responses to this opinion. It can also be an important diagnostic sign that the client has problems in this area or that the topic is important to him.

Structuring consultation. This procedure goes through the entire counseling process. In fact, counseling itself is the process of structuring the client’s inner world. Structuring means organizing the consultant's relationship with the client, identifying individual stages of counseling and evaluating their results, as well as providing information about the counseling process. Structuring occurs according to the “step by step” principle. Each new stage begins with an assessment of what has been achieved. This contributes to the client’s awareness of positive progress in resolving his problem and intensifies his participation in planning the counseling process.

The methods and techniques described not only help to clarify the client’s hidden thoughts and feelings, but also make it possible to move the conversation into the “focus” of more fruitful cooperation.

Concluding the conversation about the technology of conducting a consultative conversation, we emphasize that behind every, even the simplest, technique there are many small professional subtleties, the knowledge of which comes only with work experience. The use of each of them must be linked with the others, correlated with the degree of readiness of the client to perceive and accept this or that information, the psychologist’s mode of action. That is, the use of each technique must be timely and appropriate. For example, it can only come to interpretation when trusting contact and a feeling of acceptance and agreement have arisen between the psychologist and the client. Figuratively speaking, a situation may arise when the reception “does not reach” or “overshoots”, because the partner has not yet “matured” to perceive new and unusual information.

How to start a conversation with a buyer correctly

There are 5 main ways to start a conversation with a buyer and establish contact:

1. The seller can greet the buyer and introduce himself, informing him of his intention to be at his service.
2. Start a conversation with information about the product that the buyer picked up, for example, talk about its characteristics. Inform the buyer about promotions taking place in the store or about updated assortment.
3. Invite the buyer to get a hard-to-reach product located on the top shelf in a closed display case. Or choose the required size and other help.
4. Start a conversation about the weather or current season trends. But this method is “for advanced users.”
5. to the buyer.

Sales courses at the Russian School of Management: original methods, practical teachers, modern training formats.
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Questions for the buyer

Sellers should have a taboo on two questions to the buyer: “Can I help you with anything?” and “Can I tell you something?” They can only cause a negative reaction. And the fault lies with salespeople who, due to their addiction to an aggressive sales method, have destroyed the very opportunity to ask these questions.

Questions to the buyer are divided into three types: closed, open or alternative. Each of them can work great.

Closed (this question can be answered “Yes” or “No”)

• Is this your first time in our store?
• Are you looking for something specific?

Open (you cannot answer “Yes” or “No”)

• Which brand do you prefer?
• Which glasses model are you interested in?

Alternative question

• Are you choosing for yourself or as a gift?
• Are you interested in decorative or selective cosmetics?

Allow salespeople to come up with questions, brainstorm, and discuss it with staff. Let each employee choose a question for himself that will not make customers feel intrusive. See also about working with customer objections:

Psychological portrait of a sales manager

As in any profession, the seller is required not only to have some technical skills, but also to have special personal qualities.

• Sociability . It is definitely easier for a person who knows how to build communications to communicate with different people most of the working time.
• Stress resistance . Not all clients perceive the salesperson as a partner who wants to help them. Accusations of fraud, neglect, aggression, rudeness - this is just a small list of problems that a manager faces. You need to be able to maintain not only external, but also internal calm, otherwise you can quickly get tired of the profession.
• Creativity . Typically, a manager works using scripts and algorithms, his effectiveness is assessed using checklists, and a CRM system helps manage processes. But in complex and ambiguous situations, you have to rely on intuition, the ability to think outside the box and take a creative approach to solving a problem.
• The desire to develop . A manager should not be afraid of challenges and original tasks. It is important to study not just one sales technology, but to test different approaches, look for ways to sell better and more.
• The ability to find an approach . The sales manager's task is to gain the client's favor. Often scripts and trivial questions alone are not enough for this.

An important quality of a sales manager is the ability to please, to evoke pleasant emotions. With such a seller, the product seems better.

Other competencies depend on the specifics of the business. Cold sales require perseverance and stress resistance, the ability to overcome objections, and the ability to endure refusals and failures. When working with regular clients, you will first of all need the ability to establish emotional contact, empathy and customer focus.

Nadezhda Shipilova , head of the methodological department of the Proaction online personnel assessment system

How sellers should behave correctly

Buyers may feel uncomfortable if:

• Store employees gather in groups and actively discuss extraneous issues.
• Employees cast appraising glances.
• If the seller answers the buyer’s question reluctantly, “with a favor.”

Now buyers have the opportunity to choose where to spend their time. A high level of service is one of the key competitive advantages.

You should also not use a lot of specific definitions during the presentation of the product; do not put the buyer in an uncomfortable position due to his ignorance.

There is no need to immediately offer an expensive product; start with an option at an average price. Price is usually the most common reason a buyer has doubts or objections to completing a transaction. But not all buyers are ready to admit that it is expensive for them. If a buyer asks to see something else, it often means they're confused by the price. Offer something similar, but at a lower cost. Find out if he likes this model? What confuses him? Determine the reason for the doubt. Perhaps it just needs a different set of features.

You should not ask the buyer how much he is willing to spend. The only exception is if he picks up a gift.

Remember

• Set a standard for how your salespeople greet and approach every customer, no exceptions.
• Be aware of the gender characteristics of buyers.
• Use 5 ways to start a conversation with the buyer and establish contact with him: greeting and offering your services; information about the product; help offer; conversation about season trends or an abstract topic; question to the client.
• Use three types of questions for the buyer: closed, open and alternative.
• Sellers must be attentive to customers and not do anything that causes a negative reaction: do not talk among themselves on abstract topics, do not cast appraising glances at customers, show interest and help customers.
• Train salespeople in post-sales work.

See also about sales trends in the digital era: Author: Alexey Plyasheshnikov Teacher at the Russian School of Management, expert in the field of retail sales

Guide to hiring ROPs

To build a sales system in a business, as a rule, simply recruiting several managers is not enough. A sales team needs a leader who will help with complex transactions, monitor work, motivate, and develop a system of training and growth.

The head of the sales department (ROD) must understand several disciplines at once.

• Employee management. The key task of ROP is not to sell on its own, but to ensure that employees sell effectively and a lot. Leaders are required to have leadership qualities and the ability to direct subordinates.
• Building processes. There is no identical sales system in different organizations, even in small things, but it is still different. The leader's job is to create business processes that help salespeople close as many deals as possible and help customers get what they want.
• Ability to teach. The ROP must establish a system that will allow managers to develop. Salespeople are usually required to be proactive, which means they need to provide professional growth. The task of a manager is to make sure that managers can realize themselves and constantly learn new things.

Read more about the tasks and job description of the ROP in the article “Responsibilities of the Head of the Sales Department.”