{"id":47285,"date":"2021-09-11T05:46:00","date_gmt":"2021-09-11T09:46:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=47285"},"modified":"2021-09-21T13:39:12","modified_gmt":"2021-09-21T17:39:12","slug":"the-psychology-of-selling-by-brian-tracy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/the-psychology-of-selling-by-brian-tracy\/","title":{"rendered":"The Psychology of Selling by Brian Tracy: Overview"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What is Brian Tracy’s The Psychology of Selling<\/a><\/em> about? What do successful salespeople do differently? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In The Psychology of Selling<\/em>, bestselling author and management consultant Brian Tracy explains how you can become a top salesperson<\/a> by understanding how your customers think. He walks you through basic and advanced selling techniques, demonstrating how you can dramatically increase your sales success<\/a> by improving your skills just a little bit on a consistent basis. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Below is a brief overview of the key points from The Psychology of Selling<\/em> by Brian Tracy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

The Psychology of Selling: Increase Your Sales Faster and Easier Than You Ever Thought Possible<\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

People who succeed in sales<\/a> have high incomes and job security. However, while many people enter the profession, only a few succeed. In fact, of every 100 salespeople, just four of them will earn as much as all the rest combined. The Psychology of Selling<\/em> by Brian Tracy explains how you can become successful at sales by understanding the psychology behind top salespeople. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Psychology Behind Successful Salespeople<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s a wide discrepancy between the success of top salespeople and that of mediocre ones. In fact, the top 20 percent of salespeople make 80 percent of the money being earned in the profession as a whole\u2014we call this the <\/strong>80\/20<\/a> rule<\/em><\/strong>.<\/strong> Further, the top 20 percent of that<\/em> top 20 percent (equaling 4 percent of the total) makes 80 percent of those<\/em> earnings. In other words, out of every 100 salespeople, there are four people who are earning as much as all the rest combined. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So how do you get into that top 20 percent of 20 percent? The answer begins with understanding the psychology of success<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Success Comes From a Winning Edge <\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

To find success in sales, you need to develop a winning edge<\/em>. A winning edge<\/em> is a small advantage in capability or skill that adds up to a significant difference in results\u2014like when a horse wins a race by just a nose but takes home 10 times the prize money as the horse in second place. The important thing to note here is that you only need an <\/strong>edge<\/em><\/strong>: a few things that you consistently do better than anyone else.<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Success Comes From a Positive Attitude<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Developing a winning edge starts by developing a positive self-concept<\/em>\u2014how you think about yourself, your skills, and other people. Your self-concept determines your attitude and how you approach the world in general and sales in particular. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Having a positive self-concept and a positive attitude will lead you to sales success in three ways:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. A positive attitude makes people feel positively about you and makes them more receptive to your sales pitch. <\/li>
  2. A positive attitude inclines you to like your job, and you tend to spend more time doing things you enjoy. When you devote more time to something, you inevitably get better at it. Thus, if you enjoy doing the things that lead to sales (for example, prospecting or engaging with customers), you\u2019ll do them more readily and consequently become better at them. <\/li>
  3. Your self-concept determines your earnings comfort zone<\/em>, or the income level at which you\u2019ll be satisfied. Researchers have found that a person generally earns within 10 percent of what she determines her worth to be.<\/strong> If you see yourself as a $50,000-a-year person, you\u2019ll behave in ways that will earn you approximately $50,000 a year. If you see yourself as a $100,000-a-year person, you\u2019ll act accordingly. <\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Success Comes From Setting Goals<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    The most successful salespeople are the ones who set goals for themselves. Specific goals are far more helpful than vague goals. To set your goals and the subgoals you\u2019ll need to accomplish them:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    1. Decide your annual income goal. <\/li>
    2. Figure out how much you\u2019ll need to sell<\/em> annually to meet this income goal. <\/li>
    3. Calculate how much you\u2019ll need to sell monthly, weekly, <\/em>and daily<\/em> to meet this goal. <\/li>
    4. Determine what specific activities you must do to reach those daily goals. How many calls will you need to make? How many presentations? How many follow-ups?<\/li>
    5. Plan a daily schedule that will allow you to do those activities. If you\u2019ll need to make 10 calls a day, what time do you need to start in the morning? Set subgoals throughout the day: for example, that you\u2019ll have made six calls by 10 a.m.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

      Failure Comes From Fear<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

      In the same way that the qualities that drive success are mental, the fears that drive failure are also mental. The primary fear that holds a salesperson back from success is the fear of rejection<\/em>. The fear of rejection is triggered by the possibility of disapproval, judgment, or rudeness from a customer.<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      There are three truths you can internalize to help you get over your fear of rejection:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      1. Rejection is not personal: <\/strong>Rejection is an expected and normal part of sales. <\/li>
      2. Courage takes practice: <\/strong>Showing up in the face of possible rejection takes courage. Fortunately, courage is like a muscle\u2014the more you practice it, the stronger it gets. <\/li>
      3. Positive thinking conquers fear of rejection: <\/strong>Repeat positive mantras to yourself (\u201cI\u2019m doing great! I love my work!\u201d) whenever you feel yourself shying away from a situation. You\u2019ll pump yourself up with positive thoughts<\/a> and have less trouble facing that possible rejection.  <\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

        The Psychology Behind Customers<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

        Now that we\u2019ve discussed some of the basic psychology that drives a salesperson\u2019s success or failure, let\u2019s look at some of the basic psychology that drives a customer\u2019s<\/em> decision to buy<\/a>. Understanding customers starts by understanding that all buying decisions<\/a> are emotional, not rational. <\/strong>Customers are driven by emotions of desire and fear. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Some of the basic desires that drive people to make a purchase include:  <\/p>\n\n\n\n