This article is an excerpt from the Shortform book guide to "The Psychology Of Selling" by Brian Tracy. Shortform has the world's best summaries and analyses of books you should be reading.
Like this article? Sign up for a free trial here .
Are you looking for The Psychology of Selling book quotes? What are some of the most noteworthy passages worth revisiting?
In his book The Psychology of Selling, Brian Tracy explains how you can become successful at sales by understanding the psychology behind top salespeople. He walks you through basic and advanced selling techniques, demonstrating how you can dramatically increase your sales success by improving your skills just a little bit on a consistent basis.
Below is a selection of quotes from The Psychology of Selling by Brian Tracy.
The Psychology of Selling: Increase Your Sales Faster and Easier Than You Ever Thought Possible
People who succeed in sales 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. In his book The Psychology of Selling by Brian Tracy explains how you can become successful at sales by understanding the psychology behind top salespeople. The following The Psychology of Selling book quotes by Brian Tracy that highlight some of his key ideas.
“A person who really likes himself or herself has high self-esteem and therefore a positive self-concept. When you really like yourself in a particular role, you perform at your best in that role.”
Developing a winning edge in sales starts by developing a positive self-concept: how 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.
A positive self-concept is built on positive self-esteem, which is how much you like yourself. To increase your self-esteem, start by simply telling yourself that you like yourself. Make it a mantra that you repeat throughout the day: in the car, in the shower, and before bed. Repeating the phrase will lock it into your subconscious.
Repeat this mantra especially before making a sales call. Talking to yourself positively—“I like myself and I like my work”—will pump you up, get your energy flowing, and prepare you to perform at your best. Conversely, if you tell yourself negative things like, “I hate cold calling,” or “I’m terrible at presenting,” you will create a negative mood, which will sap your energy and make your job harder.
“This fear of failure and disappointment is the number one reason why customers do not buy. So, one of the most important things you can do in the process of building trust and credibility is to reduce the customer’s fear to the point where he has no hesitation about going ahead with your offer.”
The main reason a person decides not to make a purchase is fear. Fear can manifest in several ways, but the two primary fears that block sales are:
- Fear of losing money: People often fear spending too much on a poorly judged purchase. However, you can sometimes use a person’s fear of loss to your advantage: If a person fears losing out on an opportunity, they might be more motivated to buy your product or service.
- Fear of making a mistake: People also fear buying something they later won’t want, don’t need, or that won’t help them in the way they’re anticipating. Everyone has made purchases they later regret. Consequently, most buyers approach purchases carefully.
“As a rule, the person who asks questions has control.”
Asking prospects questions has several advantages:
- Asking questions puts the spotlight on the customer, which is where it should be. Again, people like to be the center of attention, and keeping the focus of the conversation on your customer rather than on you or your products keeps her happy and makes her feel her needs are central. It increases the likelihood of a sale.
- Asking questions puts you in the driver’s seat. In general, in any dynamic between two people, the person who asks the questions is in control of the conversation, directing the topics and the flow, and the person responding is in the less dominant position. If your customer asks a question of you, you can regain control of the conversation by saying, “That’s a great question. Can I ask you something first?”
“The rule is that people decide emotionally and then justify logically.”
People use rational thinking to justify a buying decision only after they have emotionally committed to it. For example, a person might fall in love with a shirt and decide to buy it. As she stands in the checkout line, she might rationalize that she needs this shirt because she has several events coming up she can wear it to. But those rational decisions are not why she settled on this particular shirt, or why she decided to buy it today: She decided to buy it because she responded to it emotionally. In order to make a sale, you must therefore appeal to the emotions that will drive a prospect to buy (desire), and avoid the emotions that will block the sale (fear).
———End of Preview———
Like what you just read? Read the rest of the world's best book summary and analysis of Brian Tracy's "The Psychology Of Selling" at Shortform .
Here's what you'll find in our full The Psychology Of Selling summary :
- How to dramatically increase your sales
- How to know what your customers are thinking
- Brian Tracy's 10 guidelines for success
