Operational Vs Relational Sales People
Sales people can be divided into two categories: operational and relational.
Operational sales people are only focused on sales. This is an individual whose ultimate goal is to sell you something for his/her own personal benefit. Examples of people like this are your typical "sleazy” car dealer, a telemarketer over the phone or the guy selling CDs on the street. Relational sales people on the other hand, are those who's main intentions are to build a bond with you at a more personal level by building trust. These people are genuine; they care about you and are empathetic. You are more important as an individual, not the sale. Of course selling is also part of their intention, it is what they need to survive in the world we live in, but their focus is not the sell. These people truly believe that good personal relationships with their clients will eventually offspring a sale. Whether a direct sale to them, or someone they recommended. Keep in mind that you can utilize relational sale methods not only to sell goods to people, but also to improve your personal relationships with your love partner, your kids and even as an educator.
Trust - the pinnacle of successful sales
Trust is an emotion that describes how you feel about someone's ability to be genuine and honest towards others. We typically buy from people we trust. Who do we trust? The people we like. and who do we like? We like the people we connect to and build a positive relationship with. There is a difference between personal and professional trust. A friend is someone that we have personal trust with, someone we connect with who is humble, genuine, honest and empathetic. Professionally we connect with people that also share those characteristics but are also credible. To be credible one must be knowledgeable, skillful and capable which are all characteristics needed to obtain professional trust.
Trust chemicals in the brain
Our brains are flooded with a milieu of chemicals that interact with our brain cells to elicit many different responses such as emotions. There are a few key players that are primarily responsible for how we feel. On the March 2014 issue we talked about dopamine, a powerful but dangerous neurotransmitter that can lead us to become addicted to things. One of the reasons people like relational sales people is because they understand that we are reward-seeking individuals by nature. When someone genuinely cares about you, and makes you feel intelligent and creative, our brains release dopamine giving us a good feeling which in turn increases trust for that person.
Oxytocin is a chemical that is triggered to be released when we feel cared about, when someone is empathetic, and when we feel trust. This chemical also helps the increase of serotonin which is the happy chemical in our brains.
When we encounter an operational sales person, different chemicals are released. Epinephrine (adrenaline) can be triggered when you detect that someone is not being honest. When dishonesty is perceived, our adrenaline levels rise and in turn activate our stress pathways and their chemical players including cortisol. When too much cortisol is in our system due to high levels of stress, our rational brain shuts down and our thinking abilities are nearly gone. Reduced trust is correlated to fear.
We subconsciously fear those who we do not trust. This triggers all the chemicals that increase anxiety which in turn increases stress. When you are feeling fear, anxiety and stress it is virtually impossible to feel a genuine connection and trust someone.
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