HOW TO RECOGNIZE WHO WILL BUY, AND WHO WILL WASTE YOUR TIME
by Michael Lovas
Neuro-linguistic Programming (NLP), a subdiscipline of psychology, focuses on how the configuration of human minds affects their behavior. This is in my area of expertise – and it’s highly relevant to selling because your sales presentation will probably fail unless you determine how people like to receive information, I teach this skill in my workshop.
Consider these two facts:
Fact 1 You’ll probably try to sell hundreds (thousands) of people in your career.
Fact 2 On average, only half of them are prepared to do business with you.
Until you can learn to identify the “other” half, you’ll waste your time and resources trying to make sales to people who are not prepared psychologically to say “yes.”
How can you recognize this “other” half? How can you spot the people who will waste your time, discourage them politely and disengage from them?
A Typical Sales Scenario:
Consider this situation: Someone (call him Bill) comes into your office. You usher him to a chair. Typical situation, right? Amazingly, you can tell from how Bill sits in the chair if you have a good chance to gain a new client, or if you should quickly usher him back out the door. From watching simple behavior, you can determine with considerable accuracy who is a “tire kicker” and who is a “buyer.” You can learn who is there to gather information – the Reactive personality – and those who want an opportunity to take action – the Proactive.
In many cases, “Reactives” are passive personality types – followers. They also tend to experts in specific bodies of knowledge.
In uncomfortable or unfamiliar situations, many people can’t initiate activity, but need to gather information in to understand the situation before they can begin to make a decision. For example, if you’ve ever gone to an amusement park and found yourself at roller coaster you face only two choices: 1) get in line; or 2) have an anxiety attack at the thought of getting on that insane ride which will surely throw you to your death. In the context of roller coasters, are you Proactive or Reactive?
People who initiate action are “Proactive.” They’re often the impulse buyers, leaders, pioneers, early adopters. Their unconscious motto is, “Fire, Ready, Aim.” In battle, Proactives would waste all of their ammunition by the time they saw the whites of the enemy’s eyes.
Back to the sales scenario: If Bill is leaning forward in his chair, the chances are that he’s a Proactive who hates inactivity, tends to get involved in a situation early on, and wants to take action. He’s not a researcher or planner – give him the opportunity to buy as soon as possible.
On the other hand, if Bill is leaning back in his chair, he’s probably Reactive, prepared to wait, plan, and consider before (maybe) taking action.
Reactives often take criticism for being indecisive. After analyzing them for several years, I believe that their goal is to plan for movement, rather than actually moving. They’re not indecisive – they simply make several decisions, instead of one. First, they decide to conduct research and gather data. Second, they take action to develop a strategy. Finally, if the data is sound and the strategy valid, they will decide to decide.
The Reactive’s unconscious motto is, “Ready, aim, verify the aim, ready, adjust the sights, ready, aim, perhaps firing at this point would be premature?” Left up to Reactives, the enemy would be having a victory party by the time he finally got around to firing.
Recognizing Proactives and Reactives
Step one: Ask. Question the person about they’ve handled some relevant situation. “How do you like to work with your professional advisors?” “What do you do during a typical day at your job?” “Tell me how you handled a recent investment opportunity.” etc.
Step two: Listen to the language. As a rule of thumb, the longer the sentence, the greater the likelihood the person is Reactive.
Does the person talk about thinking, contemplating, analyzing, understanding, waiting, planning or luck? Can you see a tendency to avoid action in their descriptions and language? Does he speak in long, rambling, incomplete sentences?
If she converts active verbs into passive verbs by using the “-ing” form, she’s probably a Reactive person.
On the other hand, if she uses short sentences and peppers her answer with active verbs such as: “did,” “scored,” “called,” “made,” “built,” “convinced,” “wrote,” ‘created,” OR performed,” the chances are that she’s Proactive/ person.
Step three: Watch the body language. If the person exhibits movement in the posture, he’s probably Proactive. If seated, he leans forward. If standing, he leans forward or shifts his weight often. If he leans back in his chair or stands still, he is probably Reactive. Is she constantly fidgeting with a pen or spinning a coaster on its edge? She’s probably Proactive.
A Proactive Example
Let’s say you ask “Mike” a question, “How did you get here?” Mike puts his forearms on your desk, leans forward and answers like this: “Jumped in the car hey - and here I am.”
In this example, Mike takes action and the focus of his answer is on the “how “of getting there. His reply is short, active and to the point. Proactive people make an impact on the world.
A Reactive Example
Let’s say you ask “Joe” the same question, “How did you get here?” He leans back and replies, “It was looking like rain, so Weather.com gave me some insight for the, well, you know when it’s raining, the interstate tends to be a disaster, but you might have better luck on the loop...”
In this example, Joe is relying on something outside himself to make the decision. He does not have an impact on the world and his answer focuses on things outside himself. The sentence is rambling and no action (other than gathering information) takes place. Reactive people react to the world.
Sales and Marketing to Proactives
Follow these three guidelines:
- Position your product or service so it appears Proactive or interactive or action-oriented.
- Use Proactive language with punchy, active verbs and short, active sentences.
- Link your message to action and movement.
Example. In the financial services industry, legal restrictions require marketing material written in a language that appeals to Reactive people. If you’re a financial advisor, your marketing message should contain as many action-oriented words and phrases as legally possible. For example, “Take action today to secure and protect your lifestyle” or “See the future and seize it now - take the initiative and claim your dividends.”
Sales and Marketing To Reactives
Show how your service gives the Reactive person all the information she needs to become comfortable. Provide the opportunity to wait, learn, think about, and analyze. Facilitate planning and strategizing.
Example. Salespeople love Proactive people because they buy quickly. However, because half of the population is primarily Reactive, focusing on Proactives excludes half of your target market. To solve this problem, consider creating a separate letter or brochures that reassures Reactives by making promises such as:
- You’ll always get all the information you need to become comfortable with our service.
- We’ll always clarify and define terminology so you can determine the best strategy.
- We encourage you to take all the time you want, and get as comfortable as you like with the information.
Conclusion
Finally, remember that these mental filter configurations can differ widely, depending on the context. The same person might well be Reactive in one situation and Proactive under other circumstances.
Picture yourself at the swimming pool. You’re on the end of the high diving platform ten meters (33 feet) above the water. Will you attempt a dive or back down the ladder? The difference determines if you’re Proactive or Reactive in this situation
In an uncomfortable or unfamiliar context, many people can’t initiate activity, but need to gather information to understand the situation before they can make a decision. For example, if you’ve ever gone to an amusement park and found yourself at roller coaster, you have only two choices; 1) get in line; or 2) have an anxiety attack at the thought of going on this insane ride which will surely throw you to your death. In the context of roller coasters, are you Proactive or Reactive?
Focus on the individual’s behavior in the given situation.
Michael Lovas is president of AboutPeople (Colbert, WA), a firm that uses Psychological Language Patterns to develop marketing programs. A Master Practitioner of Neuro-Linguistic Programming, he teaches financial advisors how to use common-sense psychology to help build trust with A-level target markets. Michael has written twelve books, mainly on professional communication in the financial industry He also holds the distinction of creating “Credibility Marketing” in 1991. For more information, call (509) 465-5599, e-mail [email protected], or visit www.aboutpeople.com.