Before You Can Pull the Trigger, You Have to Find It

Lesson Three - Compel to Action

It is a dangerous assumption to believe that people will do as you'd like them to do simply because you feel a certain way. Successful interactions in sales and Customer service take place when we acknowledge that each of us has an emotional "trigger" or "switch" that will compel us to action. Some of the key words or acronyms associated with this are WIIFM (What's In It For Me), buy-in, or gaining agreement. Regardless of the jargon, the concept itself is simple.

If you want to convince others to follow your lead you need to find their emotional trigger, and then pull it.

Part of this process includes identifying the part of your Customer that is dissatisfied with their current situation. Once done, you can work to steer the Customer towards the decision you feel is best suited to their needs. There are no scripts to make this happen, only productive conversations that create and embrace a combination of leading and probing questions. I've never been amazed at how little information a Customer is willing to provide independently. I am, on the other hand, constantly amazed at how asking the same question in two different ways will produce different responses. If you want to uncover the emotional trigger, you simply need to ask the right questions.

The end result of this process should be an ability to relate to your Customer on a level that they understand, primarily because you are now speaking to them from their perspective. Remember, ultimately though, that it is our responsibility to uncover the true reason for a purchase and then put that to good use. Believe it or not there is a reason for every purchase made, whether it is the purchase of an expensive appliance, or a pair of socks.