Five ways to sell customers a new identity using emotional selling

Through a special arrangement, presented here for discussion is a summary of a current article from The Retail Doctor's Blog. Retail salespeople often sell based on the features they think are important. The trouble with that is shoppers are unique; they have their own reasons why they buy things. Shoppers want to buy using their own morals, values and feelings. Here’s the thing: if your product or service helps a dad be a hero when he fixes the dishwasher drain, or helps a mom feel like a million dollars in a new outfit for the company party, or helps a customer see herself in a new light as stronger, more fun loving, or more studious, then you’ve helped your customers bolster their identities. That’s an emotional sale. Here are five ways to make that emotional sale and get your customer to spend more and be happier. First, ask yourself, “What emotion will this product give this customer?” This is to remind you that it’s not about you. Second, based on your initial conversation and rapport-building, go deeper than what are they are looking to buy and ask yourself, “Which of these five emotions is the shopper looking to receive from this purchase?”

• Will it confirm or give them status?
• Will it confirm or give them intelligence?
• Will it confirm or give them pleasure?
• Will it confirm or give them power?
• Will it confirm or give them individuality?

Third, use that supercharged emotion in your storytelling about the product and paint a picture of how they’ll feel when they take it home. Fourth, share at least one story of a past customer’s experience who gained confidence from, say, taking home an Armani jacket and showing up at the boardroom the next day, displaying their individuality at Christmas dinner with local artist place settings, or creating a memory book on their computer with your product. Finally, reinforce those emotions by mentioning them in your close.  And be sure to tie those emotions into your follow-up personalized emails to help seed future sales.

• 5 Ways To Sell Customers A New Identity Using Emotional Selling – RetailDoc