Why Being Human is Your Sales Team’s Secret Weapon
11:34 P.M. Wednesday. I was browsing photojojo.com when this chat window popped up:
I decided to play along with the “bot”:
And here’s “Jerome’s” punchline:
I was curious to see how smart Jerome was, so I asked this question:
Hmm. Is Jerome a real human? Let’s see:
Here’s Jerome:
“There’s a lot about me you don’t know.” That made me smile.
Why would Photojojo have a real human telling knock knock jokes at 11:30 at night? Because they know that making people smile forges a strong emotional connection with their brand.
Positive emotional experiences that make you “feel something” prime you to buy and spread positive word of mouth (like I’m doing right now).
How empathy and a human sounding email exchange won a customer back
Our eCommerce store automatically sends the email below whenever a customer abandons their shopping cart:
“I don’t deal with companies that charge for shipping.”
Clearly Michelle is disappointed with our shipping charges. Rightfully so, since she might be comparing our shipping fees to Amazon. But she did something that according to Lee Resource International only 1 out of 26 people do. She took the time to respond which gave me an opportunity to practice my empathy and “comedic” skills.
Here’s my response:
“Boxer hugs from Niki and Max.”
Ah, that’s better. A little empathy along with a positive emotional experience can go a long way.
Here’s Daniel Pink, author of A Whole New Mind: Why Right Brainers Will Rule The Future on empathy:
“Empathy is about standing in someone else’s shoes, feeling with his or her heart, seeing with his or her eyes. Not only is empathy hard to outsource and automate, but it makes the world a better place.”
Putting this all together
Have you ever purchased something and found yourself actually enjoying the salesperson who sold it to you? Like you were doing business with a “human” that genuinely cared about you and what you want rather than getting a sale?
That “soft and fuzzy” feeling — humanness — is actually part of something that’s very real: empathy and smiles. The best sales experiences make you feel something.
Conversations with “human” sounding sales people feel natural and often even make you smile because they are focused on your favorite topic, you. Your success. Your smiles. Your problems. The funny thing is, when sales people focus on the success and smiles of others, they become more successful too.
And that’s why empathy and being human in every sales interaction will give your sales team superpowers.
One last thing . . .
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