I am seriously thinking of taking a course in "the psychology of selling" for marketing purposes

by nmb
49 replies
I am seriously considering a college evening course in "the psychology of selling" - who thinks this would be useful when selling online? Trying to get into the mind of your potential customers?
#fior #marketing #purposes #taking #the psychology of selling #thinking
  • Profile picture of the author TheArticlePros
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    • Profile picture of the author aarthielumalai
      Originally Posted by JaRyCu View Post

      *crickets*

      Just go to your local bookstore or library and check out a few books in the business and/or self help sections. You'll get more out of that because those books are normally written by people who have been out there and done it, whereas the courses are taught by people who couldn't get it done in the real world.

      -- j
      I completely agree! Most professors are professors because they couldn't or din't want to make it in the real world. Sad but true.
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      • Profile picture of the author onSubie
        Originally Posted by aarthielumalai View Post

        I completely agree! Most professors are professors because they couldn't or din't want to make it in the real world. Sad but true.
        A sad misconception.
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  • Profile picture of the author ArielT
    Just give people what they need, want, provide a good support if needed and have a nice website design and that looks friendly to navegate and to find things
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  • Profile picture of the author jamesrich1
    I agree with JaRyCu. You should learn from the people who have real world experience in selling stuff versus theory based. If I wanted to learn how to pick up girls I would want to learn from a guy who has picked up thousands versus the guy who just teaches about the theory of how to do it with no experience.
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  • Profile picture of the author nmb
    Good points, thanks.
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  • Profile picture of the author Randall Magwood
    This isn't necessary. Just build a small list (5,000 subscribers), market to them via email, have a good sales letter page, and profit. Psychology of selling is partially done for you with all of the sales letter examples that you see online.
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    • Profile picture of the author Claude Whitacre
      A college course in selling? How many people teaching a college course have sold anything?

      A book or two on selling will reap greater rewards. I recommend;

      Influence
      Selling Retail
      How To Master The Art Of Selling

      But the book Influence is the best one I've read.
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      • Profile picture of the author Rymico
        Originally Posted by Claude Whitacre View Post

        A college course in selling? How many people teaching a college course have sold anything?

        A book or two on selling will reap greater rewards. I recommend;

        Influence
        Selling Retail
        How To Master The Art Of Selling

        But the book Influence is the best one I've read.
        I first studied Tom Hopkins _ How to Master the Art of Selling back in the 80's. But much of his stuff is still relevant today. I use it a lot.
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        Contact me at sales@rymico.com

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        • Profile picture of the author Claude Whitacre
          Originally Posted by Rymico View Post

          I first studied Tom Hopkins _ How to Master the Art of Selling back in the 80's. But much of his stuff is still relevant today. I use it a lot.
          It's solid salesmanship. Selling is evergreen. Human nature doesn't change.

          At advanced levels selling changes. I now do almost no "answering objections" and "closing" and my sales are very high. The objections are answered in the qualifying...at the beginning. The closing is done throughout. Getting a "Yes" becomes a detail. To someone watching, it looks like a simple conversation.
          It's not. It's a lifelong study.

          You have to act and be seen as a Peer, not a peddler that needs the business. Just one businessperson talking to another. Any Dan Kennedy book will show you this in more detail.

          The How To Win Friends And Influence People book mentioned elsewhere is also a great source.
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      • Profile picture of the author Daniel Evans
        Originally Posted by Claude Whitacre View Post

        A college course in selling? How many people teaching a college course have sold anything?

        A book or two on selling will reap greater rewards. I recommend;

        Influence

        Selling Retail
        How To Master The Art Of Selling

        But the book Influence is the best one I've read.
        I second that.

        I thoroughly enjoyed reading Influnce and it marks one of my favourites.

        Daniel
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  • Profile picture of the author sovereignn
    Yes a college course isn't exactly necessary!

    Try out a few books

    Influence: The Psychology Of Persuasion

    How To Win Friends and Influence People

    Cashverting

    The Ultimate Sales Letter

    These will really help and get into the psychology of thanks
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  • Profile picture of the author intergen
    You'll learn less in a college course than you will reading the book Persuasion by Dr. Robert Cialdini. Buy it, Devour it, Implement it immediately.
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  • Profile picture of the author jamesrich1
    Rymico All of Top Hopkins stuff is still relevant. You should read that book again.
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  • Profile picture of the author Todd Pedersen
    When I look at the balance on my college loans I kringe!! lol

    I think anytime you step out of the box somethings can be learned.

    Just try not to spend to much time learning. More doing.
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    • Profile picture of the author Steve B
      Here's a cheaper idea and you'll be taught by true masters of psychology:

      Get these paperbacks:

      Cialdini, Robert B. Influence. The Psychology of Persuasion. (National Bestseller)

      Cialdini, Robert B. Yes! 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to Be Persuasive.

      Ries, Al and Jack Trout. Positioning. How to be Seen and Heard in the Overcrowded Marketplace.

      Steve
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      Steve Browne, online business strategies, tips, guidance, and resources
      SteveBrowneDirect

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      • Profile picture of the author midasman09
        Banned
        Yup...Cialdini's stuff is great. I started with Frank Betcher and Elmer Wheeler's books and even tool 3 Carnegie Sales Courses....then....went out and "Fell on my Fisterous"! Picked myself up...time and time again... UNTIL I finally Got IT!

        Basically....it's the old Formula, AIDC.
        Attention
        Interest
        Desire
        Close

        What I've used in "Belly-To-Belly" sales, Email and Regular Mail and even Phone Sales is;

        1) Give em a "REASON WHY" they should open your email, letter or spend a minute listening to what you have to say (Attention)

        2) Give em a "REASON WHY" they should continue reading your email, letter or spend another minute listening to what YOU have to say

        3) Give em an "Idea" of them enjoying the BENEFITS of what you're trying to sell

        4) Give em a REASON WHY to BUY....NOW!

        Don Alm....Midas Reports
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  • Profile picture of the author Martin Pupke
    I somewhat agree with Randall, start by checking out the highest converting products. Pay attention to what they all have in common, these will usually be the most vital components.
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  • Profile picture of the author mosthost
    I say go for it. The more you know about the basic motives that drive people to buy, the better salesperson you'll be.
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    • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
      Reading this thread, I thought I'd stumbled into one of those "college vs. IM" threads where the loudest voices always assume that any college instructor must be a hide-bound theoretician incapable of functioning in the real world.

      Some are. Some are not. And some night classes are taught by really smart people who spend their days 'doing'...

      As for those recommending a reading list, the effectiveness of that approach will vary with the context the reader brings to it.

      Any chance you have to learn how people think and act can be valuable. If nothing else, a night-school college class will put you in the company of similar-minded people. Which can be worth far more to you than what you learn in class. You may get a built in mastermind group, where you can dissect and reassemble the concepts taught in class.
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  • Profile picture of the author theory expert
    Banned
    I'd have to ask you OP how good are you at assimilating information? You can learn psychology of selling from youtube vidoes. Use word association/visualization/mind mapping, and, the like while studying. Be a student of body language, as well as the words that the person speaking uses. Observe, pitch in voice and soak in the knowledge like a sponge. Even when you are learning someone is also selling at the same time. Kill two birds with one stone. You would be far ahead of many people in just two days if you spend the next 40 hours just on youtube. Technology makes it so easy to learn fast and for free. You can be what you want these days if you are willing to bring your mind, body, and, heart at full on attention.

    See you at the top.
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  • Quite frankly, I think that all that selling/marketing psychology ninja tricks are mostly bollocks.

    At its core, selling is easier than all that: just spot an existing problem, find a solution to it, present it in a professional and compelling manner, get promotion to your offer, be nice and helpful to your prospects, and sales will come on their own without any need of Jedi mind tricks.
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  • Profile picture of the author DubDubDubDot
    Nobody here can tell you whether or not you should take this class. It depends on the school, instructor, textbook and your fellow students.

    As for the instructors being unqualified, it's moreso a matter of how much work they are willing to put into their job teaching. Some community college teachers aren't too interested in lecturing and will instead repeat material out of the textbook (leaving you asking why even coming to class is required). Others don't touch the textbook.
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  • Profile picture of the author retsced
    Do what you gotta do, but in the meantime, read "influence" by Robert Cialdini & "Scientific Advertising" by Claude Hopkins. Read them, again and again until your eyes burst. I actually set a goal to read both of these books 15 times each in 30 days and it was the best decision I ever made. Study them, take notes and implement what you learn.

    Anyone who tells you "selling" isn't a science, and you can pick it up as you go, are doing themselves a great injustice.
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    • Profile picture of the author Claude Whitacre
      I would like to amend what I said earlier. If it's an evening college course, it can indeed be taught by someone who knows sales psychology. I grouped all college teachers in an academic group and that was unfair and stupid.

      But selling is one of the rare subjects that cannot be taught well by reading from a textbook.

      And I have lots of college professors as customers. Most are very interested in their students and know their subject well.

      Have you ever had a teacher/professor who talked about a subject so well that you were captivated? Did the hour go by quickly? Did you leave fascinated about the subject and eager to learn more? That's selling.

      Great teaching is selling. There, I feel better now.
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  • Profile picture of the author TeamBringIt
    Originally Posted by nmb View Post

    I am seriously considering a college evening course in "the psychology of selling" - who thinks this would be useful when selling online? Trying to get into the mind of your potential customers?

    This is a great book ==> Amazon.com: Influence: The Psychology of...Amazon.com: Influence: The Psychology of...
    no aff link
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  • Profile picture of the author shane_k
    my day job is sales. I sell face to face everyday with people.

    I have never read influence but of course everyone says it's great.

    However, I had read many other sales books and the only ones I would recommend are

    Sell Yourself First by Thomas A. Freese
    (this book is probably the best for sales)

    How to sell anything by anybody by Joe Girard
    (This book is more about lead generation than actual sales)

    Question your way to sales success by Dave Kahle
    (this books teaches you which questions are good to ask to get the info from your prospects about what they want)

    Ask questions, get sales by Stephen Schiffman
    (This is a great book but is more to do with B2B sales than B2C sales.)
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    • Profile picture of the author sylviad
      The first thing to ask is, what types of things do you think you need to know before you can sell to people.

      I've thought about your question, too, and was not able to answer my question above. However, I have read a couple of really good sales-type books and books about psychology, including "how to sell anything to anybody" and "how to make friends and influence people".

      What I learned is that most sales-type books talk more about face-to-face sales - making your presentation, asking for the sale, when to keep quiet, etc.

      I have a few ebooks, one called "One Million Emails" which talks about how to be a successful email marketer. To be honest, I haven't read the entire thing because it's so huge. What I have read includes some good pointers.

      Plus I have other ebooks and reports that I've gathered over the years. From them, it appears that you really don't need to know that much about your consumer other than what interests them. What are their needs? What are their problems? How can you help them? What triggers get them to press that buy button, or download your report?

      If you do want to get more in depth about your potential buyers, look at some of the books mentioned here and check out your local library or bookstore for titles. Check out some night courses or online courses, but make sure the people offering them have practical experience.

      Sylvia
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  • Profile picture of the author KickAss Marketing
    I don't think that's necessary, like what jaRyCu said go to library or better yet make use of your computer i'm sure will find a lot of information, strategies, everything, any questions you have in mind.
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  • Profile picture of the author Walter Parrish
    Originally Posted by nmb View Post

    I am seriously considering a college evening course in "the psychology of selling" - who thinks this would be useful when selling online? Trying to get into the mind of your potential customers?
    I would say learn as much about psychology as you can. I don't care if the prof has any real world experience or not learn it. Look at some of the WSO's you got sucked into and learn the copy.

    Also, you want to research NLP, Subliminals, Copywriting, anything along those lines should be helpful. Some marketers have also put out ebooks on this Tristan Bull is one I can think of offhand. Also, the guy who is now marketing Bring The Fresh was one of the originals, who knows the art of Copywriting. Another guy put out an WSO before I got started on greenscreen over videos and how to do it yourself.

    Basically, you will find that people are basically slow. I can't put that any other way, they want free, they want something for nothing, they are just plain lazy. One site I came across that covered thing's pretty good is No BS Marketing check that out. Keep in mind though all our views of the world are not like the authors, not everyone is cut throat business, some of us do have integrity.

    The sad part about it is the society is basically dumb down, and they don't want the facts, they want what everyone else is doing, everything sugar coated. Look at the warriorforum itself. Some of the warriors that are giving the best advice in the world are ignored in the threads.

    I would have said hey check out my site as I will be covering this, but it's not up yet so just keep watch for it.
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  • Profile picture of the author SHAB1412
    Its a brilliant idea to take a course & learn the psychology of potential customer before getting into online sales, but you don't have to join a college for this. no affiliate, I recently came across a great course by Brian Tracy on The Psychology of Selling. Save your time & money.
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  • Profile picture of the author LTurnerJVManager
    Personally i would say no simply because generally the people teaching these things learn from a text book and never from real world experience.

    It's like the damn people at the job center... they try to teach you how to get a job yet the best job they have had is working a the job center.

    Or teachers... they only teach you the kinda stuff you need for an exam! Nothing about real life!

    Lewis
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  • Profile picture of the author Broderick Boyd
    Is this the course by Brian Tracy?

    If it is I highly recommend anything by Brian Tracy, he's a very evolved thinker.

    I'd also recommend Influence and How to Win Friends. Education is almost always a good thing to invest in and move your life to the next level. Go for it!
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  • Profile picture of the author onSubie
    Hi

    I'm watching an excellent UK documentary called "The Century of the Self" about the history of the use of psychology in sales and propaganda, starting with the work of Sigmund Freud.

    The Century of the Self - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

    It is 4 1 hr episodes and can be seen free on Google Video.

    It is very interesting and relevant to marketing and the psychology behind it.

    Mahlon
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  • Profile picture of the author Andrey Doichev
    I'd like to bring 2 videos to everybody's attention


    Quote from above
    "What is the most unusual thing you've ever sold?"
    "Christmas trees in February."


    And this (one of my all time favorites)

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  • Profile picture of the author smokey58
    Originally Posted by nmb View Post

    I am seriously considering a college evening course in "the psychology of selling" - who thinks this would be useful when selling online? Trying to get into the mind of your potential customers?
    save your money. Let's take this from the top...shall we!

    Go to the late Gary Halbert's website and read through his old newsletters.

    Now, to spend money to further your education, I would recommend these:

    How to Create Power-Packed Ads, Brochures & Sales Letters that Make Money NOW!

    Marketing Rebel

    Amazon.com: Tested Advertising Methods (Prentice...Amazon.com: Tested Advertising Methods (Prentice...
    I am not an affiliate for any of these products. This is how I would spend my time and money. Good luck.
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  • Profile picture of the author Nicole K
    Zig Ziglar's Secrets of Closing the Sale is the best when it comes to clinching it.

    I also liked What Every BODY is Saying: An Ex-FBI Agent's Guide to Speed-Reading People by Joe Navarro.
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  • Profile picture of the author Mike Hill
    In addition to the reading material people have suggested you might also want to start reading everything you can get your hands on by Gary Halbert... even the sales copy and of course the Gary Halbert Letter.

    That right there is worth more than 4 years of any college program.
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  • Profile picture of the author marketwarrior06
    Banned
    There is no need to waste any penny in the courses. I think you can easily get some free book or some paid books online to get a vast knowledge about marketing and selling goods.
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  • Profile picture of the author SOCAL777
    As long as it doesn't cost you an arm and a leg, education is never a bad thing.
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  • Profile picture of the author rickdangelo
    I vote CA$HVERTISING, man. Hands down the best book I ever read on psychology-backed salesmanship and marketing in genera;. Drew Eric Whitman goes crazy in this book. It's deeply researched with some studies dating back to the era of Claude Hopkins, those great copywriters.

    I suggest you check it our first before you spend money on courses. You'd find a lot of applicable golden nuggets like the words that attract buyers, images that attract people the most, little things that will help you. I'm not an affiliate or related to Mr. Whitman, just a fan of the work.

    Best of luck,
    Rick
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  • Profile picture of the author NewParadigm
    Originally Posted by nmb View Post

    I am seriously considering a college evening course in "the psychology of selling" - who thinks this would be useful when selling online? Trying to get into the mind of your potential customers?
    depends on who is teaching it. If it is some academic prof geek then forget it. If it is an entrepreneur or prof that does heavy consulting for business, then yes.

    Try community education programs for these type too, often taught by hands on people.
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  • Profile picture of the author clever7
    Besides all the good advices you already had, you can find a lot of free information about the human behavior online if you will look for it. You can learn many things that will help you deal with your potential customers.

    You have to spend some time looking for the information you want through search engines.

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  • Profile picture of the author julianhwong
    Seriously... rather than all this "sales Guru" hype.. just invest time in a few good NLP resources, and you'll be on your way.
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  • Profile picture of the author Gary Ning Lo
    I would first go for books.. Then courses, then seminars..

    If you like what you learn and become good at it (shows that your taking action by practicing).. Then you can get a degree or something.

    Cheers,

    Gary
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  • Profile picture of the author shawnlebrun
    I've been a copywriter for over 12 years now.

    I've read almost any and every book on copy that's been put out.

    And believe it or not, my college background is in psychology.

    But honestly, the single best book I've ever read on the psychology
    behind selling... and how to get people to buy... wasn't even mentioned
    here.

    Google "SECRET OF SELLING ANYTHING" by Harry Browne, you can
    find it for less than 10 bucks.

    If you rely on selling anything in your business... get this book and
    read it as much as you can.

    It's better than any course on the psychology of selling you'll
    ever take... it's probably the only book/copy course that simplified
    selling as much as it did for me.

    Trust me, find it and read it... it's that good.
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  • Profile picture of the author Curtis2011
    Originally Posted by nmb View Post

    I am seriously considering a college evening course in "the psychology of selling" - who thinks this would be useful when selling online? Trying to get into the mind of your potential customers?
    In my experience, college was not very useful for actually learning how to run a business or learning things like direct marketing (which is what you need to learn to be successful online).

    And btw, I graduated from a top 20 business school with a degree in business management. Even though it was great as far as traditional education goes, it was terrible for actually learning how to start a business from scratch. Most of the education I received was focused on teaching me how to be a great employee, not a great manager or business owner. And the marketing classes I went through were especially bad (I had already been learning internet marketing from courses by people like Eben Pagan, so compared to those great courses, the college marketing classes SUCKED).

    If you want, I can send you a PM to a video series that will teach you some great marketing information. But I can't post it in this thread for certain reasons.
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  • Profile picture of the author firehawk
    Conversions is where money changes hands.Many IMers don't have a traffic problem.What they have is a conversion problem.It's extremely important for one to understand buyer psychology.It's the difference between a successful campaign and a failed attempt.Google hard about buyer psychology and all it's important aspects.It's critical If you want to become a deadly beast at closing sales.Bryan Eisenberg has a good must read list that can be very helpful.The guy himself is a conversion evangelist .The Amazon line "clients who bought this also bought that is a perfect example that seems to work for the Jeff Bezos asset.In fact the Amazon homepage is ever conversion optimized.Remember what this guys apply is stuff that has been tested and proved to work.
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