The way we sell = the way we like to be sold?

It seems like most people have a
affirmation bias.

Meaning they will look for confirmation as to what they believe,
or turn off that doesn't fit current beliefs.

Both of you had opposing beliefs about Index Funds
then told why each other was wrong.

It almost ends badly when two people are seeking to affirm existing beliefs
that are opposite to each other when interacting.

BTW, CHECK YOUR INBOX

ewenmack explained it perfectly. Both the saleswoman and you got into an argument because both of you had antithetical ideas. And yes, you're right, people sell the way they want to be sold.

I have a slightly different take on it...

Average sales people sell the way they like to be sold

Excellent sales people are more empathetic, and they ask questions... then they sell the way the customer wants to buy.

At least that's how I do it.

Unfortunately, the vast majority of salespeople (like any other people) are not self aware enough to realize that what they are saying would never work on them. They have their point that they need to get out, and so they argue. And arguing is not selling. It never makes sales.

When I hear an objection the first time, my first thought is "If I had said that, what would I have to hear to convince me?" It's never what I hear from salespeople.



It's not a matter of whether she believes what she says. Bad salespeople (the lower 99%) are only thinking of their position, and are attacking any opposing position. Whether their answer makes sense at all never enters their mind.


That's right, arguing means you have already lost. Because the end result is that the prospect wins the argument by not buying.


This is why it's so very hard to train someone to sell competently. Selling is counter intuitive. It's normal to talk past the prospect, and argue your case. It's normal to get angry and think the opposing person is an idiot.

I notice in debates, they talk past each other. There is no conversation, no influencing, no learning taking place.


Decades ago, when I was in my early 20s...my ex-wife ran up our Sears card, and she hid the fact that we weren't paying from me. They called one day and tried to collect. The woman on the other end said "Aren't you man enough to pay your bills?"

I said "Does that approach ever work? Because you have now convinced me that you are my opponent. And I can just hang up and not pay"....which is what I did.

In fact, the vast majority of books on answering sales objections just give you pithy sayings, or arguments where you are talking past the prospect. Almost never do you see real answers that solve the problem and move the sale forward.

Added a few minutes later;


When someone gives an objection (or asks a hard question), there are perhaps 1,000 ways to answer. Maybe 800 of those responses kill the sale. Maybe 195 answers are neutral, and don't hurt the sale. Maybe 5 possible answers handle the question...and move you closer to the goal (of getting the sale, or getting money).

The problem is...the vast...vast majority of people in selling can't tell the difference, and blame the response on the sales prospect.

And the people I know that have the skill needed to give the best answers...are usually either high end copywriters or high end marketers. And 2 or 3 people here. A tip here...most of what I learned about really getting to the core of selling, came from studying copywriting.

I find it so much easier to gain someone's trust by offering them free, helpful information. The moment I become credible in someone's eyes, I do not try to sell. People just buy my stuff. This process takes a bit longer than the TRYING to sell pitch thingee, but is so much easier and leads to ever-increasing sales. No energy wasted being AGAINST, since I am just helping folks who are FOR and WITH me.

Ryan

Yes, people like to sell in the same way they like to be sold.

I find people at the bank to be forced into selling x number of whatever and they try to force the sale and can be quite rude. They are sold on the products their bank sells, or if they aren't then they are trying to believe in it by pushing it on others. I have no credit. I have money. I had the teller try to get me to get their credit card. I said no thanks. She pushed farther, I said no thanks, I don't do credit, I live debt free. She pushed farther, but how do you buy things? I said, with money. She and I live different lives. There was little she could do to sell me on the need for something that I don't want. It could be done (there is actually one time I've wished I had credit), but she wasn't interested in asking questions or finding it, she was busy telling me that I had to be like her, not trying to find out who I was.

For me it has been a problem at times because I will bristle if I feel like I'm being pushed or not listened to. There are a lot of people out there that want to be sold, that want to be told what to do, and that want to be pushed into something. A lot. People also want to believe in ridiculous things with no proof behind them, and there's a huge market there for such things, but I struggle to be the person to sell those things as I don't believe in them.

We humans are infinitely interesting.

I read the post . But the entire time I have been wondering if the sales Reb for the bank had any idea of what an index fund was .

I get really mad with sales people when I pick up they are trying to sell me what they have and not what I want .

The again before I was diagnosed bi polar 12years ago and big costly purchases I made tended to during manic up states or at the start . The sales people really didn't do much selling.

And now I despise haveing debt buying stuff so if I wanted a high price vacume cleaner. I'd make sure I knew what I wanted before I went orhow much I was willing to spend .pull in front of Claude store walk in the store point at the one I wanted . And at that point it's up to the rep not to talk me out of it.

It is all about believe' Whether you are buying that bonds or not.

In the financial services arena, yes, they're trained to sincerely believe in their products. They think they're helping people.

Those companies HATE index funds because there's no money in it for their so called "financial advisers."

So the things they're brainwashed to believe are absolutely absurd and designed to frighten the average naive investor.

But consider that Warren Buffet has more than ten million, advocates index funds for the average person and he wants his invested in an index fund (90%) and a bond fund (10%) when he's gone to take care of his wife.

Mr buffet well there is a good reason he promotes index fund investing. If you can buy birkshird Hathaway stock . You probably would go crazy trying to buy stock in the companies it invests in.

So buy investing in index fund the index fund buy all the stocks and thus increase the value of the market and all the holdings of Hathaway