What makes people say yes

Welcome to the Diary of a Sales Expert Podcast.

My name's James White.

I'm on a mission to help business owners and sales professionals all over the world get incredible sales results.

So thanks for listening and let's get started.

Welcome back to this week's podcast.

So this week I'm going to tackle the big subject around what makes someone say yes to your sales deal?

And we all know as business people and salespeople how great the feeling is when someone says they want to go forward with you.

It's the best feeling in the world.

I always talk about it being something like you walk.

I feel like I walk around like a peacock when it happens when someone says yes, you just feel incredible.

But I wanted to dig into what makes people say yes and maybe share a few thoughts over the course of the next 15, 20 minutes of what you can do to make sure that you get the yes.

Because that's always what we want as salespeople and we hate no's.

Although I always say to people, I don't mind no's.

No's are okay to me.

What I don't like a maybes because maybes are where you've got sort of indecision between the two.

But I think what, what makes people say yes?

So look, a couple of things that I, I think firstly, there is some psychology behind the word yes.

And there are a number of studies and I'm not, you know, psychologist, but it's people with more expertise, knowledge that have done studies on how the operate when we say yes.

And there's, there's a number of things around how the brain, we talk about how it helps the brain build creativity.

So when we say yes, it opens up parts of our brain to, to make us feel more creative.

It helps us belong because it helps us to feel like we're part of something.

When we say yes, we've joined in something which as humans, again, we have a deep desire to do that.

Saying yes also makes people feel very good about themselves because you're positively confirming something.

And so it's an affirmation on what you're doing.

And so it makes people feel good about themselves and what they do.

It also people like it because the psychology helps them move to somewhere new.

When you say yes, you're going to a different place, you're going to, to do something new.

You're moving out of a comfort zone, you could say.

And I guess that the other element around it is it also helps you empower other people.

And I know for me, I'm Definitely one of these people that's a giver.

When I say yes to something, I actually feel I've empowered someone to do something else.

And I guess the other psychology behind the yes is it feels good to say yes to things.

Even though we're taught and trained to be able to say no in many cases, and certainly in terms of not taking on extra stress and challenges, saying yes actually makes us feel good.

So there's a number of psychological elements around saying yes that we've got to understand that people sort of work with.

And I would make sure you take those elements into account.

I definitely think the one around belonging is a really critical one.

And one of the things I talk to people a lot about is getting someone to say yes is to make them feel they're part of something you'll not.

You'll notice a lot of Internet marketers and people will talk about becoming part of a community.

You know, companies will put on their, on their, on their, on their adverts, on their, on their, their promotions, details around how many people have liked it on Trustpilot, for example.

And when you see 5,000 people have liked, you have made rated it five star.

Our brains as humans go, well, if 5,000 people have done it, it's going to make me feel more comfortable to do it because we want to belong in that group.

I want to be the same as those other people.

So just being able to build that sense of belonging and sometimes you can actually ask in sales situations, questions, how would it feel to become part of our community?

How would it feel to join other people and be able to build this so you can move things forward?

How would it feel to be in the same position as some of our other customers who solve this problem?

So make them belong.

And that's certainly going to be a key thing when it comes to saying yes.

So understand the psychology and try and tap in.

And I always say to you, and if you listen to the podcast for a while, I talk a lot about our job as sales and business people is to get inside the mind of the other person.

We've got to try and understand what's going on in their brain so we can get inside it and be able to help them say yes.

It's critical to that.

So that's one thing around the psychology bit, but what are the other things that are critical in getting someone to say yes in terms of, you know, to your deal?

I think there are a number of things that I, that are, that are.

That are key to this.

But one of the Most important things that I think happens in any sales deal.

And one of the reasons why people will say yes is because they feel understood that I've, I've will continue for as long as I exist to talk about how the job of someone in sales is to not talk about what you do, but make sure that you understand where the other person is coming from.

And I closed the deal last week with a new client that I'm working with.

And when I was going through the process, he mentioned to me that he was having some thoughts and maybe considering some options from other people.

And you know, whereas at that moment in time I was a bit like, I didn't want him to go to a good.

But I understood where he was.

I understood that he was looking for some assurance.

He wanted just to make sure that the deal that I'd suggested to him was a good fit for him.

And I put myself in his shoes and I said, well, yeah, I would have done the same thing.

So when you feel like you.

When people feel like they're really understood and when you really understand what they're trying to achieve and where they go into with things, then you're going to get them to more client to say yes because they feel that you're on their wavelength.

And two of the deals that I've done recently with customers are because I've understood where the business owner wants to get to.

Both of the business owners want to get to.

They want to build a sales engine in their business.

Too much of the sales work is done by them and they want to build an engine that can operate without them.

And so I totally get what they're doing, I get what they're thinking and I understand that.

And I then talk to them in language around, around what that can do for them and how can, you know, what can that enable them to do to set up new businesses to spend time elsewhere.

And I, and I show that in the way in which I talk to people.

So if you want to get a yes, spend some time understanding that person.

See it from their perspective, see it from their, you know, from their shoes, not from your shoes.

And try and think what would you be thinking in those scenarios?

I always do that.

You know, great exercise is to write down if you were looking at this deal from your client's perspective right now, what would be the questions you'd have, what would be the queries that you'd have, what would be the things that would go through your thinking?

I'm not sure about this.

Write those down and then be prepared to come up with some answers or some responses that you can use with that.

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Definitely people feel understood is critical to a yes.

And just to add on to that and to build onto that when you make people feel special is also a great way to get yeses.

So Maya Angelou is a an American poet and author and she always, this quote always sticks with me what she said, which is people will and I might have butchered this a little bit, but people will forget what you told them and they won't remember what you did, but they'll always remember how you made them feel.

And I think if you are focused on making someone feel special, then you are going to be in a great position to get and say yes.

And I was watching a video the other day actually of a sales trainer in America and she was commenting around how her husband had gone in, they were going to buy a car actually, and they'd gone in and this guy that had said we're not buying a car today, we're just looking.

And yet the salesperson, when they'd approached, being approached for the first time, had gone out of their way to say really pleased to meet them.

They'd read up about them on social media.

They were really excited about getting to know more about their what they wanted to achieve with their car and what they were looking to do.

And they loved the work that they'd been doing and they basically made that person feel special.

And apparently they then went and bought the car.

So the reality is if you make someone feel special and not in a sickly way, you have, you have to be very careful.

You have to have self awareness, as I've always talked about, in order to make sure you're not doing this in a sickly way.

But if you make someone feel like they're important and special and that you're really interested in them and that you do this in a way that's not with the intention to get something from them, but in a caring, you know, way because you do care about them, you're going to get more yeses.

People, people want to work with people in that way.

And I, I talk about it a lot.

I've actually done a Podcast episode on it.

I think we'll try and link to this.

I've called it the hidden 10% and the hidden 10% in when you do what you do to help someone, not because it's going to be better for you, but because you are keen to help them achieve what they want to achieve and you.

And it's that passion and care and dedication that's not about you, but about serving the customer.

And when you do that, you can overcome the fact that you might be more expensive than other people because that hidden 10% is something that people spot.

So really focus on making them feel special and you're going to get a better chance to get a yes.

Another way to think about getting a yes is, is when you've been in a position where you when.

When they've been given something.

I did this, I think I covered this in a previous episode, but I'll share it again here.

There was a, there was a German sociologist in the 90s, I think, who sent a Christmas card to 600 people that he didn't know.

And out of the 600 people that he didn't know, 233 people sent him a Christmas card back.

They'd never even met this person.

But because they were given something, they wanted to give something back.

So one of the key things I talk about is if you give something to someone, you're going to stand a better chance for yes.

Now that doesn't.

You might question what can I give them?

That's why I always talk about how you should prospect and follow up with value.

So if you give something to someone which is, for example, you share a resource or you do you give them an idea or you give them the start of a document or you help them do something, then you're going to be.

I mean I get last night I was followed up with a prospect and I gave them an outline of something of what I think they should do.

Now some people say, oh, I don't want to give that away, they need to pay for that.

But my view was if I give that to them and it was one outline, they could use it and not talk to and work with me.

But hopefully they'll go, well, that came from James and actually it's going to make them more inclined then to.

Then in time when we put together a proposal for them to go, okay, I want to work with that person.

So giving someone the law of reciprocity is another big factor in getting someone to say yes.

One of the other key reasons obviously to people to Say yes is trust.

And I always talk about the four phases of sales of the problem or desire the understandings we talked about here a minute ago, the belief that you can solve it and then the trust and that element around trusting you is really important.

And people say to me, well how can I build trust?

Well, trust is something that's done over a period of time and there's a small simple way to do that and that's to do what you say you will.

So for example, a simple way to build trust with someone is if you say you're going to phone them at 3:00, phone them at 3:00.

If you say you're going to deliver an email with a link to a guide, deliver that link to the guide.

If you're going, if you say you're going to follow up with a, with, with a, with, with a, with a, with a resource, follow up with that resource.

So do what you say you will.

And you know, we, we know that over time people want to build trust through, you know, not straight away, but if they see continually you're the same person, you're congruent, you are the same person.

Every builds trust and connection with someone that you're not going to necessarily just trying to do, you know, do a deal for, for your sake, but they can trust you to, to make it happen and work with them.

And, and trust is also built through social proof.

And like I mentioned, one of the key ways in which you can get people to say yes is to show them other examples.

And I always talk about the sales part of the process and, and sharing ideas with people and sharing case studies and testimonials.

And it doesn't have to be testimonials.

Even people get over confused be something simple as a quote.

So when I do proposals for my clients, I have quotes from five or six customers that say, and I actually, you know, I'll let you into a little secret.

I write the quotes.

I write the quotes because I know my customers are really busy and they won't have time to do it.

So I write the quotes and it's a bit uncomfortable to say oh James is great because it's just not who I am to do that.

But I write the quotes and say to them are you happy to put your name to this?

And they say yes, very happy to.

I know I've got that quote and I can then start to share that.

But when I share those stories and that evidence and that social proof with other people, like I say, people want to belong Then therefore it makes them feel, yeah, actually, I'm going to join that person and put my trust in you to deliver something and it makes them say yes.

And, you know, we, we want to.

You know, one of the key things around sales and one of the things I talk about a lot is your job to get to the yes, is to remove risks.

And if you think about it from a risk perspective, the only reason someone's not saying yes is because there's a risk that what you've offered them and what they're paying for that isn't going to be delivered.

And sometimes I've met people in the past and they've told me about deals they're doing which are like 200k deals for the first time.

And I'm like, I don't think that's going to happen.

I don't think companies are going to work with you and spend £200,000 straight away because it's too much risk and you've got to remove the risks in order to get to yeses.

So what I would do in a situation like that, if you've got a deal like that, is I would put together a stage plan that maybe does £10,000 initially and then 25, 25 over a period of time with milestones.

So you reduce the risk.

And when you reduce the risk staying, you're basically giving the, the buyer the opt out that if things aren't as good as you say they will, if things don't go the way you work you say it will, then they're not going to lose out.

So always remember that risk is the biggest factor that stops someone from saying yes.

It's the thought that it's not going to go as quite as they planned.

So reduce that risk by putting things in milestones in place or giving them a guarantee or giving them an exit after two months or three months or whatever it is.

So think about how you can reduce risk in order to be able to get to yeses.

Another key element around the decision, around the yes process is understand how they go about making decisions.

And one of the questions that I encourage you to ask within your sales conversations is a question such as talk me through your decision process.

How will you and your colleagues or you and your family go about making a decision on this service or this product?

How will you go about doing this?

What would you do?

What will you discuss in order to be able to take a step forward?

And when you understand someone's decision process and when you then probe into that so they might then Say, well, we're going to look at, we're going to discuss the pros and cons of it.

Okay, talk me through those pros and talk me through those cons.

Let's be honest with each other.

Talk me through where you're at.

So many salespeople and business people don't want to have those conversations around these difficult things.

And, and they also expect the other person to, to share that information with that.

And, and you're not going to get that straight away.

So you've got to probe and dig to find information out.

And when you find information out, you can then, you know, find out what's going on.

But ask the question around their decision process.

How will you move from your current position to the desired place where you want to be?

What does that journey look like?

What does that look like for you and your family or your business, your partners, your current other directors?

How will that work?

What can we do to support you to help make the decision that's right for you?

And when you go through that decision process and help them understand it, it's going to be a massive factor in being able to find out what's going on.

And if you can't, if they won't tell you or they weren't prepared to share with you that, then I think that should send some warning signals.

You know, sales isn't about, you know, being you bending, bending over and taking it from, from someone or from bowing down to someone.

It's about a relationship of two people and two companies coming together.

So ask the question and if they won't tell you, then maybe you should consider whether you want to put more time and effort into that deal.

And I guess a couple of final points around sort of getting people to say yes is really focus on the return or the impact it's going to have for them.

You know, there's a phrase that's used a lot in business about ROI and return on investment is something that's, you know, always.

In fact, I've got a guide actually on six or eight questions that chief financial officers ask.

And financial people are always really good at this.

What's the return on investment going to be?

And if you want that guide, let me know and I'll get a copy of it sent to issue.

But one of the key things that is critical is to be able to get an understanding of what the return.

If someone's going to invest in your solution, then what's the return going to look like?

So, for example, I'll give you an example.

Of how that works very specifically in my case.

So I provide.

Me and my company will provide what we call.

We'll create sales engines and help people build businesses that can operate without them.

And we're working with the clients at the moment.

And over the course of the year, there's probably going to be an investment of circa probably 40 to 50k in working with me and my company in order to be able to, over a period of year to put something in place.

And the question that the person asked me was, okay, talk to me through the return on that.

And what I did is we talked through what they were currently doing.

So they were currently growing at a certain level.

And I said to them, okay, based upon us putting in this infrastructure and this element in place, we're going to help you grow by, by two times that level.

And we worked out the exact numbers.

And the exact numbers worked out to be something, the reason of about £400,000 of difference.

So my conversation to that person then was, if you invested 50,000 to get 400,000, how would you feel?

And the answer was, I feel very good about that.

Great.

So that's what we're going to do.

So try and see if you can put together some numbers or some outline as to what that is going to give them.

And sometimes there isn't a definitive financial number you can get.

Sometimes the return on investment is in how the person feels or how they, how the, how you know, the emotional element of not having that problem in place.

But a lot of the time, try and see if you can put together a return on investment, a business case and angle, because that's also going to make people give them the assurance they want or the details they want or the facts they need in order to help them say yes as well.

So sorry to interrupt the podcast, but if you've got a sales issue at the moment that's really hacking you off, challenge me.

I'll help you solve it.

Reach out to me.

Drop an email at hello ameswhite Business and I will help you solve your sales challenge.

There's not one I don't think I can't handle.

There's no sales issue that I can't resolve.

I've seen them all over my career.

I want to help you solve yours.

So reach out to me.

Let's make sure we handle your sales challenges and fix them so you can get back to smiling again.

Now back to the podcast.

And then, you know, the final thing that I always talk about, and I say this a lot in the podcast, and to getting people to say yes is ask great questions at the right time.

And you know, one of the things that people afraid of a lot of the time is asking questions around getting the person to say yes.

And yet I think you should do that.

You know, ask a question such as what would you need to see in order to say yes and move forward with us?

Or what would have to happen for you to say yeah, yeah, this is a good deal, let's do it.

Or what would we need to do in order to make this deal come together so we can make, make a partnership happen and go quiet and see what reaction you get?

A lot of the time if we don't ask for the deal, then we're never going to find out what that's looking.

And sometimes people will say can we have dude, can we do the business?

And you'll get a yes or no answer.

But actually sometimes you need to say, oh, I'd love to work with you.

I believe we can help you.

What do we need to do to make a deal happen?

What do we need to do to get you to say yeah, this is good, let's do it and ask the question and see what reaction you get.

And look out for how the person is sharing information with you.

Have you made them feel belong?

Have you given them some social proof?

Have you shown them how your solution will work for them?

Have you given them a return on investment?

Have you made them feel special?

Have you made them feel that they're understood?

Have you done all the things that we've talked about today?

And if you have, then ask the questions to be able to make them move things forward.

And if you don't ask question then you're not going to know.

And we sometimes hope it will get there, whereas we've just sometimes got to ask the right question.

So look, getting people to say yes is a critical thing.

We all want to do it.

In sales.

It's the most moment experience.

But there is some psychology, as I've mentioned at the start, but also some simple things you can do that can get people to say yes to you.

And they're not going to get everyone to say yes.

If you win in every deal, then it means you're too cheap or you need to, you're in, you're in a monopoly position and you can let me know what your secret is because not everyone always says yes a lot of the time.

But if you are saying yes, yes, you know a huge amount of this.

If you're getting lots of yeses, then great if you're not getting yeses, then look through the bits that we've talked about today and see what bits you can apply in your sales conversations.

So, as I always do, I finished the podcast on a a really inspirational story and I wanted to the story this week of a young man called Jacob Newsome.

And Jacob, that is a young man who's 10 years old and he won a Pride of Britain award because him and his dad have raised over £160,000 in for a charity as his mum sadly passed away when Jacob was just seven and he's got a love for planes.

Jacob has, but him and his dad have raised over £160,000 to help other people in the situation where his mum died of breast cancer and he wanted to help other people that were going through similar issues.

And when I see stories like that of a young man who's done different activities, different events in order to raise money, it makes me inspired.

It makes me believe wag if people are doing what they're doing, then it can make me inspire to keep doing what I'm doing.

When someone, especially someone at that age who's had such adversity to lose his mum and yet to still focus on helping others, I think is incredible.

So Jacob Newsom is the inspirational story for you today.

Inspiration from Jacob and what he's done and make today great.

Make this week great, make this month great.

Do what you need to do to move things forward for you and your family.

So that's it as ever from the podcast this week.

Hope you've enjoyed the conversation around getting to.

Yes, let me know in the comment section if you haven't.

And look, if you have got other subjects you want me to cover in the podcast, please also let me know.

I love sharing stuff that's relevant.

That's from you as listeners.

If there's a question you've got, if there's an issue that you want me to cover, then let me know, put it in the comment section or reach out to me on social media.

But thanks ever so much again, as ever for your ears and your eyes.

If you're watching on YouTube and look forward to sharing another podcast with you next week.

But have a brilliant week in the meantime, take care.

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