Selling – System 1 | System 2

People make purchase decisions based on two system thinking … System 1 and System 2. System 1 is fast and emotion-based. System 2 is slow and logical.

“Yup, as logical as your purchase decisions appear to you, they are influenced by emotion.”

System 2 is the one we often think about when selling because it is the one we are aware of … it is the part of our brain that says “yes” or “no” to buying something.

Here’s why you need to know this. A sales person’s need to make sales influences them to focus on a person’s System 2 thinking … getting someone to say “yes”. Unfortunately, this can limit sales success because it overlooks System 1 thinking. Why does this limit success? Because System 1, emotion, influences the logic of System 2 … the part that says “yes”.

Yup, as logical as your purchase decisions appear to you, they are influenced by emotion.

This leads us to the million dollar question … “How can we influence System 1?” The answer … Make sure that early on in the selling process you’re focused on making a connection with the person looking to buy what you sell.

When making this connection you need to make it on two levels: on the company level and on your level. People need to connect with your company and with the person representing your company. These two connections create product trust and relationship trust, and when trust is in place, the sale can happen.

To make connection a natural first step in the selling process, when you meet someone who needs what you sell, don’t think product … think person. Your goal is to help people succeed through what you sell, and to do that you first need to connect with them.

How do you create the company connection? By having a good product and a process that ensures you will take care of the customer after the purchase. This creates a strong belief in what you sell.

How do you create the personal connection? By making the customer’s success a priority ahead of making the sale. When this is felt by the customer and your price is within a reasonable range of their target budget, the sale will be the natural outcome.

Win at connection (System 2) and you have the best chance at winning the sale.

System 1 and System 2 thinking can be found in the book “Thinking Fast and Slow” by Daniel Kahneman.