Business Book Review: The Psychology of Selling by Brian Tracy

Published nearly two decades ago, The Psychology of Selling is still as relevant today. It reminds you that sales starts with your own inner game.

My Rating: ★★★★

Length:  240 pages

Publisher: Harper Collins Leadership US

Released: 2007

Key Takeaways for Personal Branding

The best-selling classic, The Psychology of Selling, by Brian Tracy remains as relevant today as when it was first published.

I’ll admit I expected your typical sales strategy book with many of the usual references. Tracy surprised, delighted and delivered a holistic view of sales many of his counterparts are missing.

Whether you think you’re in “sales” or not, every leader will benefit from concepts in The Psychology of Selling.

The Inner Game of Selling

Tracy looks beyond the inner psychology of the ‘prospect’ and turns the attention back to the psychology of the salesperson - their inner game.

Visualisation

Central themes include the power of visualisation and affirmations:

“Visualize this thing that you want. See it, feel it, believe in it. Make your mental blueprint, and begin to build.”

The Winning Edge

‘The Winning Edge’ concept is highlighted as one of Tracy’s favourite sales ideas of the twenty-first century. It says:

“Small differences in ability can lead to enormous differences in results.”

Meaning the differences in talent and ability between top performers and the average ones are usually minor. But, it’s the small things done consistently over and over that have a significant impact.

Self-Concept

Tracy highlights the self-fulfilling nature of your self-concept:

"Every salesperson already has a self-concept for the amount of money that he or she earns. Psychologists have found that you can never earn 10 percent more or less than your self-concept level of income. If you earn 10 percent more than you think you are entitled to, you will immediately engage in compensating behaviors to get rid of the money.”

To increase your income you have to increase your self-concept level of income. Do this until you think, see and feel yourself as a higher-income earner.

Setting and Achieving Goals

Tracy’s key recommendation - set clear, specific written goals to put your subconscious and conscious mind to work. Remembering that your subconscious mind loves deadlines.

Practise Mental Rehearsal

Like a high-performance athlete does best, another central technique highlighted in the book is practising mental rehearsal. Visualising yourself achieving your goal, plus you bouncing back from any failures.

Why People Buy

The Psychology of Selling makes this classic concept crystal clear - people buy for two main reasons:

• Desire for gain

• Fear of loss

Fear outweighs gain:

“Desire for gain has a motivational power of 1.0. But fear of loss has a negative motivational power of 2.5. In other words, the fear of loss is two and a half times more powerful than the desire for gain.”

Like most in his field, Tracy importantly highlights:

“People buy emotionally first and then rationalise logically.”

This is an important reminder for leaders who get lost in selling features and details and forget to connect with emotion.

Ask the Questions

For anyone who struggles with talking more than they listen, Tracy offers perhaps the most compelling point for those who want to control the conversation: Whoever asks the questions, controls the conversation.

He also highlights that you can speak roughly 100-150 words per minute, but can process 600 words. The person listening is always at an advantage over the person talking:

“As a rule, the person who asks questions has control. The individual who is answering the questions is controlled by the person who is asking them.”

Whether you have “sales” in your title, everyone is a salesperson. So, take some time to learn how the psychology of selling might help you find your competitive edge in the marketplace.

Favourite Quotes

Here is a great rule: “If you do what other successful people do, over and over again, nothing in the world can stop you from eventually getting the same results that they do.”

…there is a cause for every effect, that everything happens for a reason. Success is not an accident. Failure is not an accident either. In fact, success is predictable. It leaves tracks.

Once you develop this small lead, like compound interest, it continues to grow. At first, you move slightly ahead of the crowd. As you use your additional skills, you get better and better at them. The better you become, the better results you get.

Remember, no one is better than you, and no one is smarter than you. If someone is doing better than you, it just means that he or she has discovered the cause-and-effect relationships in selling success before you have.

Courage is a habit. Like a muscle, the more you practise courage, the stronger you become. Eventually, you reach the point at which you are virtually unafraid. After that, your career takes off like a rocket.

Never stop learning. An enormous number of adults do not understand this. They get their basic education, but then they try to coast on their minimal knowledge and skill for many years. They are flabbergasted and angry when younger people pass them in the race.

The Psychology of Selling by Brian Tracy:  Available on Amazon.