Mimicking in sales

One tactic we talked about in sales class recently is mimicking. This is a technique that involves adapting to be like your buyer. When you act like the buyer, they become more comfortable. It is a way to build trust. There are several ways you can build trust. One of these is verbal mirroring. Verbal mirroring is picking up on key phrases your perspective buyer has, and repeating those. Another aspect is body language mirroring. This involves sitting like they are, whether that is relaxed or down to business. If the buyer is standing, you should probably stand as well. The last big type of mirroring is tone and energy mimicking. If the buyer is angry about a situation, you should try to relate with them, and show that they should be angry about a situation. On the other hand if they have a chill tone about an issue, then coming at the situation empathizing with their anger is maybe not the best thing to do. We are naturally more comfortable with people that are similar to us. The comfortableness will build trust. Trust is a necessity for sales. One important note about mirroring is that it requires skill in reading other people. In order to try to do the same things that they are doing, you should be able to read their emotions, body language, and voice. Having people skills is essential to almost all parts of sales, so development of them is necessary. The best way to do this is simply practice. Several people mentioned that they practiced mirroring people and that it worked well. I think one big hump in dealing with people is getting over a fear and trying things. You may be embarrassed at first at some of the interactions but you will be building connections a making the salesperson piece yourself better. I would encourage people to try and practice mirroring.