In Chapter 4 of To Sell is Human, Pink outlines the first concept of the ABC’s of selling which is attunement. I really liked this chapter so I thought I would unravel some of the key parts of this first concept involved in moving others.
Pink says that effective perspective-taking or attuning yourself with others depends on three principles:
- Increase your power by reducing it.
- Use your head as much as your heart.
- Mimic strategically.
Attunement is essentially the “ability to bring one’s actions and outlook into harmony with other people and with the context you’re in.” (page 68)
Therefore, attunement involves humbling yourself to be able to understand the other person’s point of view so that you can have better communication and relations with them. If someone sees that you understand them and where they are coming from, they are much more likely to build trust with you. This is primarily the first principle above: increasing your power by reducing it. By humbling yourself, you gain exponentially more because the other person doesn’t feel threatened by your position and even more, they feel appreciated when you understand their situation.
Attunement also involves perspective-taking or using your head AND heart. Pink says that perspective-taking involves the head and empathy involves the heart. While both are important, his studies showed that ultimately the perspective-takers fashioned the most deals because it was more beneficial for the salesperson to “get inside the client’s head than into their heart.”
Finally attunement involves the natural act of mimicking the client. Though mimicking often has negative connotations, here Pink means subtly mimicking mannerisms of the client to show we are in sync with the other person. Matching the clients behavioral patterns such as relaxing back in a chair or taking a drink of water shows that you connect with them and relate to them. It all continually builds on trust; when the client feels comfortable with you and sees commonality between you and him/herself, they are more likely to make a deal with you.
BoweryJE22