Until taking this class, I never realized how important this was to my own sales experiences. For me, the aspect of tone and language mimicry is especially important to me. When I go to buy something I prefer to have very candid and open, casual conversations with the salesperson, and if they resist that tone, I begin to feel distrustful of them or even awkward. I want to buy from someone that really appears to get me.
This past weekend I was apartment hunting in Pittsburgh. I would like to think I would have chosen the best place for me regardless of the personality of the agent showing it to me, but there is a small part of me that knows I was swayed, or dis-swayed, to be interested by the individual I was with. To skip to the happy ending, the apartment I am planning to lease was “sold” to me when the leasing agent became “my friend.” Seriously. When we started the tour, she was very cold and calculated seeming. It made the first apartment somewhat awkward as she would not loosen up or answer questions that I wanted more of a personal opinion on- such as “What kind of good restaurants are around here?” But as I prodded, she suddenly loosened up and was answering all of my questions easily, she laughed at jokes, and began to match my “real” tone. It made me love her… and the apartment.
I had been getting irritated with the whole visit until she switched her tone to be like mine. When she did that, I felt more connected to her and the apartments, and since she is the one who will be collecting my rent it felt really good to have more trust in her. I think I can honestly say, if she would have continued with scripted answers and a super professional exterior, I may have walked away. But her relaxation and fun helped push me the extra mile in wanting to rent from her! Mimicry, or matching, whatever you may call it is so important!
BoweryJE22
I definitely agree with this! I believe it is extremely relevant, especially with large purchases! The larger the purchase, the more I want to see the person be my friend and the more I want them to care about what I want as an individual and I believe that through mimicry the buyer can feel as if that sales person really does care about their personal needs and wants.
I think in a sales role it is very important to get to know the customer very quickly. If you do not have personalities that line up it will make for an awkward sales process and will most likely not turn out too well. I do not necessarily think that changing your own personality to match the customer’s is the right thing to do but I do believe that a good salesperson will either tone down their excitement or be a little more enthusiastic to match the customer’s mood/personality to find the best solution and generate trust.
It is so true how people who adapt to our personalities end up selling something so much easier to us. So glad you felt like you could trust the woman selling you the apartment and were able to feel like you made a connection. Hope you love your apartment!