The Art of Selling: Part 2 - Strategy

In sales, success is not just about having the right product — it’s about understanding, connecting with, and guiding the customer. 

Effective salespeople utilise a combination of empathy, effective communication skills, and psychological insight to establish trust and influence decisions. Strategy techniques, such as empathy, objection handling, language skills, and clear articulation of a product’s USP and UCB, enable sales professionals to align solutions with client needs. 

Empathy 

Daniel Goleman, in Emotional Intelligence (1996), emphasises that people respond positively to those who make them feel understood. 

This is rooted in fundamental human psychology: feeling heard and validated reduces defensiveness and triggers trust. 

This involves actively listening to a client, truly understanding their concerns, and reflecting those emotions and needs back to them in a way that validates their perspective. 

It goes beyond simply nodding or repeating words — it’s about demonstrating that you comprehend the underlying feelings and priorities behind what the client is saying. 

For example, if a client expresses hesitation about the price, you might respond, “I understand — you want to make sure this investment truly adds value to your business,” rather than immediately countering with discounts or justifications.

A sales technique may be to highlight the features and benefits, but it's much simpler to identify the problem and find the right solution. If you're simply highlighting key parts of your product or service to your prospects that you assume they want, this is essentially selling blind. 

By identifying what they want, you can tailor your pitch to them accordingly. In a sales environment, such as selling perfume, you may enquire as to why they are buying the product. Such as a gift for a loved one, this is now gold and can be used as your anchor to get them hooked.

Similarly, if you are selling a property, during the viewing, you may identify that they want to upsize. Hence, tailor your pitch on the day by showing them the most spacious room and asking, “I know you wanted a spacious bedroom, how does this fit your standards?”. Wait for them to respond and say, “So, what potentially would you do with this space?”. 

In addition to demonstrating that you've understood their needs, combined with the right open-ended questioning, this will help your sale close more easily. 

Objections

One way to handle objections is to pre-empt them before they arise. This essentially means that when you have received a lot of feedback from a property, it may indicate that the kitchen needs work. A way to handle this before the customer sees it is to let them know beforehand. 

Otherwise, what tends to happen is, it may cause disappointment on the day. By slightly lowering their expectations and redirecting them to the most appealing features tailored to their requirements, the customer is more at ease. 

You can preempt objections related to specific features, pricing, and location based on previous feedback. It is essential to note customers' likes and dislikes to find something more suitable for them. 

There is a way to handle the conversation when an objection arises. If it's regarding a query over the price, you can work to find a solution. If someone notices several things about a property, for instance, you can respond by saying, “I understand. However, if I were able to solve all your issues to a top standard, would you want to proceed?”.

Or perhaps, if it's an investor looking at a property and is querying the asking price, you may say “I understand that you are looking for a large profit margin in this area. After the works have been carried out, you can expect to sell it for x amount”.

An objection shouldn’t be considered as a refusal necessarily - it is simply another problem you need to negotiate or solve with the resources at your disposal.

It's interesting to note that a person is more likely to buy a product when they resonate with and trust the salesperson.

For instance, according to Rightmove, if a customer is impressed with the individual, they are 6x attractive to a seller than a low fee from a competitor.

Hence, in the context of objection, you need to prepare yourself with your appearance, knowledge and delivery to not give a reason for the customer not to trust you.

Another key way to handle an objection is to demonstrate relatability — showing that others have had the same concern. “Other clients have felt the same way initially”. This is called social proof consensus.

Humans are naturally influenced by the experiences of others. When a client hears that others faced the same concern and overcame it, it reassures them that their hesitation is normal and solvable. They feel they are not alone, which reduces fear and uncertainty.

It also boosts credibility, as it demonstrates that you have experience and a proven track record with clients, subtly enhancing your authority without coming across as pushy or aggressive.

Language 

This encompasses both verbal and nonverbal communication, including body language, delivery, spacing, and demeanour. They all give signs to the customer.  

Speak clearly and with conviction. Avoid filler words like “um” or “maybe.”

A confident tone conveys expertise and reliability, thereby increasing trust.

If you ask a mixture of open and closed questions. Open questions allow the customer to show you their vision of what they want. Closed questions are more direct. Each of these questioning have a time and place.

For instance, asking for their name, number, etc,  are closed questions. Whereas open questions, for example, can sound like:  “How does this compare with previous x,y,z that you have seen?”.

It is crucial that questioning doesn’t feel like an interrogation but rather a comfortable and easy conversation. 

Perhaps at times, a customer can be a little stiff, in the sense that they aren’t speaking much or don’t maintain eye contact. In this case, try to loosen them up by building rapport. Whether that is speaking in their language or asking about their day, etc. 

Often, when customers are more comfortable, they will spend more time considering your product or service. 

When speaking to a prospect, it's essential to consider the space and adjust it according to their comfort level. Try to get the customer to talk more than you.

When you are speaking to them, you can instil stories into your conversation, such as illustrating advice with examples of others you have helped.

Stories engage the emotional and sensory areas of the brain, making information more memorable than data alone.

Another linguistic skill is the choice of vocabulary. Certain words, such as “buy” or “purchase”, can be triggering. Instead, use the word “own”. “Mr Seller, would you like to own this?”

The effect of this is that it relaxes your customer and makes the space more inviting.

Another example is the word “contract”. Instead, use the word “paperwork”, as the word “contract” can feel daunting and uneasy to some.

Lastly, in sales, clarity around a product’s value is essential, and two concepts help achieve this: the Unique Selling Proposition (USP) and the Unique Consumer Benefit (UCB). While they are closely related, they serve different purposes and target different perspectives.

The USP focuses on the product itself. It highlights the distinctive features or qualities that distinguish a product from its competitors. A strong USP answers the question: “What makes this product unique?” For example, M&M’s USP — “Melts in your mouth, not in your hands” — emphasises a unique property of the candy that competitors cannot claim. 

The USP is product-centric, concentrating on what the product is or does differently.

In contrast, the UCB is consumer-focused. It communicates the specific benefits a customer gains by choosing the product, addressing their needs, desires, or pain points. 

For example, M&M’s UCB — “Enjoy chocolate without messy hands” — translates the product’s feature into a direct consumer advantage. It answers the question: “Why should this matter to me?”

Final thoughts

Successful selling is about more than just features and pricing — it’s about understanding human behaviour and creating meaningful connections.

By mastering empathy, anticipating objections, refining verbal and non-verbal communication, and clearly communicating both a product’s USP and UCB, salespeople can build trust, demonstrate value, and guide clients toward confident decisions. 

Objections become opportunities, rapport strengthens influence, and a client-centric approach ensures that the sale can close.