Every interaction, from a debate with your sibling, bestie, or partner about what’s for dinner to the discovery call you had last week is selling. Think about it, you’re presenting the facts, the reasons, the whys, and the why nows to get to the “yes.”
It’s selling. And the thing that gets them to the point of saying yes? Sales psychology.
Sales psychology is what makes people buy from you, and it’s everywhere—your marketing and customer service, your discovery calls, the copy on your sales page… literally everywhere.
But how does “sales psychology” actually work? How do casual doom-scrollers and everyday email subscribers decide that now is the time to buy? Let’s talk about it (and what it means for your business):
An Intro to Sales Psych: The Quickest 101 Class You’ll Ever Have
Sales psych = the study of how consumers think, feel, and make purchasing decisions.
To put it scientifically: it’s capitalizing on the emotional triggers, cognitive biases, social influence, and experiences of a person so that buying something from you feels like a no-brainer.
And it’s all subconscious. The brain is making these decisions without you being aware of it. If you can understand (and apply) sales psychology, you can essentially hijack your consumer’s subconscious and convince your audience that yes, now is a great time to buy what you’re selling.
It can be used ethically by helping consumers feel good about their decisions and appropriately gauge if the offer, product, or service is right for them (and if it’s right for them right now). Or it can be used unethically—MLM love-bombing, products that have been on a “last chance” sale for the past 6 months, or DMs convincing you their offer is the only way to succeed.
P.S. The Reveal Brain-Based Buying Framework© consists of five levers that make sales psychology easy to understand and apply to your marketing (and business)! And it all comes together in This is How You Sell: The Textbook!
Why People Buy—And Why They Choose to Buy From You
What is the determining factor that makes a buyer say yes? It depends on the person—nobody buys for the exact same reason or the exact same moment in your marketing. The “yes” moment is unique to the person, and it’s usually a culmination of multiple reasons.
Ultimately, it’s because you made the buying decision safe for your consumer. You removed any barriers they might have or that could appear in their buying process; you addressed the questions, clarified the process, caught their attention, and kept them engaged in what you offer.
But the reason they choose to buy from you specifically, is because you:
- Grabbed their attention first (you “stopped the scroll”) and delivered on your promise
- Gave them a way to feel connected to you, they firmly believe that you get them and by extension, their problems, struggles, and the reason why this would work for them
- You made them want it by reminding them what’s at stake, and positioning your offer as the safest option
- Provided an opportunity to clear up any hesitations they had, and made the experience easier than anyone else
- Did all of the above 👀
But, What if They’re Not Buying From You?
Somewhere in your sales strategy, there’s a gap. The good news? It’s fixable, you just have to find it!!
There are 5 triggers someone needs before buying from you: attention, connection, desire, clarity, and ease. When one or more are missing, it stops the sale. But, if you can fine which one is missing from your strategy, you can usually close that gap:
Attention — Are people even seeing what you’re selling? You send great emails, but only 15% of your list opens them. The ones who do love ithit reply and stay engaged. But there’s so much of your audience that isn’t seeing (or reading) your content. Attention is what you could be missing—you haven’t stopped the scroll enough to convince your audience to open the email, much less read it!
Connection — Does your audience feel like you get them? You’ve stopped the scroll, but people aren’t sticking around. Your content isn’t speaking to the specific person you’re trying to reach, so nothing feels personal enough to make them pause. It mightnot be your offer, your audience just doesn’t feel connected enough to commit.
Desire — Do they actually want it? They know you exist, they like you—but they’re not feeling the pull. They’re not thinking about what they’re missing without your offer, and they’re not convinced it’s the right move right now. They don’t have the desire to act.
Clarity — Do they understand exactly what they’re buying? For every DM you get saying “OMG, I’m signing up!” you never hear the HoneyBook cha-ching, get the Stipe notification, or the ping for a new flodesk subscriber. Your audience loves the idea of the result, but they’re fuzzy on what they’re actually getting—what’s included, what happens next, what it costs.
Ease — Can they actually follow through? They’re ready to book, and then… they don’t. Your inquiry form is buried, your process feels complicated, or something in the workflow breaks the momentum. Your audience (and buyers) are working through a process that isn’t easy, and it’s stopping the flow.
How do you fix it? Audit your site through the lens of the framework! If you’re struggling to make sales, check your strategy, your workflow, and your entire customer journey from start to finish. It might be your marketing, or website copy, or your onboarding workflow—you won’t know until you test it!
(And hey—sometimes the issue isn’t you at all. Market timing, budget seasons, and external factors can impact sales, inquiries, and bookings. But ruling out your own gaps first improves your processes and preps you to come out of the slow season)
Sales Psych, Your Website Copy, And Marketing Your Offers
Before you panic: you do not need to be a sales psych expert as a business owner.
Knowing what it is and why it matters, however, makes a huge difference in how you look at your business, including what’s working, why it’s working, or why something’s not. If used—responsibly, of course—throughout your business and marketing, it can make a huge difference in your conversions, conversations, and connections.
Don’t get me started on what sales psychology can do for your website’s copy (actually, do, it’s one of my favorite things to talk about as a sales copywriter).
If you’d love to learn more about sales psychology and how you can use it in your business, get The Textbook. It’s not everything (you don’t need to know it all), but it is what you need to apply it to your content, marketing, and copy 😉 → Get your copy here.
If you’d rather have it done-for-you by someone who does this all day, learn more about my website and sales page copy packages here!
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