The Science of Selling

The idea of applying a scientific method to the world of sales starts with a simple but fundamental assumption: in order to be successful, sellers should always keep the buyer at the forefront of their mind. Simply put, the reason many salespeople struggle, in America and around the world, is that they don't use science to do their jobs. They proceed by trial and error, and repeat formulas that have worked in the past, even if they have only circumstantial value.

In fact, many salespeople, and their employers, see selling as an innate attitude, as something “you just know how to do," without even having defined their customer. Instead, it is actually a skill that can be acquired and refined over time, and which, by applying scientific methods that have been proven to be effective, you can use to improve your sales method and therefore your results.

Science can prove conclusively that selling is a skill that can be trained, like so many others, and that some sales fail simply because of inadequate methods. For example, it is assumed that the best salespeople are outgoing in nature, while science has shown that the salesperson's character has little or nothing to do with their success. Similarly, the methods for initiating a sales interview, conducting negotiations, and closing deals are still modelled on old standards, no longer suited to today's competitive world and above all, unsupported by science.