We’re switching gears slightly this week and talking about sales psychology techniques! If you’re a huge nerd like me, this is gonna be a good one.

A few months ago I explained the difference between copy and content. (Yes, there is a difference! A big one.) 

If you’d like to read it, it’s linked above. To save you some time, though, I’ll give you the biggest difference between the two. Copy uses science, content does not. Depending on what you’re writing about in your content, you might link to a statistic or two. I often do that in my blogs. But that doesn’t make them scientific. 

Copy is science and creativity. It’s strategic and intentional. It mixes the art of writing with data-driven sales psychology to produce the most convincing argument. And you need strong copy throughout your entire marketing strategy.

What is sales psychology?

In a nutshell, sales psychology is the psychology of buying. It uses a bunch of techniques to improve the sales process. These techniques allow us to understand our audience better, which helps us sell to them. 

You don’t need a psych degree to understand sales psychology techniques. In fact, I taught myself sales psychology in a few months, and now I use it to get results for both my clients and myself. 

Sales psychology is the same thing as marketing psychology. The only difference is that the first refers to a sale, while the second refers to your marketing strategy. I’d argue those two go hand-in-hand. You can’t have sales without a marketing strategy.

Many people think to write good copy you need to be a good writer. And I won’t lie – it helps. But understanding sales psychology is even more important than being grammatically correct. 

Great copy mimics your natural voice. If you can have a conversation, you can write copy. You just can’t write great copy. 

Not without understanding sales psychology techniques. 

On the internet, you’ll find hundreds of different psychological sales tactics. But you only need to master a few to get great results. I’ve rounded up the top 10 sales psychology tips on the internet right now. 

I picked these 10 because they’re the ones I’ve used to get results. 

Honesty 

The first two sales psychology tips are all about you, not your audience. Just like your audience needs to be in the right mindset to buy, you need to be in the right mindset to make a valuable offer.

It’s so important to be true to your brand when creating an offer. Don’t sell something you don’t believe in. 

Sales psychology is not about tricking people into buying from you. If you don’t have an incredible offer that oozes value and over-delivers, you shouldn’t be selling it. 

If you understand how your audience makes decisions, you can address fears and boost confidence in your copy. 

Again, not to convince them to buy something they shouldn’t, but to empower them to seek the results your offer provides.

Confidence

If you aren’t confident in your offer, your audience won’t be either. If you don’t have it, fake it. But you really should have it.

You need to know your offer inside and out and be able to address questions and hesitations with ease. Most importantly, you need to know the benefits of your offer and you need to have confidence that those benefits produce real results. 

This is why it’s so important to test new offers before selling them to your entire audience. Make sure your offer is actually something your audience wants. 

Emotional, then Rational

When we make a decision, our first instinct comes from our emotions. This is true for every decision we make, whether it involves buying something or not. Then our rational mind takes over and tells us if our instinct is a good idea or not. 

Have you ever gotten super excited about something, then looked at the price tag and immediately said “no way?” Even though it was something you really wanted? That’s your rational mind working against your emotions.

Focus on the emotional aspect of your offer. As wedding professionals, you’re selling services that are not necessary for survival. You can get married without a floral arrangement, a dress, and a planner. This is why you need to hyper-focus on the benefits of your offer. Planning a wedding is an emotional time for couples – use that to your advantage. 

For sales, the rational mind is the enemy. Our brains are apprehensive, even when given a bunch of testimonials and results. Your audience might love your offer at first glance, but the longer they wait to buy, the more likely they are to talk themselves out of it. 

Price is a big factor in this decision. If your offer is a big investment, you’ll need to spend more time convincing your audience that it’s worth it. Your copy needs to harness those positive emotions and keep them on your audience’s mind. Then you add the benefits of your offer and address any objections to silence that rational mind.

Social Proof

Testimonials, reviews, text messages from clients, screenshots of data. These are all types of social proof, and you need them to make a sale. 

Your audience wants to be sure that other people have seen results with your offer. Social proof makes it so much easier to convince your audience to buy. Let your past clients sell your products for you! 

I know we all love our clients, but sometimes testimonials can be long and wordy. No one is going to read a block of text on your website, even if that testimonial is the best example of social proof. 

Editing your testimonials is not only okay but necessary in most cases. You should limit your testimonials to only the most important information. If your testimonial is longer, bold key phrases. Always ask for permission before you post anywhere.

Fewer Options

It’s easy as entrepreneurs to feel like you need a whole list of offers to have a successful business. You feel like you need to have a package for every couple’s price range, season, and style. 

But if your audience is given too much information, they’re more likely to back out from a sale. Information overwhelm plays a huge role in buyer psychology. 

Limit your offers to a few packages. If you can create a few offers you’re 1000% confident in, you can increase sales. Create something unique that no one else has, and you’re in even better shape. 

Quality over quantity, every time. The same is true for content marketing. 

Scarcity

Scarcity sells. If you can increase scarcity, you can make an offer more valuable. 

Scarcity targets the rational side of your brain and makes it easier to make a decision quickly. If the number of spots or amount of time is limited, your audience has less time to talk themselves out of it.

This is a great tip to use when you’re launching an offer. Limit the number of spots available, create a sign-up deadline, or give a special promotion to the first few people who buy. Then overdeliver. 

Scarcity increases value, but it also increases the stakes. If you’re using scarcity, your offer needs to be value-packed. 

FOMO

FOMO stands for “fear of missing out.” This goes hand-in-hand with scarcity, but it can also work for rolling offers. 

The idea of FOMO works by focusing on what your audience will be missing if they don’t buy. There’s a balance here. Don’t focus too much on the negative. Instead, flip the narrative to show them all the benefits of your offer. Remind them that acting now will help them achieve results faster than waiting will.

This is easy to do with weddings. When you get married, you intend to only do it once. That means your couples have one chance to have the wedding of their dreams. Fuel this desire by reminding them of the benefits of your offer. 

Tell a Story 

This is where the creative side of copy comes in. When you’re pitching an offer, you need to put yourself into your audience’s shoes. Think about where they’re at in that moment. Clearly lay out the benefits and transformation of your offer. 

Use imagery and set the scene. Show them a better version of themselves, and how your offer can help them get there.

There’s another story you should be telling often in both your copy and your content: your story. A brand story is important for establishing credibility. It humanizes you, which is super important if you work exclusively online. 

A brand story is a crucial part of your marketing strategy, and it’s even more important to have on your website. 

Reciprocity 

Reciprocity is the art of overdelivering, every time. It’s the idea that we are more likely to give if we have already received. 

You need to give 10x more than you receive in business. If you consistently overdeliver, your audience will be more likely to pay for your services. 

This doesn’t mean you should spend all your time creating free content. But having a handful of really strong resources to push to your audience again and again can really make a difference. 

You could offer a free consultation, a checklist, or a list of tips relating to your services. Make sure your free content solves a problem or creates some kind of transformation, even if it’s small. If you can show them the value of your work for free, they’ll be excited to see what you can do when you get paid. 

Curiosity 

Curiosity may have killed the cat, but it can help you make a sale.

If you can grab your audience’s attention and get them interested in your offer, they’re already primed to be sold to.

Your marketing strategy really comes in handy here. You can increase curiosity for an offer with your social media and pillar content. Creating a strong content calendar is important for establishing trust and curiosity. This makes selling to them easier because they already trust you. 

The terms “sales psychology” and “marketing psychology” can seem daunting at first. But it’s fairly easy to learn concepts like these and apply them to your business. The key is to limit your information intake to one or two trusted sources. Then, incorporate what you’ve learned into your business, one step at a time. You’ve got this! And if you need a little more help, I’m always here. 

Which sales psychology tips are you going to use in your business copywriting first?