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9 Psychological Triggers That Close B2B Deals

B2B professionals using psychological sales triggers to close deals
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Team Zintlr

Psychological sales triggers are powerful tools that transform B2B selling. B2B selling is becoming impossible. When you prospect in a B2B market, it feels like all your leads are blind folded just to ignore your sales pitch.

But leads are humans and humans are predictable. A little emotional push using psychological sales triggers can make them jump decision and convert them into paying customers.

Let us dive deep into what psychological sales triggers are and the top 9 ones that can boost your sales cycle. Understanding these psychological sales triggers will give you the ability to affect the decision-making process of your customers.

What Are Psychological Sales Triggers?

Psychological sales triggers are elements that have the capability to persuade your potential customers to choose your brand by tapping into human behavior and psychology. These psychological sales triggers play on different cognitive biases, emotions, and behaviors that shape how people make decisions.

9 Psychological Sales Triggers That Close B2B Deals

The following psychological sales triggers will give you the ability to affect the decision-making process of your consumers. When implemented correctly, psychological sales triggers can increase conversion rates by 20-40% in B2B environments.

1.Urgency: Key Psychological Sales Trigger

Urgency is one of the most effective psychological sales triggers in B2B marketing. Time constraints create a compelling reason for prospects to act immediately rather than delay their decision.

Some of the common examples of creating urgency include: 

  • Time constraints: Mentioning a limited time for an offer encourages immediate action. Phrases like ‘Sale ends in 24 hours!’ or ‘50% off until midnight’ would trigger an urgency.  

  • Countdown timers: Placing countdown timers on your pricing pages for one or two hours creates a ticking clock effect that demands urgent action from the consumer. 

2. Scarcity

People act immediately when there is a FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) situation. FOMO can act as a psychological trigger and escalate how a consumer reacts and decides. Similar to urgency where limited time offers push the consumers, scarcity displays limited edition products to create demand.  

For example, you can add a premium feature to a standard plan and advertise that it’s available only for the next 10 standard plan buyers. This demands immediate action from the prospect because of the scarce number of accounts left. Selling so adds value to the buyer and also boosts your ROI.  

But do not make false claims in both urgency and scarcity. If your consumers find out that they aren’t getting what made them click, the brand reputation gets damaged.

3. Social Proof as a Psychological Sales Trigger

Social proof is among the most trusted psychological sales triggers because it leverages the principle that people follow the actions of others, especially in uncertain situations.

Showing customer reviews, testimonials, case studies, user counts, or influencer endorsements on your website page are some of the ways to display social proof.  

4. Authority: Building Trust Through Psychological Sales Triggers

Authority works as a psychological sales trigger by establishing your brand as a trusted expert. When prospects see you as an authority, they’re more likely to trust your recommendations.

Adding to this, you can also showcase digital awards, industry certifications, or quotes from experts to increase credibility.

5. Reciprocity in Psychological Sales Triggers

Reciprocity is a fundamental psychological sales trigger based on the human tendency to return favors. In B2B sales, offering value upfront creates an obligation that often results in a purchase.

This will make the prospects feel like they must return the favor by purchasing your product or service. The most effective reciprocity method in B2B is free trial, because during a free trial, your prospects can clearly see how you can add value to their organization.

6. A Powerful Psychological Sales Trigger

Commitment is a gradual psychological sales trigger that builds momentum. Small actions lead to larger commitments, making it easier to guide prospects through your sales funnel.

But to reach there you’ll need to ensure that your prospects feel like they are taking smaller steps. Start with a few low-stakes requests like subscribing for updates or newsletters, short online surveys, and share blogs on topics with preferred interests.

7. Curiosity: Driving Action with Psychological Sales Triggers

Curiosity is a psychological sales trigger that taps into the human desire to solve mysteries and discover new information. When prospects are curious, they engage more deeply with your content.

Curiosity can be built using intriguing subject lines, product teasers, revealing some unique features of the product before the product launch and unconventional marketing strategies. These specific ways leave the consumers wondering about the other side and persuade them into deciding to purchase the product or service.

8. Storytelling as a Psychological Sales Trigger

Storytelling is an emotional psychological sales trigger that connects with prospects on a human level. Stories create memorable experiences that influence buying decisions more effectively than facts alone.

Content can easily connect with the audience, so it can control the emotions of your target audience and affect their decision-making process.  

Storytelling can be done through customer success stories, social cause, social identities, adding nostalgia to your messaging, and more. These act as emotional triggers to improve customer loyalty and boost conversions. Placing these emotional sales triggers on your website will drive engagement by providing them an image on how their business can succeed with the help of your product or service.

9. Contrast: Highlighting Value Through Psychological Sales Triggers

Contrast is a psychological sales trigger that makes your offering more appealing by comparison. When prospects can clearly see the difference between options, decision-making becomes easier.

To make them see that, you can directly compare your company with your competitors and highlight the benefits that your consumers get by choosing your business. For example, you can show a comparison chart that contrasts the features of your product with the top ones in the market.

10. Anchoring

Anchoring is a pricing psychological sales trigger that influences perception of value. The first price prospects see becomes the reference point for all subsequent pricing decisions.

For example, when consumers enter your pricing page, you can first display a higher or the original price then the discounted one. This makes them feel like the price is already bargained.  

You can also add a premium plan near a normal plan for them to see what they are missing out on and go for purchasing the premium one.  

These psychological sales triggers can help you accelerate your sales process and build trust, credibility, and customer relationships while doing so.

These psychological sales triggers can help you accelerate your sales process and build trust, credibility, and customer relationships while doing so. Implementing even 3-4 of these psychological sales triggers consistently can transform your B2B sales results.