4 Drivers Behind Decision-Making

Welcome to episode 130 of Dawn of a New Era, and we're fast approaching our new series where we're going to be inviting some of the world's most inspiring leaders as guests onto the podcast. Now, in this podcast, we're going to be talking about something that is prevalent in today's society each and every day for every type of business in every type of niche, and this is about understanding the subconscious drivers behind your clients' decision-making processes. So really getting into the psyche of why people buy or why people don't. Now, if we have this understanding of why our clients are doing something or they're not, then it's going to give us a really good understanding of what their success barriers might be or what their motivations are.

Now, this all falls into the magical world of how the brain works, and we use neuroscience each and every day, whether we know it or not. Now, you may have heard the word neuromarketing, and this is all about understanding how our emotions are what really drives purchasing behaviour and decision-making in general. Now, according to Harvard professor Gerald Zaltman, 95%, yes, 95% of our purchase decision-making takes place in the subconscious mind. Now, what does that even mean?

Well, think about this. Emotions are what really does drive our purchasing behaviour. It's not rational, and it's in full control of how our decision-making works in everything we do. So if you can't overcome a potential client's success barrier to purchase, then you will absolutely fail to convert sales, yes, but even worse, if you are working with clients, you're going to fail to get these amazing results and transformations that your clients really desire.

And now, if you're a service-based business and you're offering coaching, Coaching or mentoring, or it's part of your program. You have any sort of facilitation where you act as a coach or mentor, you need to have the skills so that you can actually work with their mindset. And this needs to happen in every type of business. So let's look at four ways that actually understanding your potential buyer psyche can help you, but also them fast.

Now, the first thing here is really looking at the personalization around your messaging. Now, what we mean here is tailoring your communication to address the specific emotions and subconscious drivers that influence your potential clients. So, for example, it could be recognizing pain points. So you're identifying the specific problems or challenges that your potential clients are facing, and then you address them directly in your messaging.

Or it could be emphasizing the benefits. So really honing in and highlighting the emotional and tangible benefits that they'll gain, rather than just the features that you're offering. Now, we've all heard of, you know, focusing on the benefits, not just the features, but it's so true because if someone has a blocker around whether they could achieve something, afford something, until you actually break that down, regardless of the transformation or the result you'll give, it doesn't matter. They will not change their mind.

Now, I see this so many times when people come to me and say, Dawn, I really need to find out how or why my sales calls are not working. And I talk to them about standing in their power. And really owning the call and looking at what it is that the potential client really wants. Now that's half of it, because when people come on a call, if you've done your messaging right, it should be more of a Q&A.

They should have already made their decision, or 80% of it, before they even start. And you're just there to answer any questions or make sure that any of their false beliefs are handled, that any of their concerns are obviously quelled. So think about this. If somebody comes on a call and they're really interested in what you do, but they decide that there's a barrier, then often it comes down to mindset.

So number two is about building trust and credibility. So establishing trust, as we know, you know, in any buyer decision-making journey is crucial because it directly impacts the subconscious mind. Now this is where it gets really interesting, because if we think about testimonials and case studies, what we want to do is share success stories and testimonials from past clients to build this credibility. Now what's really interesting then is that we start to then make sure that they have seen all of this prior to maybe the call.

So then what we want is the consistency. So ensuring that consistent messaging and high quality interactions across all touchpoints exist so that you're building a reliable brand image. Now what happens is, is when we look at build trust and credibility in the subconscious mind, they're seeing this content and they're making a decision without even knowing it. Now the third one is the emotional connection and looking at people and how they respond to certain things.

Now we know that people respond really strongly to emotional triggers. So use this to then create a deeper connection with your potential clients. Now how would you utilize this? Prime example is storytelling.

So use stories that resonate emotionally and show your understanding of their journey, and then empathy. Show genuine empathy in all of your interactions, which can make potential clients feel really understood, but also more importantly, really valued. Now the thing is here is that it doesn't matter where they are in the journey, but from the beginning of that awareness through to maybe coming on a call, we need to make sure that we are appealing to the subconscious mind. Now you can use things like scarcity and urgency, which brings me on to the final point.

Now these psychological triggers can push the subconscious towards making a purchase decision. So things like a limited offer, for instance, where you introduce limited time offers or exclusive deals to create a sense of urgency. Or it could even be availability, where you emphasize the scarcity of your spots or resources available, and that's helping the client or potential client decide more quickly. So this is all about enhancing your understanding of the psychological factors that are really influencing your Your client's decision making, because this will absolutely improve your sales, but it will also lead to these more impactful outcomes for your clients.

Because if you can understand how their mind works, not only for decision making, but you start to understand maybe the barriers to their success. You start to understand how you can break those patterns. Now, if you start to integrate these strategies into your business practices to align more closely with their subconscious needs, you'll definitely drive way better results overall. So think about how you're going to foster these deeper connections or building trust, and then think about when you've worked with a client, what were the things that were holding them back?

How did you use your understanding of their mind? How did you use some of these tools to change that pattern? Now, it doesn't happen just in the sales and marketing. As I say, it happens when you're actually working with a client.

If someone comes to you and says, I'm not sure how to do this, you imagine that you use then storytelling to then appeal to their emotions so that you can show them what is possible. There are different ways that you can weave these into your day to day, but also into things like your coaching or mentoring as parts of courses or programs. I would say that this is the number one thing that I get approached about. How do I sell more?

How do I get people to come on sales calls and convert? How do I get clients to take action? How do I get them to implement? How do I get my programs or my containers to drive better results?

Well, it all comes down to the same thing. It's mindset. We're all different, but to be able to appeal to the psyche and understand what's going on behind perhaps what we're saying and doing is half the battle. Now, this is one of the things that's fascinated me for years and years.

And I've always been passionate about psychology, in particular quantum psychology. I love things like neuroscience, neuromarketing. I love understanding the daily habits and drivers behind highly successful people and businesses, and what the driving forces and motivators are. So I talk about all things marketing, motivation, and mindset.

But under that, there is a huge nuance towards how the mind actually works. So when you do this work for yourself or for clients, you start to see that everything flows in an easier manner. Everything in the business, like communication, becomes simpler. You have less occasions where there's a problem with what someone interpreted that they thought you said versus what you said, because you become clearer on understanding not just

But things like their body language. And this is exactly where my journey went to. When I started my coaching academy, I was passionate about coaching and mentoring, but I was seeing so many people in the service-based industries who didn't have the skills. Now, they would come to me for business coaching, and I noticed that there was this vast gap where people needed to learn that even in a course or a program, if there's any element of coaching or mentoring, we need to have the tools and the skills to be able to handle that.

So, you know, someone would say to me, Dawn, I get someone who comes on the call and they're very negative, and I don't know how to break them out of the cycle. You imagine then when you've got the core skills to do that, how everything starts to flow. You know, it could be that someone approaches you and says, Oh, you know, I'm doing the program, but I'm really stuck. It's how do you break them into the next cycle to reinvigorate them and rejuvenate them into that journey?

How do people, you know, who say, Oh, I can't do this and this doesn't work, how do you break that cycle or change their mindset or shift their mindset into a more growth-orientated or success mindset where they come to you with the answers and they just need you to be their sounding board? What we don't want in the coaching world is codependency, where we feel that the coach or mentor needs to know the answer. That's not what we're there for. We're there to reveal the epiphany moments, to open the doors, to explore opportunities, and to get that person that you're working with, your client, to take ownership so that they really want to harness it and make it happen.

And this is the key. So when I created the Growth Coaching Certification, I didn't even understand perhaps how much you need it actually was, because it's opened doors to people who want to learn personal development, client development. They want to learn the skills, although they might not be working directly as a coach, but they're a service provider and they're working with clients. In these containers, in these courses, in these programs.

But you can use these tools in your life and business. You can use these with suppliers and team members. And it's the most powerful thing because once you understand how to coach, and then you understand what actually grows a business, and then you have the validation or certification and accreditation to say you do so, it gives a different confidence behind that journey. And it means that when you go on a call, you'll show up differently and stand in your power because you'll know exactly how to handle and facilitate a call, or any objections, or to break patterns, and you'll start to see the results flourish.

So if you want more details, just head on over to DawnMcGruer.com and have a look at the certification. It's fully accredited. You will be a certified growth coach in just 12 weeks, and then you have a nine-month business facilitator, making sure that you're really monetizing your skills.

So I hope you enjoyed this episode, and I hope exploring some of the psyches behind decision making have helped you in making more sales, but also making better transformations in your own and your clients' lives. Thank you for listening to Dawn of a New Era podcast, and for your free checklist to find out how to boost your business for growth, profit, and success, and join our community, go to DawnMcGruer.com.