Most sales training makes selling sound complicated. It isn’t. A handful of psychology moves do most of the work.
These ten come from six years of selling and $115M in sales, starting on doorsteps and ending on high ticket calls. Use them honestly and they’ll feel like cheating.
1. Perceived control
Early in the call, get the prospect to agree to positive things about themselves. They are honest. They are decisive. They follow through.
Later, if they start to backtrack, you can point back to what they said. People hate going back on their word, especially about who they are.
2. Mirroring
Match their body language, tone, word choice and even appearance. People trust people who feel like them.
Door to door taught me this fast. With an older woman, I approached gently and calmly. When a man answered the door with a gun, I matched his confident, casual tone. If you don’t mirror, you seem different or weak, and trust drops.
Do it enough and it becomes automatic.
3. Uncover the pain
Once there’s trust, find out what’s hurting. Start on the surface, then go deeper. What have you tried? How much have you lost by waiting?
The core rule: people act when the pain of acting is less than the pain of staying where they are.
Most prospects don’t actually know their real problem. Say someone relies on organic content. Organic has limits. Your job is to show them it’s a growth ceiling, and that it will hit them again next year if nothing changes. The right questions surface the problem and make it matter.
4. Push pull
Push the prospect away a little so they don’t feel pressured, then pull them back in.
When someone says they’re ready, don’t rush them to sign. Ask them to confirm they’ll actually do the work. Now they’re selling themselves.
It’s like dating. The person who isn’t clingy usually gets more interest.
5. Scarcity
Limit supply and perceived value goes up. That’s how Rolex, Lamborghini and Bugatti work.
In consulting, it sounds like this: I only have a few slots left and one other prospect is still deciding, so whoever commits first gets it. Scarcity can also justify a higher price. Only use it when it’s true.
6. Anchoring
Show a higher price first so the lower one feels like a deal. Mention $5,000, then offer $3,200 if they act today.
Or use three tiers:
- A low option around $2,000 with little value
- A middle option around $7,000
- A high option around $10,000 with much more value
Next to the others, the top tier looks like the obvious choice.
7. Use conflict and objections
Most conflict comes from misunderstanding, not a real difference in values. Your goal is to find the truth, not win the argument.
- Don’t get defensive.
- Restate the objection so they know you understand it.
- Use feel, felt, found: I understand how you feel, other clients felt the same, and here’s what they found.
On price, remind them that you usually get two of three: cheap, fast or easy. If a competitor promises all three, the quality is probably missing.
8. Call out the prospect
If you sense something hidden, like they can’t afford it or they’ve checked out, name it.
“I may be wrong, but I have a feeling the pricing is too high for you. Is that right?”
That honesty builds trust. And if they say yes, you can wrap up. Your time should go to the right prospects.
9. Listen more than you talk
The person talking less has more control. Great salespeople let the prospect talk.
- Nod.
- Ask them to tell you more.
- Make eye contact.
- Take notes.
People feel cared for when they feel heard. That is half the sale. Every minute they spend talking is a minute you learn what matters to them, and you’ll use all of it later in the call.
10. Lead with questions
Don’t tell prospects what to buy. Ask questions that walk them to their own conclusion, so buying feels like their idea.
If the problem is leads, ask how long it’s been happening and whether they can keep running the business that way. They’ll tell you what they need.
How these fit together
These aren’t separate tricks you pull out at random. They stack across the call:
- Opening: mirroring and perceived control build trust and lock in who they say they are.
- Middle: listening, leading with questions and uncovering pain make the problem real.
- Offer: anchoring and scarcity frame the price.
- Close: push pull, calling it out and handling conflict calmly get you to a clear answer.
The takeaway
Every one of these works because of how people already think. They want to be consistent, they trust people like them, they act on pain, they want what’s scarce and they believe their own conclusions.
Use that to help people make a decision that’s good for them. Use it to push bad offers and it will catch up with you.
Don’t try to run all ten on your next call. Pick one or two, use them until they feel natural, then add more. Mirroring and listening are the easiest place to start because they cost nothing and work on every single call, no matter what you sell or who you sell it to.
Want to know what’s capping your business right now? Take my free 90 Day Ceiling Plan. Answer 18 questions and get a written plan, built on your own numbers, that names the one thing holding you back and what to fix first.
