Introduction by Abiel John Balogun
you better buy yourself before you sell yourself 🙂
- Research the Target. Before visiting a customer, examine the company’s website. …
- Create a Story. …
- Anticipate Inevitable Questions. …
- Be a Professional. …
- Ask Thoughtful Questions. …
- Close on Next Steps.
trump supporters trump haters all have this trait but what is it and how does it affect my daily life … for nigerians lets see apc vs pdp buhari vs atiku and more ! biodun vs busola wizkid vs davido …………… need i say more
does it affect my delicate symmetry of perfection ?
jbtime2099 i have confirmation bias i will be time man of the year 2099 … not very likely you might say but how do you know ?
A confirmation bias is a type of cognitive bias that involves favoring information that confirms your previously existing beliefs or biases. … This individual might even seek “proof” that further backs up this belief while discounting examples that don’t support the idea.
Are you sure you are selling yourself ? You have the CV the looks the Car you are confirmed you got everything but like the biblical adage many are called few are chosen !
he is a great goal keeper but … cech yourself arsenal
yes we check 🙂
Confirmation Biases in Action
Consider the debate over gun control. Let’s say Sally is in support of gun control. She seeks out news stories and opinion pieces that reaffirm the need for limitations on gun ownership. When she hears stories about shootings in the media, she interprets them in a way that supports her existing beliefs.
Henry, on the other hand, is adamantly opposed to gun control. He seeks out news sources that are aligned with his position. When he comes across news stories about shootings, he interprets them in a way that supports his current point of view.
These two people have very different opinions on the same subject and their interpretations are based on their beliefs. Even if they read the same story, their bias tends to shape the way they perceive the details, further confirming their beliefs.
begun check has
probably grew up in the most violent neighbourhoods but checked himself before he wrecked himself he sure did .
Observations by Psychologists
In his book “Research in Psychology: Methods and Design,” C. James Goodwin gives a great example of confirmation bias as it applies to extrasensory perception:
“Persons believing in extrasensory perception (ESP) will keep close track of instances when they were ‘thinking about Mom, and then the phone rang and it was her!’ Yet they ignore the far more numerous times when (a) they were thinking about Mom and she didn’t call and (b) they weren’t thinking about Mom and she did call. They also fail to recognize that if they talk to Mom about every two weeks, their frequency of ‘thinking about Mom’ will increase near the end of the two-week-interval, thereby increasing the frequency of a ‘hit.'”
As Catherine A. Sanderson points out in her book “Social Psychology,” confirmation bias also helps form and re-confirm stereotypes we have about people.
“We also ignore information that disputes our expectations. We are more likely to remember (and repeat) stereotype-consistent information and to forget or ignore stereotype-inconsistent information, which is one way stereotypes are maintained even in the face of disconfirming evidence. If you learn that your new Canadian friend hates hockey and loves sailing, and that your new Mexican friend hates spicy foods and loves rap music, you are less likely to remember this new stereotype-inconsistent information.”
Confirmation bias is not only found in our personal beliefs, it can affect our professional endeavors as well. In the book “Psychology,” Peter O. Gray offers this example of how confirmation bias may affect a doctor’s diagnosis:
“Groopman (2007) points out that the confirmation bias can couple with the availability bias in producing misdiagnosis in a doctor’s office. A doctor who has jumped to a particular hypothesis as to what disease a patient has may then ask questions and look for evidence that tends to confirm that diagnosis while overlooking evidence that would tend to disconfirm it. Groopman suggests that medical training should include a course in inductive reasoning that would make new doctors aware of such biases. Awareness, he thinks, would lead to fewer diagnostic errors. A good diagnostician will test his or her initial hypothesis by searching for evidence against that hypothesis.”
A Word From Verywell
Unfortunately, we all have confirmation bias. Even if you believe you are very open-minded and only observe the facts before coming to conclusions, it’s very likely that some bias will shape your opinion in the end. It’s very difficult to combat this natural tendency. That said, if we know about confirmation bias and accept the fact that it does exist, we can make an effort to recognize it by working to be curious about opposing views and really listening to what others have to say and why. This can help us better see issues and beliefs from another perspective, though we still need to be very conscious of wading past our confirmation bias.
In every sales situation, your No. 1 job is to sell yourself to the customer. Here’s how.
Before anybody is going to buy from you or your company, they’ve got to “buy” the idea that you’re somebody worth working with. In other words, just like a job candidate, your first task is always selling yourself.
Here are a few ways to go about it.
1. Research the Target
Before visiting a customer, examine the company’s website. Notice how they communicate about themselves, how they view their market, and whom they see as their primary customers. Use Wikipedia and other online resources (like Hoovers.com) to learn the basics and the background of the industry and market. Then use LinkedIn and online news stories to learn about key individuals in the hiring firm, especially those working in sales and marketing.
2. Create a Story
At some point in the relationship, the customer is going to want to know what you’re all about. The best way to give an impression of who you are is to tell a personal story about some event in your life that inspired your interest in what you’re selling: that is, your company and your products.
For example, if you own a chemical wholesaler, start your story with the chemistry set that you had as a kid and explain how you’ve always been fascinated by how the chemical industry works.
3. Anticipate Inevitable Questions
Before buying, a customer will want to know specifics about what you and your firm has accomplished. “Tell detailed accomplishment stories that clearly illustrate the … challenge, what [you] did about it, what results [you] produced,” says Ford R. Myers, author of the newly published Get the Job You Want, Even When No One’s Hiring.
4. Be a Professional
At the risk of stating the obvious, you don’t have a second chance to make a first impression. If your meeting with a customer is face to face, get lots of rest the night before, wear your best clothes, leave plenty of time for traffic, and arrive at least 10 minutes early.
Just before the interview starts, take a deep breath and focus on the task at hand. That’s not “making the sale,” but rather determining whether your offering actually match the customer’s wants and needs.
5. Ask Thoughtful Questions
Never ask questions that could be answered with a little research on the Web. Instead, ask questions, and start conversations, that build on the research that you accomplished in Step 1–and which illustrate your business acumen. Provide relevant examples of what you and your firm have accomplished in the past, and tie them into the requirements of the current situation.
6. Close on Next Steps
As the meeting comes to its conclusion, establish the way forward. In most situations, this will be another meeting, or some form of communication. Most importantly, you must follow up immediately on any commitment that you’ve made. A prompt follow-up tells your customer that you’ll do what’s necessary to make them more successful–without forcing them to wait for you.
This is adapted from a feature article I wrote on “how to interview for a sales job” for the recruitment and employment site FINS.com. If you found this column helpful, click one of the “like” buttons or sign up for the free Sales Source “insider” newsletter.
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