The Radical Transparency Influence Methodology

Honesty

Radical transparency is a commitment to engaging prospects, clients, investors, and colleagues with complete candor, even if, on the surface, it may seem like it could hurt your chances of closing a sale or landing a particular investor. In B2B markets, where many salespeople are focused on meeting quotas and achieving their commission or bonus, this approach stands out as a refreshingly honest way to build relationships with potential customers. Honesty is a key element in any successful sales process, as it helps to foster trust and respect between the buyer and the seller.

Leveraging Brain Science to Inform How We Sell

Sales software and technology have advanced exponentially over the past decade, but sales strategies and approaches have not kept pace. This has contributed to the growing feeling among B2B buyers that salespeople offer little value in the buying process.

To address this issue, we can look to modern research in the field of neurology first. Research from the past decade has shown that emotion is the biggest factor in important decisions. We know that a narrative, or story, is the most effective way to share information so that it has impact and can influence behavior. The human brain has evolved over millions of years to attach the most meaning to information presented in this way.

Understanding The Analytic Brain vs The Lizard Brain

The Modern Brain

Also known as the Neocortex, this is the most recent area of the human brain to have evolved. It is used to rationalize and analyze information, and is responsible for identifying mistakes and holes in newly presented concepts.

Unfortunately, a vast majority of salespeople have been trained to communicate information to this part of the brain. Brain scans have shown that important decisions are not processed in the Neocortex.

The Lizard Brain

The Limbic Cortex, a part of the brain, has been present since the first humans evolved and is responsible for our behavior and how it can be modified. It is also the source of instinct and emotion, which are essential for successful sales conversations.

Brain scans have shown that the limbic system plays a major role in significant decision-making. Investing, buying, and other consequential decisions are often driven by emotion, motivating actions.

What does this have to do with Sales?

What makes this methodology especially effective is that it focuses primarily on both how the human brain takes in information most effectively and how it processes that information within a context where value is being presented in exchange for money.

Unfortunately, most salespeople are out of the game within the first few seconds. This happens because older methodologies and sales training practices are focused heavily on delivering information to the analytical brain. This is not ideal, as the analytical brain is largely responsible for skepticism, non-emotional evaluation, and is therefore very difficult to persuade.

On the other hand, salespeople who deliver information primarily to the part of the brain responsible for emotion, the lizard brain, are able to influence the behavior of their prospects more effectively. This is because buying decisions are most often emotional in nature.

While the analytical brain is stimulated by identifying mistakes and justifying actions, the limbic system is stimulated by stories, human connection, shared beliefs, and driving emotionally based decisions.