Sales can take place in any form. It can happen physically through in-person meetups, or virtually through an online digital platform.

The difference between these two forms of sales is, obviously, the environment in which they occur and this makes a very crucial choice for businesses since sales venues and in a wider scope, environments, go a long way in influencing the quality of a marketing or sales procedure or action. 

Virtual or online sales environments can be a little complex. Be that as it may, it speeds up the buyer process of choosing a vendor, selecting from a list of products, and initiating payment for a purchase.

On the other hand, the physical sales environment presents a slower process for buyers, but it offers essence and a richer experience between businesses, sales teams, and customers. 

In this article, we will learn about sales mirroring which is a psychological strategy that prompts customer responsiveness in the physical sales environment.  

What is Sales Mirroring?

Sales mirroring is a behavior in which a salesperson naturally and inoffensively replicates specific characteristics of a customer as a way of building trust and gaining conversion.

Businesses that successfully apply sales mirroring use the psychological technique to promote a sense of empathy in a buyer. This makes buyers feel relaxed. It also importantly increases their trust and engagement for/with a salesperson or their product, therefore, stimulating them to make a purchase.

How Sales Mirroring Works and Why

Sales mirroring is a tactic that works by making customers feel like they are conversing with someone who is exactly in their situation, position, or level. This “level” could be in terms of age, moral standards, social class, or any other factors. Let’s explain with three scenarios. 

Imagine that in scenario one, there is a 60-year-old trying to convince a 25-year-old to purchase a particular product that they have available for sale.

Now, imagine that scenario two has the same plot but this time, the characters (which are a seller and a potential buyer) are both 25-year-olds. Finally, the last scenario has a 25-year-old trying to convince a 60-year-old to purchase their product. 

All these scenarios present a difficult sales situation except for the second scenario in which both salesperson and the potential customer are of the same age.

The reason why this is so is that the salesperson can easily mirror their lead by copying their stance, engaging them in the same language or using their slang, or even appearing to possess similar tastes regarding fashion, sports, politics, and whatsoever. 

Ways to Perform Sales Mirroring

Keep a consistent tone of voice

It might sound fancy but it is possible to create understanding and achieve sales by maintaining a consistent tone of voice with the person you’re selling to.

Just like every other thing you do when you perform sales mirroring, this action helps to keep you on par with customers.

For instance, if a customer sounds worried or concerned about the performance of a service or product, it is advisable to adjust your tone to show that you recognize their concerns or that you are equally concerned about the same thing. 

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Follow their body language 

Face-to-face conversations are typically richer and more exciting than over-the-air communications. Guess why this is so? It’s because a lot of body language and signals are involved, and the exchange of energy is genuine and substantial. 

People could fold their hands, cross their legs, tap their feet, sit upright, sink into their chairs, or do just about anything. These different expressions go a long way in revealing how a customer feels about a situation, product, or a very specific feature of a service.

And like we’ve already mentioned, in sales mirroring, you’d have to also fold your hands, cross your legs, tap your feet, sit upright, sink into your chair, or do whatever it is that the customer is doing to align with them. 

As long as it is not done offensively, mimicking the posture and body language of your customer will get their attention and prompt them to see you as less of a stranger, therefore, helping you make sales.

Use similar slang or informal phrases

Everyone has their vocabulary. This refers to words, phrases, slang, or other vocal expressions that a person is known for saying. Typically, it is difficult for people to make a lot of sentences without using their vocabulary elements, and guess what?

You would often find out that a strong or unique set of vocabulary exists among a group of people, for example, those in a particular social class. 

This opens the door for sales mirroring because people often engage more with other people who also speak like them. Therefore, by using similar slang or phrases, you will be fostering the mentality that you are in the same situation or group as your lead.

Doing so will increase their willingness to interact with you, and likely cause them to purchase your products or services. 

Benefits of Sales Mirroring

Establishes Trust

The most outstanding advantage of sales mirroring is that it establishes trust from a customer to a business or its sales team. This goes a long way in building new relationships, strengthening already existing relationships, and finally, securing meaningful transactions. 

The trust factor of a business relationship has two bold advantages. First is that it fosters comfort and peace of mind between transacting parties. Secondly, parties that prove to be trustworthy create a respectable public image for themselves.

This means that potential customers will see them in a positive light and since they will also stand out among industry competitors, they’ll have a greater chance of making successful sales. 

Improves attention during conversations

There’s no way you’re going to mimic a potential customer's body language, tone of voice, or vocabulary except you pay close attention. That being said, you have to first notice what they are doing or saying process and understand it before you finally go ahead to replicate it.

It gets even more challenging if you have to perform sales mirroring for a long time, for example, two or more hours. And the extent to which you can observe a potential buyer's characteristics goes a long way in determining how well you mirror them. 

All these reiterate the fact that a high level of attentiveness is required when performing sales mirroring. 

Offers valuable insights for advancing customer experience 

In addition to achieving sales of products or services, sales mirroring allows businesses to tune in on their conversations with customers to derive valuable insights about a customer’s background or preferences. Insights gotten from this process could be used to improve products or services towards a better customer experience. 

How does this work? Let’s say that you are sitting at the airport as you wait to catch a flight and right next to you is a man reading about the same type of products you sell.

You begin a conversation to tell him about your product, and you fold your hands to mirror his sitting posture. However, as you get to talk about the privacy policy of your product - and continue mirroring, you realize that his body language changes from a relaxed to an uncomfortable state.

This change in body language reflects the man’s discomfort about your privacy policy rather than your entire product, and it will offer insight to review your privacy policy standards. 

Builds rapport

Mirroring in sales puts you in the same shoes as a customer or lead. You feel what they feel and you become more like them - so to say. As this happens, the rapport and positivity between your customer and yourself as a business or salesperson increases.

Such good rapport provides leverage for better business relationships since it has been found to inspire happiness, friendliness, and mutual attentiveness. In general, it promotes everything from transparent communications to quick negotiations, and even easy acceptance of contract terms and conditions.

Sales Mirroring Illustrations 

In this section, we’ll bring you some illustrations of what sales mirroring is:

Crossing legs:

You will almost always catch a tv presenter sitting with their legs crossed. Similarly, many business people find it comfortable to do the same especially when they are in a board meeting or simply waiting at a transit lounge.

Good sales mirroring will, therefore, mean taking note of when a client or customer who you are in talks with,  puts one leg over the other and naturally copying them by doing the same. 

Folding hands:

If you’re in doubt or simply trying to pay attention during a conversation, you might find yourself folding your hands. This is an expression that can also be mirrored and doing this portrays focus and further inspire a sales deal. 

Making hand movements or gestures:

Naturally, when speaking, some people tend to use hand gestures. This could be to bolster a point or to show their interest in a topic or product. In such an instance, copying the same hand gesture will go to say that you are equally interested in the topic or product in question or that you understand or agree with their point. 

Dressing alike:

If you have to pitch your business idea to a group of investors, you will likely think of dressing in a nice pair of suits - since the investors might do the same. Of course, this might not be what you wear on a typical day in the office but you understand that the pitching occasion calls for it.

The aim of dressing alike is to make you appear responsible, respectful and welcomed as someone who has a good prospect. 

Standing alike:

Sales mirroring also includes taking the same stance as the person you are selling to. It could be as simple as getting up on your feet when you’re in conversation with someone who is upstanding. This will show your respect for their time and person and give you a better chance at converting them into customers. 

Using similar accessories: 

You will be performing sales mirroring when you use the same accessories as your prospective customer. For example, you can decide to hold a briefcase or an arm bag when meeting with a customer who uses one themselves. Also, you can mirror by pocketing your phone when talking to someone who has just done the same.

Final Word

Sales mirroring is a unique and effective sales and business relationship strategy. However, despite being very effective, this strategy must be employed with some level of expertise to prevent a salesperson from appearing rude or offensive, and to keep a business relationship from falling apart. 

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