Transactional Analysis in Sales Communication
The theory of transactional analysis was developed by psychologist Dr. Eric Berne in the late 1950s. The theory involves how different personality types communicate with each other and how the nature of relationships affects how people send and receive messages. While the theory has been used to address communication issues in family units and corporate structures, transactional analysis also has applications for salespeople when communicating with clients and prospects.
The theory of transactional analysis breaks down personality types into "ego states." An ego state describes a set of emotions and experiences typically linked with specific patterns of behavior. The "parent state" displays the hallmarks of authoritative behavior, with words such as "should," "must," "always" and "never." The "child state" can either show signs of compliance and submission or immaturity rebellion against authority. The "adult state" exhibits logical behavior traits and efforts to find solutions to problems.
Businesses rely on the effective communication skills of their sales forces to generate revenues. Sales staffers must understand how to communicate with every type of prospective customer. They must have a strong knowledge of the product to deliver a competent presentation but not come across as a strict teacher or dry lecturer. They must also have engaging personalities but still be able to keep their exchanges with current and potential clients on a professional level. Transactional analysis gives salespeople much-needed insight on how to communicate with customers in various ego states.
Salespeople who use a "one size fits all" approach to sales communication will often encounter limited success. Experienced salespeople learn how to recognize different ego states and adapt their pitching strategy according to the customer's personality. For instance, the "authoritative parent" approach can work on a customer who exhibits the personality of a submissive child but will cause tension and resentment when geared toward someone with the same authoritative personality.
Every experienced salesperson has had to endure difficult customers. These difficulties can arise from a prospect delaying a sale, a customer making excessive demands or a client who criticizes every step of the process. The transactional analysis technique often used in these situations is to attempt to turn the "crossed" transaction into a "complimentary" communication. Salespeople should understand how to communicate in the "adult ego state" to communicate with difficult customers and to get them to adopt the same state during any exchanges, converting the situation into an "adult-to-adult" conversation rather than "parent vs. parent" or "parent vs. child."
- Iowa State University: Transactional Analysis
- Businessballs.com: Transactional Analysis
- Brainshark: Sales Communications Resources
- Coach The Mind: Transactional Analysis in Marketing
- Increase Sales Blog: Texting, Transactional Analysis and Emotional Intelligence, Anyone?
- ChangingMinds.org: Transactional Analysis
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