Episode 20: How Does Behavioral Economics Apply to Sales? with Nick Mishkin

Behavioral economics is an academic discipline that studies the effect psychological factors have on our economic decision making, but how can we apply that to sales? Well, today’s guest is an expert in exactly this topic! Tuning in, you’ll hear how behavioral economics applies to sales from Nick Mishkin, public speaker, podcast critic, music promoter, and behavioral economic consultant. Nick specializes in applying behavioral science to business communication. Since earning his bachelor's degree in economics and music from the University of Pennsylvania, Nick has sold products for several companies across various industries; from music and advertising to SaaS, technology, and information technology. He is currently earning his MA in Behavioral Economics at IDC Herzliya in Israel and curates the popular Spotify playlist, Behavioral Economics. In this episode, we discuss the power of connecting with buyers on an emotional level, the relationship between behavioral economics and emotional intelligence, and how you can use framing and anchoring to rethink how to describe your offering. We also touch on buyer association, vulnerability, and loss aversion, as well as how you can benefit from finding commonalities with the buyer, plus a whole lot more! Make sure not to miss this insightful conversation with Nick Mishkin!

Key Points From This Episode:

Meet Nick Mishkin and find out how his failures inspired him to study behavioral economics.

What initially drew Nick to sales, including how it lends itself to his extraverted nature.

How he believes sales has evolved since he got started; the importance of management.

The constant need to onboard new technology and how it can overwhelm salespeople.

Defining behavioral economics: the study of human decision making.

Connecting on an emotional level rather than hyper-focusing on scripts as a salesperson.

The relationship between behavioral economics and emotional intelligence.

How salespeople can embrace behavioral economics by approaching calls in a different way.

Why managers need to become coaches as technology companies start developing emotional intelligence tools.

Learn the power of framing and anchoring; rethinking how you describe your products.

Nick uses an experiment by behavioral economist, Dan Ariely on the importance of irrelevant alternatives to illustrate buyer decisions.

Distilling framing and anchoring into simpler terms: descriptions and reference points.

Buyer association and experience and how they inform the reception of certain terms.

How to be the expert