Do you want to improve your skills as a salesperson, but the time for long training is lacking? Don’t worry, we’ve found 10 valuable TED Talks on sales that are exactly what you need!
Short, yet perspective-altering, these sales TED Talks and presentations will analyze various brand cases, bring new perspectives to the table, help you adjust your sales strategy, teach new sales techniques, and show you how to start selling more and get better results.
Now let’s plunge into the experts’ speeches that we sorted based on YouTube views:
#1. Donald Doane – The Science of Sales (100,000+ views)
All starting companies are going through the same process of “crawling, walking, running, and flying” before they achieve their goals. And most of them make similar mistakes that could be easily prevented.
In the beginning, the biggest challenge for many startups is to create a repeatable and scalable sales process that will lead their company from concept through profitability. But it’s not as easy as it sounds.
Luckily, watching this TedTalk from Donald Doane, a co-founder and current CEO of ConnectYard, will give you a better understanding of how to get the workflow right for a new project.
Here are some more questions you will find answers to in this TED Talk on sales:
- What are the 5 steps to help you implement the right sales process for consistent revenue?
- How can you identify and qualify the opportunity?
- How can you improve your product and demonstrate its value?
- What mistakes to avoid when planning your sales strategy if you are a young company?
#2. Eddie Obeng – Smart failure for a fast-changing world (160,000+ views)
The world is changing at light speed, and businesses can’t keep up with new rules dictated by fast information sharing. As a result, many companies face failure when they hesitate to take risks and put effort into creativity.
Eddie Obeng, a founder and CEO at Online Business School Pentacle, believes there are three important changes every salesperson needs to know about. It’s what will help them improve their work efficiency and survive in this new technologically advanced world.
Here’s what you’ll learn:
- Why should companies take change seriously?
- What are the two ways you can fail in the new technologically advanced world?
- What is a smart failure?
- Why is it okay to fail?
#3. Victor Antonio – Sales Techniques on Selling and Influence (210,000+ views)
“You can’t put pressure on buyers. This method won’t work. You must learn to nudge them to perform an action, while not pushing.” This is what Victor Antonio, a confident writer, business consultant, and presenter, believes in.
Let’s look at the example. Did you know that if consultants walk up and ask people “How can I help you?,” this simple question will increase sales by 30% over time, which can be used in online communication as well?
In his lecture, the expert will share techniques that will help skyrocket your sales and convince the client to make a purchase without forcing them to do it.
In just 7 minutes, you’ll learn:
- Why shouldn’t buyers be pressured into buying from you?
- What are some effective sales techniques to get someone to say “yes”?
- Why is it important to create comfortable conditions for the customer?
- Who are impulse buyers?
#4. Victoria Turk – How to Write an Email (280,000+ views)
Do you know the golden rule of email etiquette? When you send a message, you should ensure your recipient can deal with it as quickly and easily as possible.
And obviously, this is not the only rule you should follow. By knowing basic guidelines, you can manage email correspondence with your clients, reduce the overall burden of email on them, and get what you want from them.
Even if you consider yourself an expert in the field, we’d suggest you listen to this speech from Victoria Turk, a features editor at WIRED UK. She’ll share some oft-neglected email marketing tips and help you improve your sales skills through proper email communication.
What questions will be revealed for you in this sales TED Talk?
- What are the best greetings, sign-offs, and subject lines?
- What to include in your email body?
- Why can’t you say “hello” in every message you send?
- What rules of etiquette should be followed when conducting correspondence via email?
- What is the best time to send emails?
- How to cut back on unnecessary replies?
After watching the video, you can launch a sales email sequence with Snov.io cold email tool based on the knowledge you gained through this speech and analyze your audience’s reaction to it. This might be the right step to boosting your sales!
#5. Marc Wayshak – This Motivational Sales Speech Will Get You Fired Up! (330,000+ views)
If you need some encouragement to jump-start your sales game, this lecture is the right fit for you.
Presented by Marc Wayshak, a strategist, leading motivational speaker, and author of articles for numerous publications, it has two goals. First, he wants you to walk away with a new mindset toward selling in this new economy. And second, Wayshak wants to share a few useful tips that you can apply right to your sales.
So, what will you learn by watching this inspiring TED Talk?
- Is it true that most of the sales information is out of date?
- What is the two-step sales process you should avoid?
- Why is the traditional idea of objection overcoming wrong? What should you do instead?
- How to take the pressure off the prospect?
#6. Terry Wu – Neuromarketing: The new science of consumer decisions (480,000+ views)
How did Google manage to increase its annual revenue by $200 million? What did Amazon do to increase sales by over $1.7 billion? Here’s a hint — it was a minor change that users didn’t notice.
And if you have ever made a purchase on Amazon or a similar website, chances are, you fell into the neuromarketing trap and didn’t even know about it. Want to know more? Watch the video!
Research in neuroscience over the past few decades has confirmed that about 95% of our decisions are made unconsciously. Meanwhile, these choices are also driven by emotions.
By watching this TedTalk from Terry Wu, a founder of Neuromarketing Services, you will get a better conception of how neuromarketing works and why it’s changing the way companies present their goods and services.
In just 17 minutes, you’ll find answers to these questions:
- How can neuromarketing help better understand potential clients?
- How does a person make a choice?
- How do unconscious emotions affect our buying decisions?
- How does the unconscious mind influence our preferences?
- Do unnoticed influences control our buying decisions?
#7. Steve Harrison – How to Sell Without Selling Your Soul (520,000+ views)
The most important thing while working with a client is to make them a little happier. Steve Harrison, the co-author of Bestseller Blueprint and co-founder of the Quantum Leap Publicity and Marketing Program, is convinced of this.
The speaker revealed a simple four-step sales method that will help you unleash your potential. It consists of an abbreviation: SELL. What are its components? Watch the video to find out!
What else will you learn by listenmoing to the lecture?
- What psychological move will boost your sales results?
- What should a salesperson not be afraid of?
- What is the only way to realize yourself as a sales specialist?
#8. Ernesto Sirolli – Want to help someone? Shut up and listen! (740,000+ views)
Many mistakes can be avoided by simply asking a question and listening to the answer. If people don’t want to be helped, you should leave them alone.
Ernesto Sirolli, an Italian author and public speaker with expertise in the field of local economic development, is sure you shouldn’t strive to initiate change or impose new ideas on people. Instead, he explains how to listen to those you are trying to help and transform their passion into impressive results.
We bet this video will trigger ideas for how this solution can be applied within a company as well!
In 17 minutes, you will learn:
- What is the fundamental problem with how we help others?
- What is the system of enterprise facilitation?
- Why is it sometimes better to focus on individual meetings rather than on public ones?
- What is the secret behind working with entrepreneurs?
#9. Derek Thompson – The four-letter code to selling anything (3,500,000+ views)
Many companies want us to love new things, buy new things, yearn for something new because we supposedly live in a cult of novelty. The truth is, nobody really likes it! In fact, we all have a fear of anything that’s too new and prefer to stick to familiarity.
But that’s exactly what helps companies compel us that we need new experiences. So, what do potential clients need? And how can MAYA (Most Advanced Yet Acceptable) theory help boost sales?
Derek Thompson, the editor at The Atlantic, will talk about this in his lecture.
What else will you learn from watching the video?
- What products do you need to create to be successful?
- How to balance the customer’s exposure to the product so that they like it?
- What are familiar surprises?
- How are human preferences torn between two opposite forces — neophilia and neophobia?
#10. Lera Boroditsky – How language shapes the way we think (12,000,000+ views)
Did you know that the presence of about 7000 languages affects our way of thinking? That is why, if you want to promote a product to a foreign market, it’s important to think about whether the audience there will understand you correctly.
Lera Boroditsky, an assistant professor of psychology, neurobiology, and symbolic systems at Stanford University, talked about languages and their differences in detail in her lecture on TedTalks, which you can watch below now.
What useful questions will the presentation cover?
- How to break down language barriers and understand the way of thinking of a person from another country?
- Why do poor language skills build a big wall of misunderstanding between you and your customer?
Wrapping up
TED Talks videos are essential for any professional, and salespeople are not the exception. Even if you have little time, setting aside 30 minutes every day for several lectures is a perfect approach to developing yourself as a specialist and expanding your knowledge.
Be the best, be #1 in your field!
