Cutting-edge science can make all the difference for salespeople in a time when they are facing a business world in transformation.

InThe Invisible Game: The Secrets and the Science of Winning Minds and Winning Deals, neuroscientist Kai-Markus Mueller and sales professional Gabriele Rehbock deliver a hands-on guide to the hidden dynamics that influence the outcomes of most business deals.  In plain English, the book unpacks recently discovered insights from psychology, behavioural economics, and neuroscience and explains how to apply them to your advantage in real-life business situations.

The authors show you how to influence buying decisions and how to successfully respond to challenging business situations in order to put you in control of the levers that drive sales success. Youll also find

An essential, step-by-step playbook for sales professionals,The Invisible Game will also earn a place on the bookshelves of entrepreneurs, business owners, and other independent professionalslike lawyers, accountants, freelancers, consultants, and programmerswho regularly sell their services to other businesses.

KAI-MARKUS MUELLER is a professor of consumer behavior with a research focus on behavioral pricing. He is a neuroscientist by training and is the inventor of the NeuroPricing concept.

GABRIELE REHBOCK is a multiple award-winning sales expert. As a top executive in the fragrance industry, she carried P&L responsibility for global customer relationships including Colgate-Palmolive, Henkel and Procter& Gamble.

Introduction: Its Never Been Harder to Be a Salesperson 1

Part I: Building Your Situational Awareness 17

1. The Forces Behind the Invisible Game 21

2. All Sales Are Won and Lost on Illusions 33

3. Controlling Illusions = Controlling the Deal 39

4. Relativity and Anchoring: The Illusion of Numbers 53

Part II: Playing Defence and the Power of no 63

5. Price = Maths + Story 69

6. Psyched Up or Psyched Out? 75

7. Paying the Price of Yes 81

8. Overcoming the Fear of No 91

9. Expand Your Comfort Zone 105

10. From the Buyers Playbook: Time, Uncertainty, Fear, and Silence 119

Part III: Playing Offence and the Powers of Influence 135

11. Personal Versus Paper Power: Wheres Your Leverage? 137

12. What Buyers Think and How They Make Decisions 145

13. What Is Your Re-pricing Strategy? 161

14. Who Will You Anchor Today? 171

15. Why Equal Things Arent Always Equal 177

16. The Power of Free and the Power of Now 185

17. To Bundle or Not to Bundle: Is That Really the Question? 191

18. Decoys and the Power of 3 201

19. The Power of the Next Small Thing 209

Conclusion: Has It Really Never Been Harder to Be a Salesperson? 217

Epilogue: Some Final Takeaways from Gaby and Kai 219

Acknowledgements 225

About the Authors 229

Notes 231

Index 245