Virtual Selling

15Five Human Elements of Highly Effective Video Sales Calls

In simple terms, your brain is like a Russian nesting doll.

• The big doll on the outside is the neocortex. This is your gray matter—your rational brain.
• The middle doll is the limbic system—your emotional brain.
• The smallest doll is your cerebellum or autonomic brain—it manages all the little (but still important) things, like breathing, so you can concentrate on thinking.

All three brains are connected by the amygdala, a small structure within the brain, which is housed in the limbic system.

The amygdala is the hub that processes all sensory input, connecting the rational, emotional, and autonomic parts of your brain. It is the center for emotions, emotional behavior, and motivation.

To help your brain avoid wasting precious cognitive resources on things that don't matter, the amygdala ignores boring patterns and focuses on and responds to environmental disruptions – anything different, out of place, unexpected, bright, shiny, sexy, new, or threatening.

This simple cognitive shortcut of ignoring boring patterns and being alert to anything that disrupts those patterns is a key survival mechanism. Pattern disrupters can be threats or opportunities, so it makes sense to pay attention to them.

The amygdala exerts a massive and compulsory influence over emotional behavior. At a foundational level, your stakeholder's amygdala decides whether or not you are safe, likeable, and worthy of attention. This happens long before ...