MAYBE YES BUT MAYBE NO

In a blog I was reading the other day this question was posted, “What can I do to get prospects to say yes more often”?

I read through the string of replies to see what advice and techniques would be displayed.  It was amazing what was written. Everything from drop price to don’t worry the numbers will work themselves out was offered.

There were dozens of replies that were supposed to be from other sales reps and yet not one offered and solid actions the rep could use to increase his closing ratio.

I was going to write a long drawn out post as to all the circumstances that could be the cause of the problem but felt this rep needed a quick simple fix to the problem.

My answer was this, “Stop selling features and benefits of your product and start selling the advantages of ownership”.

My post wasn’t up for more than 5 minutes before I started getting comments back. Within the hour the original poster wrote and asked me what I meant. I wrote that any customer will buy just about any product if and only if they can see how the product will help them.

The word help is the wildcard. For some help could be saving them money, to most money becomes secondary if you can show how the product will help them in other ways. I once closed a sale simply by showing the customer that he would look like a hero to his boss by buying my product even though my product was more expensive than what he was presently using. My product met the environmental standards the company set and he would be the first department to show significant compliance improvements.

I have made sales because the customers employees liked my product and the by supplying them my products it would improve his personal image with his staff. Some customers buy to save time, or make jobs easier. Some buy to reduce inventory. Whatever the reason you need to show the customer “WIIFM” (What’s In It For Me). In many cases the personal reasons far outweigh the business reasons for buying or not buying.

This is a lesson for all of us to keep in mind. A widget can be made of the finest materials in the world and sell for the lowest price in the market, and customers won’t buy it because they don’t see the advantages of the good materials or the cost savings. Don’t just sell features and benefits of the product, sell features and HOW THEY WILL BENEFIT the customer!

Lorin