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Give Customers a Reason to Decide
It’s amazing just how indecisive some people can be. You’ve discovered
their requirements and you’ve told them just how your product offers
them the solution they need, and yet they still don’t buy right then and
there. What stops them from making a decision?
Sad to say, it’s highly likely that there’s something missing in your
sales approach that’s let them get away without making a purchase. It’s
the same thing that’s stopped you from buying something you really
wanted, even when you’d found it at an affordable price.
What is it? In most cases of
what seems to be customer indecision the underlying cause is a failure
to give the customer a reason to buy from that particular business.
Salespeople sell the product but not the source, and if the customer
hasn’t got a good reason to stop looking and start buying, they’ll just
keep on looking.
It’s easy to imagine that customers buying something generally
available, a wide-screen TV set for example, will just shop around until
they find the lowest price. It’s also easy to imagine that they will
contact a number of outlets, get prices and eventually take the
cheapest. But that’s not always how it works.
How to Get on their Shopping List
What determines their list of outlets to contact? Chances are pretty
good that it includes places they’ve bought something from before. The
important thing here is that they know these establishments and will at
least give them a chance to create an attractive offer before venturing
into uncharted territory.
Another trigger for inclusion on the shopping list is advertising. If a
retailer where that customer hasn’t shopped before advertises the same
wide-screen TV set at an appealing price they may also be put on the
list. However, even if the advertised price is marginally less expensive
the customer will still be inclined to return to where they’ve purchased
from before.
The key to overcoming customer
indecision (and to acquiring new customers) is to give people reasons to
buy from you. That’s not the same as simply giving the best deal,
although that helps. They also need reasons to choose you ahead of other
potential sources of the same item, and that means finding a way to
communicate what differentiates your businesses from all the others.
There are a number of very sound psychological reasons for this. People
want to deal with somebody they know, and even if the salesperson
changes the business is still the same business they bought from
earlier. They ‘know’ the place and what it stands for; there’s no need
to open themselves up to a stranger when they do their shopping.
We’re uncomfortable around people we don’t know, but everyone we know
with the exception of family members was once a stranger. We ‘get to
know’ others and they make the transition from strangers to
acquaintances, and some become friends. We have an innate distrust of
strangers, but we know more about acquaintances and friends and are
therefore more likely to trust them.
Remove the Fear of Risk
Trust overcomes the fear of risk. If you buy from someone you know
there’s less risk involved than if you buy something from a stranger.
It’s all very logical but nobody consciously goes through the process
when they go shopping for something – they just instinctively gravitate
towards the familiar and avoid the unknown.
What this means is that you need to do more than just sell your
products. You have to tell people about your business and how it’s met
the needs of others. Tell them how your firm relates to customers and
how it’s grown by doing more for them than competing enterprises. You
know they’re going to purchase the product from someone, so tell them
why it should be from you.
A customer’s indecision tells
you that you haven’t given them a reason to trust you. You
haven’t demonstrated that there’s no risk in making a purchase from your
business. You haven’t given them enough information so they feel they
know you and can safely include you in their list of ‘acquaintances’.
Take a careful look at the way
your business sells its products and be sure to incorporate some facts
and background about the enterprise the next time a prospect makes an
enquiry. It will make a huge difference to your sales figures and
help you increase the number of regular customers too.
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