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 inquiry. It will make a huge difference to your sales figures and help you increase the number of regular customers too.

Copyright 2005, RAN ONE Inc. All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission from www.ranone.com.