Fear is the number-one reason why prospects hesitate to agree to a deal. Any change that occurs in someone's life has an element of risk, and selling someone your product is definitely a change for them. The more a prospect has invested in a purchase, the higher the risk. So if you want to nudge an indecisive prospect into signing on the bottom line, you must reduce his perceived risk.
Risk in buying is about the potential costs that a customer may have to pay for your product (and that's not just monetary cost). For example, if he buys a used car from you and brags about it to all his friends, only to discover that the car breaks down constantly, he'll suffer an emotional cost in embarrassment and frustration on top of the monetary cost he'll pay for all those repairs.
The first step in the process is to put yourself in your prospect's shoes. How much risk would you think attached to buying from your company? Remember, the prospect doesn't know how reliable your company is or what level of customer service you'd provide. He also doesn't know that you personally look out for your customers.
Adding to your challenge, prospects often won't admit that their fear is what's holding them back. So they may make up other reasons to delay the process, or simply say “I need to think about it.” You can usually tell if a prospect is being evasive when he keeps bringing up new and different objections, especially if they touch on issues that he's never mentioned before.
As a rule of thumb, the more expensive a product is, the bigger the risk in buying it. Someone buying for his company rather than himself has an even higher level of risk, because if he makes a bad decision he might even lose his job over it. Think about all of these factors and decide how you would feel if you were on the buying side of the table for this transaction. Then you'll be able to consider how you can soothe the prospect's natural concerns about buying.
The first step in reducing that feeling of risk is helping the prospect to trust you personally. Building rapport is an important part of sales because it's the beginning of trust, and if the prospect trusts you he'll feel better about taking your advice to buy your product. Trust isn't something you can rush, so you may find that the first steps of your sales process go slower if you focus on rapport – but on the other hand, the sales process will go much faster at the end because the prospect will be quicker to make a decision.
Another way to reduce a prospect's perception of risk is to demonstrate how he stands to gain more than he stands to lose. Don't just tell him about the benefits, show him. You might bring a product model to his office and let him try it out, or tell stories about your existing customers and the specific benefits they gained from their purchases. Finding out the prospect's most pressing need and explaining exactly how your product will solve that need is also a great way to encourage him.
Bringing “proof” to your appointment is a great way to make the prospect feel safer. Customer testimonials and/or references are very handy. Safety nets like extended warranties and free maintenance are also helpful. With a little research, you may be able to get your hands on third-party documents like case studies, news stories, industry reports, surveys, and so on – documents issued by someone other than your company will carry more weight.
By Wendy Connick
http://sales.about.com/
Risk in buying is about the potential costs that a customer may have to pay for your product (and that's not just monetary cost). For example, if he buys a used car from you and brags about it to all his friends, only to discover that the car breaks down constantly, he'll suffer an emotional cost in embarrassment and frustration on top of the monetary cost he'll pay for all those repairs.
The first step in the process is to put yourself in your prospect's shoes. How much risk would you think attached to buying from your company? Remember, the prospect doesn't know how reliable your company is or what level of customer service you'd provide. He also doesn't know that you personally look out for your customers.
Adding to your challenge, prospects often won't admit that their fear is what's holding them back. So they may make up other reasons to delay the process, or simply say “I need to think about it.” You can usually tell if a prospect is being evasive when he keeps bringing up new and different objections, especially if they touch on issues that he's never mentioned before.
As a rule of thumb, the more expensive a product is, the bigger the risk in buying it. Someone buying for his company rather than himself has an even higher level of risk, because if he makes a bad decision he might even lose his job over it. Think about all of these factors and decide how you would feel if you were on the buying side of the table for this transaction. Then you'll be able to consider how you can soothe the prospect's natural concerns about buying.
The first step in reducing that feeling of risk is helping the prospect to trust you personally. Building rapport is an important part of sales because it's the beginning of trust, and if the prospect trusts you he'll feel better about taking your advice to buy your product. Trust isn't something you can rush, so you may find that the first steps of your sales process go slower if you focus on rapport – but on the other hand, the sales process will go much faster at the end because the prospect will be quicker to make a decision.
Another way to reduce a prospect's perception of risk is to demonstrate how he stands to gain more than he stands to lose. Don't just tell him about the benefits, show him. You might bring a product model to his office and let him try it out, or tell stories about your existing customers and the specific benefits they gained from their purchases. Finding out the prospect's most pressing need and explaining exactly how your product will solve that need is also a great way to encourage him.
Bringing “proof” to your appointment is a great way to make the prospect feel safer. Customer testimonials and/or references are very handy. Safety nets like extended warranties and free maintenance are also helpful. With a little research, you may be able to get your hands on third-party documents like case studies, news stories, industry reports, surveys, and so on – documents issued by someone other than your company will carry more weight.
By Wendy Connick
http://sales.about.com/
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