Change the Vocabulary and the Intent
This is an odd thing perhaps to say at the beginning of an article about selling but try not to sell. Instead, become a consultant, someone who wants to help and to genuinely propose a solution that offers great value. When in buying situations, people are really concerned about getting short-changed so address this first. This will set the scene for the rest of the process.
Emotion Rules the Day
People generally make decisions to buy emotionally. Have you not heard before the great truth that “one satisfying emotion usually outweighs a hundred elements of logic”? People buy based on a feeling or emotion, decide based on that feeling or emotion and then try to justify the decision they have already made with facts and logic. So, while tangible features that one can see and touch are important, it is the intangible benefits that clinch the deal.
The Power of Value
What is your value proposition? Just that you offer something? That’s not good enough. You need to demonstrate value because that is what people look for. Value of course is dependent on many factors: how much someone wants something, what your competition is charging and the price you charge. One thing is for sure. Value is not what you think it is; it is what the buyer thinks it is relative to the price you charge. Value can be freebies, additional support, more prestige, re-sale market, exchange for new model etc. Value also comes from offering something unique that no one else is offering.
When They Want, Not When You Want
People buy when they want to, not when you want them to. How many times have we had prospects who walk in or who visit the website, ask for information, then go away and just as you think you’ll never see them again, they re-appear to sign the contract? Your job is to propose value and request to stay in touch. Research shows two things:
a) people do what they want and no amount of enticing or persuasion will make them do otherwise and
b) sometimes it takes multiple interactions before they say yes.