For many years, I actually believed my customers and prospects when they gave me excuse after excuse for not buying from me. With my customers, the excuses came when I tried to convince them to try a new product they were not currently using. But from my prospects, the excuses were for not doing business with me at all.
Why is it, you might ask, that one customer was willing to take a chance on a new product and another is afraid of being a pioneer? After all, it is the pioneer who runs the biggest risk of getting an arrow in the back.
There’s no single answer to this question, but many times the answer lies with the prospect’s personality. Some prospects are risk takers and others are so conservative that they will only try something new if everyone of their competitors in the community has already begun to use it and experienced no problems. Other times, the prospect simply has doubts that the salesperson has yet to overcome.
What’s the best way to find out the “real reason?” Ask.
Here’s one way to phrase your question:
“Mr. Prospect, you have told me that [new product name] is attractive, reasonably priced and that you believe it will save you labor dollars. Yet, you still don’t seem to feel comfortable testing [new product name]. If you don’t mind my asking, what is standing between you and giving [new product name] a try?”
Another reason we often find that prospects won’t give a new product a try is because the “devil they know versus the devil they don’t know.” In other words, what they are using now is working for them. They’re not getting any complaints.
Therefore it’s sometimes necessary to make prospects realize that they’re not as well off as they thought they were. Without first suffering some amount of PAIN, many conservative people simply won’t make a move to something new.
How do you make a prospect suffer some pain? Again, some well-designed questions frequently help.
“Have you ever taken time to figure how much labor it’s costing you to manufacturer [name of the product prospect is currently using)?”
“In what ways would it affect your company if one of your key competitors had discovered a way to reduce cost by, say, $1,500 per unit?”
“How much time would it save you if your materials were placed at strategic locations around the job rather than dumped in one spot?”
“How call backs would it save you if we were to completely encase each shipment in plastic to prevent weather damage, theft, etc.”
You have to help your prospects SEE themselves benefiting from your product or service.
By becoming a problem solver rather than merely a salesperson, you’ll find that your sales will really take off. So instead of selling products, try selling solutions to your customer’s and your prospect’s problems.
Why is it, you might ask, that one customer was willing to take a chance on a new product and another is afraid of being a pioneer? After all, it is the pioneer who runs the biggest risk of getting an arrow in the back.
There’s no single answer to this question, but many times the answer lies with the prospect’s personality. Some prospects are risk takers and others are so conservative that they will only try something new if everyone of their competitors in the community has already begun to use it and experienced no problems. Other times, the prospect simply has doubts that the salesperson has yet to overcome.
What’s the best way to find out the “real reason?” Ask.
Here’s one way to phrase your question:
“Mr. Prospect, you have told me that [new product name] is attractive, reasonably priced and that you believe it will save you labor dollars. Yet, you still don’t seem to feel comfortable testing [new product name]. If you don’t mind my asking, what is standing between you and giving [new product name] a try?”
Another reason we often find that prospects won’t give a new product a try is because the “devil they know versus the devil they don’t know.” In other words, what they are using now is working for them. They’re not getting any complaints.
Therefore it’s sometimes necessary to make prospects realize that they’re not as well off as they thought they were. Without first suffering some amount of PAIN, many conservative people simply won’t make a move to something new.
How do you make a prospect suffer some pain? Again, some well-designed questions frequently help.
“Have you ever taken time to figure how much labor it’s costing you to manufacturer [name of the product prospect is currently using)?”
“In what ways would it affect your company if one of your key competitors had discovered a way to reduce cost by, say, $1,500 per unit?”
“How much time would it save you if your materials were placed at strategic locations around the job rather than dumped in one spot?”
“How call backs would it save you if we were to completely encase each shipment in plastic to prevent weather damage, theft, etc.”
You have to help your prospects SEE themselves benefiting from your product or service.
By becoming a problem solver rather than merely a salesperson, you’ll find that your sales will really take off. So instead of selling products, try selling solutions to your customer’s and your prospect’s problems.
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By Bill Lee
Bill Lee is author of Gross Margin: 26 Factors Affecting Your Bottom Line and 30 Ways Managers Shoot Themselves in the Foot. http://www.BillLeeOnLine.com
Bill Lee is author of Gross Margin: 26 Factors Affecting Your Bottom Line and 30 Ways Managers Shoot Themselves in the Foot. http://www.BillLeeOnLine.com
