People make buying decisions for their own reasons, not ours. People buy emotionally, then justify their decision logically. As salespeople we want to ask questions to uncover what the customers buying motives are. We want to discover the reasons they want or need your product or service.
As salespeople we talk about wants and needs in our sales meetings, right? Right. The sales trainers, usually the sales manager or your boss will say things like this but not limited to:
Wine Glass Cookie Cutter
"We have the best products" "We are the best company" "We have the best service plans" "Our warranties are the best" "The competition has one foot out the door and one foot on a banana peel and they won't be around much longer" It is true when we talk about these things in our meetings and trainings but understand this, everyone says they have the best company and the best products. Your competition is saying their warranties are the best and that you have your foot on the banana peel. These are our reasons we want the customer to buy, not theirs.
Let me talk about Wants and Needs - How many of you reading this right now had a cocktail, a beer or a glass of wine this week? You did because you WANTED to. How many of you reading this right now read the bible this week? Not many, but you probably NEED. So how do you know what the customer wants or needs and what makes them buy? I believe you can be more effective at uncovering the buying motives if you gear your presentation around these motives:
Desire for Gain
Fear of Loss
Peace of Mind
Pride of Ownership
Security and Protection
Comfort and Convienence
Desire for Gain (saves time, saves money) - "John and Mary if there were a way I could save you a substantial amount of money today, would you be ready to move forward on this right now?"
Fear of Loss (damages, productivity, loss of money, discontinued products) - "John and Mary if you were to wait on moving forward right now, you would miss out on this years model and the year end savings I am offering today, is that something you are willing to chance".
Peace of Mind (warranty, reputation, quality, value) - "John and Mary can you see why our customers love us, and why most of our business is through referrals. You would have to agree that the quality of this widget is superior to any other widget in it's category and that the value we are offering today is exactly what you were looking for, isn't it."
Pride of Ownership (accomplishment, ego, feels good) - "Mr. and Mrs. Smith when you own this brand new widget that you can display proudly on your front lawn, your neighbors will be talking it for years to come, how would that make you feel?"
Security and Protection (warranty, reputation) "Mr. and Mrs. Smith wouldn't you feel more comfortable doing business with a company like ours that has been in business for more than 30 years and a warranty that lasts as long as ours with a clientel of more than 25,000 customers?
Comfort and Convenience (no or low maintenance, easy financing, ease of installation) "John and Mary with this widget once it's installed you never have to paint it or change it and it only takes one day to install, how does that sound?"
When presenting your product or service tie your presentation to these motivating decisions and ask this question as if you are the customer, "what will it do for me."