What can you do to differentiate yourself and your product or service from your competitors? Are you presenting a sophisticated presentation full of facts, numbers and data? If you replace your logo with your competitor’s, will your pitch be the same? Research shows that people buy based on emotion and justify their decisions with data and logic.
Explore other ways to reach prospects and add a human touch to the process. Try using “see, try, buy” to create an emotional connection beforehand. This assumes that you are prepared and that potential buyers can benefit from what you offer. I’ll make up my mind if I’m interested before returning to the showroom. The only remaining part is negotiating terms or expediting termination. Details in three areas:
1) look – Demos or other visuals usually support this area. When representing our products, we may conduct live demonstrations of usability or other areas that differentiate us from our competitors. Remember to stay sharp and focused. Your goal is to reach the “try” step. For services, this could be a short video showing what a similar type of customer typically experiences.
2) try – In restaurants, think of food courts and tastings used to entice people to come and buy. Products, especially software, offer limited trials and define success criteria that lead to pre-purchase. For services, we offer small or low-cost trials with clear expectations of success criteria.
3) buy – You have already established your needs, they have tested or sampled their product or service, and they have already established their success criteria, so ask them to order! Occasionally, a conditional purchase order is placed in the “Try” step. The question prospects need to answer is if they can place an order if they meet the success criteria and agree to the terms, and who else needs to approve it.
think through
How can these three steps work in your business today? How can you create an emotional connection and provide the data you need to justify it? Same as test driving a car. As such, the emotional side is quick to make up your mind. The rest is to obtain the data and conditions for concluding the contract. Also make sure to engage early on with those who have the signature authority to ultimately generate the same sentiment. Otherwise, be prepared to lose out to last-minute rejections by financial analysts.
I always appreciate your feedback and comments on this blog. Post a comment or email me. Small Business, Big Lessons ® How do you improve your sales results?
About the author:
Gregory Woloszczuk is an entrepreneur and experienced technology executive helping small business owners grow their revenues and profits. Gregory believes in helping others see what they need to see but may not want to see, focusing on candor and taking responsibility for their business. He and his wife Maureen launched his GMW Carolina in 2006.
Gregory Woloszczuk is an entrepreneur and experienced technology executive helping small business owners grow their revenues and profits. Gregory believes in helping others see what they need to see but may not want to see, focusing on candor and taking responsibility for their business. He and his wife Maureen launched his GMW Carolina in 2006.Chapelboro.com does not charge a subscription fee. You can directly support your local journalism efforts here. Want to learn more about what you’ve seen in Chapelboro? Sign up for our bi-weekly newsletter for free local news and community information.