Many times, when you’re aiming to sell something, there’s a reason why the person isn’t buying it. After all, if this is something that the purchaser is searching for, they want to go in, verify it’s what they’re looking for, and go out.
That is, unless they have reasons to doubt the specific course of action. People have a variety of doubts about any given offering, but the first and most important thing they’re trying to do is assess the credibility of the seller.
If the seller isn’t consultative, knowledgeable, or understanding of why the purchaser wants to buy the good or service in the first place, it’s unlikely that they’ll succeed. Recognizing in others what their fears and aspirations are can help a salesperson considerably.
With this in mind, it’s important for salespeople to understand the person they’re selling to. This is often manifested as personas or users. Recognize the different types of people who want to buy your services. Are they housewives, breadwinners, teenagers? Trying to understand their demographics may help you target your advertising to better appeal to them.
Next, you want to identify why each of these groups wants to buy your product, and the most powerful pain point that you’re addressing. While it can be helpful to know all the pain points, focusing on the wrong pain point might A. not be super compelling to begin with, or B. Show that you misunderstand the person buying from you. Knowing this, less can often be more, and leading on the strongest thing you can address will be best. If there are follow-up questions about other pain points, you can pivot to those as well, but focus on what’s most important. There may be cases where the biggest pain point isn’t the biggest value add, but once you’re a trusted advisor, you can steer them in the correct direction.
Coming off as authoritative and understanding do a lot, but you also need to show your results. If you can find an example of the desired effect happening before, you demonstrate to the client that ‘it’ is real. What’s bigger proof than it already happening? You want to show off your testimonials, and have other people back you up. If you have a large fan base raving about you, you become considerably more desirable.
Next, you want to have a reason that it makes sense to purchase now, without straining credulity. Maybe it’s a slight discount, but the important thing is not to give up your credibility by offering a reason to purchase now. You ultimately want repetition and trust, and that requires consistency. Think about why it’s important that they decide on whether they want something after they understand the need. Without a call-to-action, something can be pondered for decades.
Finally, you want to directly address reasons that someone might not want to buy them, and approach them honestly. If Y is true, this might not be a good product for you. We want to make sure that our customers have characteristic X. Demonstrating that you can disqualify people who aren’t a good fit changes the dynamic from seeking sales to determining compatibility.
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