People only buy two things: solutions to problems and things that make them feel good. It’s as simple as that. Unfortunately, modern sales training tells us that people only buy when there is pain and that is not true at all. Yes, pain does motivate a sale, and on its own can be an effective strategy, but it misses an entirely different buying process that is based on good feelings.
We are all selling something that someone else needs, but why do those people not always buy from you? Is it because their pain isn’t great enough, or maybe you just didn’t know how to make them want what you have. Most people do not want to buy on pain (unless they are going to the pharmacy), so how can we balance their pain and need with their want? ‘Pain’ starts the conversation, but ‘Want’ closes the deal, and here are a few ways you can do it.
- Benefits, not features – Don’t focus your pitch and presentations on your features. Design them around the benefits and the feelings what you sell creates. People buy more on emotion than on logic (although they don’t realize it). How will your customer feel once they begin using your product and service?
- Reviews and testimonials – If you don’t have them, do everything you can to get them. Once you have them, do everything you can to let customers see them. Customers always relate to the feedback from others. It builds their confidence and changes their needs more into wants.
- Demonstrations – Let the customers see for themselves how your products and services feel, sound, smell, etc. There is a reason why food companies give out free samples. Let your customers ‘taste’ what you have to get them from a need to a want.
- The most important thing – Learn what is really motivating the buyer and deliver specifically on that want. HINT – price is never what is motivating a buyer, it is only a symptom. Whether it is better quality, unique offerings, or superior service, if you get this part right, the price will not drive the entire buying process.
- The customer experience – Profits are made and lost in the customer experience. The customer experience is the emotions you create within the customer with every touch they have with you and your company. Simply stated, you must make the customer feel like they are the most important thing by making everything easy while addressing their needs.