Sales prospects have a deep seated defense against salespeople. And they protect themselves against their desire to buy from you.
There are emotional hurtles for them to overcome. There is an inertia in not buying that you need to overcome. Buying is risky. Not buying is safe. Sales prospects put up barriers to buying. Most are unconscious, but they are strong. Here is the idea that will shatter defenses to buying, and make buying from you the only natural outcome of a sales presentation….
Buying is good.
That’s the all encompassing idea that you want to present. You create the idea in the prospect’s mind that “Buying is good”. If you are now thinking “So what?”, that’s normal. But you are going to really love the next few paragraphs. Trust me. These very ideas I have used consistently to generate sales to people with strong defenses against buying….with no interest at all in what I was selling. Here are the parts to “Buying Is Good”, and how they work.
Past buying decisions were a good idea.
Every person you are talking to in a sales presentation has bought lots of things before they met you. Some were expensive. When any previous purchase comes up, whether it’s your product or not, you need to compliment their previous buying decision. Why? Because Buying Is Good. If you sell cars and they talk about their current car, compliment something about the car…..you can make it a feature, how popular that model was at the time…the gas mileage…anything. Never criticizes a previous purchase they made. Never. Why? Because if you criticize a previous purchase, you are essentially saying “You shouldn’t have bought”…or “Buying is bad”. Even if they say something bad about something they bought before, you can’t agree with them. You can say “I don’t know. I think if I would have seen what you saw, I probably would have gone ahead and bought it”. Reinforce previous buying decisions. Compliment the fact that they went ahead with buying.
Buying is normal
You would be amazed how many people base most of their decisions on what’s considered “Normal” to them…in their neighborhood, culture, religion, family, and with their friends. The idea to avoid is that “Nobody buys” or even worse “Nobody buys from me”. You have to be treating the sale as though it’s what normally happens. Don’t suddenly act excited, don’t act like they cought you by surprise….buying is normal. Buying the first time they see you is normal. Giving you money is normal. And how do we convey that idea? Here….
Buying what I sell is popular. Buying from me is popular.
Demand is greater than supply, for what I sell. That’s the idea that has to be conveyed. At some point early in my presentation, I’d say “You would think my problem was selling these. But my problem is getting them. Our supply keeps running out”. Make sure that’s true. The reason referrals from people who have bought from you pay off so well, is they they know someone else that you have talked to, and they also bought. So now…in their mind…buying from you is normal, and your product (or service) is popular.
When a retail clerk says “I think I have one left. Let me go check”, why do we get excited, and want what we are looking at…even more? Because we might not be able to get it. We might lose our chance. We might lose out.
Remember, everyone wants two things; 1) What they can’t have. and 2) What everyone else has and they don’t. When I’m showing a vacuum cleaner in my store, one of the most powerful things I can say is “May I show you the most popular machine we have?”. Everyone wants to see it. Why? Because it’s popular. If they buy it, maybe they can fit in with their friends better. Maybe increase their social status a bit. Maybe impress someone they care about. And if what you sell is popular, that conveys that it’s safe to buy it….or it wouldn’t be popular.
Buying is expected.
This means they they get the idea that you expect them to buy. Why? Everyone else is buying, why should you be any different? Don’t be pushy. Don’t be obvious, but mention a few others that have bought from you, and their experience. Don’t mention people who haven’t bought from you, but could have. That sends the idea that it’s normal not to buy from you.
And it can’t be about you. You cannot say “Yes, everyone buys from me because I’m so great at selling”. It has to be something like “I’m so fortunate that I can be in a business where everyone wants and needs what I have to offer”. “My customers have been very good to me and I sure appreciate it”. “The company really treats me well, and they treat our customers really well too, which I appreciate. It makes my job easier”. See how these statements convey the idea that buying is normal, expected, painless, and without risk?
Buying is accomplishment.
This one is a little harder. When someone tells you they bought something, let’s say a piece of exercise equipment, and they complain that they never used it. You cannot let them feel bad about not using it. Why? Because the idea will linger in their mind (subconsciously) that they won’t use what you sell either. So you have to position the purchase alone as an accomplishment on their part. “Sure, most people buy a good piece of exercise equipment, and only use it for a short time…then they feel bad about it…and then they start using it again, that’s normal. But you couldn’t even decide if you wanted to use the equipment, if you didn’t buy it in the first place. Am I right?”
When they start talking about a previous purchase, take the conversation back to the actual buying moment. They say “I love our new boat” (or anything else they ever bought) you can say “Tell me about the day you bought it”. You want to dredge up those positive feeling they had about buying that boat. Why? Because Buying IS Good.
And all of this is like a strong wave that carries them through the buying process. Is it everything you need to know? Not by a long shot. But it’s an idea that you can adapt and add to any selling situation to dramatically increase the likelihood that they will buy from you. Right now.
