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Sell Without Feeling Like A Used Car
Salesman
Contrast this with a situation where you are visiting an appliance
superstore with a friend. You decide to go check out the big screen
TVs because you’ve been thinking about getting one. The same
salesperson approaches you and asks if she can help you. You say, “No
thanks I’m just browsing.” As if she hadn’t heard your reply, she
starts asking you the same questions as in the scenario above.
However, this time you find the questions annoying and the sales
person pushy.
The
difference in these two scenarios is simply your position in the
buying process. How would it have been different if instead of
insisting on asking you a series of questions she had simply given you
an article re-print from Consumer Reports and a list of 10 questions
to consider before purchasing a big screen TV with the store’s name,
her name and telephone number at the bottom?
The
process people go through in making a buying decision is:
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Phase 1: Awareness and Knowledge
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Phase 2: Liking and Preference
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Phase 3: Conviction and Purchase
The
only people you should try to sell your products or services to are
those people in the conviction and purchase phase. The problem is many
businesses do not implement the necessary steps to move prospective
clients to Phase 3 so they are constantly trying to sell to prospects
that are in Phase 1.
Think about it like this, you and your products or services are
standing at the edge of a chasm on Mount Everest. I call it the
Purchase Chasm™. Your potential customers are on the other side. Your
job is to get those prospects to cross the chasm on a flimsy aluminum
ladder, one step at a time and ultimately purchase your services. At
this stage your objective is simply to get them to take that first
step out onto the ladder, followed by another until they reach the
ultimate decision to purchase. You don’t push, manipulate or cajole
them into purchasing. You simply serve as a guide providing
information and assistance through the process.
So how can you begin to move your potential customers across the
Purchase Chasm™?...
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