Make it super easy for your customers to say ‘Yes‘
Is it possible that you’ve been making things too complicated for your customers? If so, you might be stopping them from buying. That’s because all of us humans like easy decisions rather than hard ones. So what can you do to ensure that your customers are going to find it easy to buy from you? Let’s look at some really simple things you can do straight away.
KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid)
Whatever you are doing – demonstrating, presenting, or just explaining, don’t overwhelm your customer with information. Simplicity is the key here. So instead, do your homework and find out what they are likely to be interested in and then, through effective questioning, get to the core of their issues. Lots of the detail you know about your product or service isn’t relevant to them, so don’t risk them falling asleep because you are talking about the benefits of your super-widget when they genuinely don’t care.
Ask probing questions
This way you will understand their motivation – are they trying to achieve a goal or solve a problem? What are the implications of succeeding and not succeeding? What would this mean to them and the business? Not only does this give you a great understanding of what is important to them, you will be able to tailor your solution and perhaps leave out whole chunks of irrelevant data.
Be fast
If a customer needs something, or they ask a question, respond as quickly as you reasonably can. Not only is it professional, but if the customer has asked you for information, it is probably because it is relevant to them. So don’t wait a week (by which time they have probably forgotten why they wanted it, thus making things difficult for them again), get back to them straight away (and make things easy for them!). Perhaps set yourself a target to get back to customer enquiries within a certain timeframe and then stick to it.
Prove that you can be trusted
Make sure you have relevant case studies and testimonials, particularly from industries or customers that are similar to them. Many customers do their own research and they will only agree to speak with you once they have reached a certain level of confidence that you can genuinely help them. So make use of articles, research, white papers and blogs. Share them with your potential customer and help them to become informed. Let’s face it, would you buy something big like a fleet of new cars or dozens of photocopiers without doing some research first? I bet you wouldn’t!
Speak to the MAN (and everyone else who is involved)
The MAN stands for Money, Authority, Need and, ideally The MAN is the person you will end up talking with. However in bigger companies you are likely to be involved with people in a variety of roles: the end user, the finance person, the influencer, the decision-maker, the buyer and so on. Make sure all the relevant people are involved right from the beginning. It is best if you can start with the most senior person, as their endorsement of you should ensure that everyone else participates. Also, as you involve everyone, you will discover that all the different perspectives throw up a range of objections and concerns, giving you the chance to tackle them yourself. Once you have reassured everyone, you are helping to make the decision maker’s job so much easier.
Remember, the more difficult the decision, the longer it will take and the less likely it is to go in your favour. So try these tips next time you are with a customer and make it easy for them to use you.
Janet is based in Enfield, north London and trains small businesses and entrepreneurs how to sell more. She has recently reached the final of the Institute of Sales and Marketing Management’s national awards (BESMA 2016) in the category of Sales Trainer of the Year and, in November 2015 won ‘Start up Business of the Year’ at the Enterprise Enfield Business Awards.
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