Thursday, December 18, 2014

Why People Buy?

 The number one question in sales, asked by every customer is, “What’s in it for me?”  We say that every customer is tuned into his or her own favourite radio station “WII-FM,”  What’s in it for me?
People buy for their reasons, not your reasons. In sales, this simply means that you must sell unto others in terms of what they want and need, before you start talking about what you want and need.  The failure to understand this simple point is the reason why most sales people either underachieve or fail in the field of selling.  They are so caught up in what they are selling that they forget to take the necessary time to find out what it is that the person they are talking to might be buying.
The two major motivators of human action have always been the desire for gain and the fear of loss.  People buy a product, service or an idea based on their anticipation that they will be better off by following your recommendation than they would be if they did nothing at all.  People may also fear that they will lose substantially more than what you are selling will cost them to preserve their current situation.
In every case, you are selling an opportunity to achieve, avoid or preserve something,  If you are selling an investment account or idea, you are selling the customers hope that he or she will be better off and even financially independent in the future.  If you are selling life insurance you are appealing to the fear that his family or business will be left destitute or ruined should an accident occur.  In either case, you are appealing to the desire for gain or the fear of loss.
The bottom line of successful selling, which I have studied and practiced for 10 years, is that customers want to know what your ideas will do for them rather than what it is.  Experienced sales people, of all kinds, talk in terms of how their idea will benefit the customer in his or her current situation.  Inexperienced sales people talk about the features and the characteristics of their product or service, as if these had some kind of motive power.
It’s important to understand that people buy for their reasons, not ours. Every buying decision is an attempt to be better off as a result of having made that decision. The individual who’s making a buying decision has three choices: He can buy from you, from someone else, or from no one.
All professional selling begins with need analysis. And you’re not in a position to sell until you understand what need of the prospect your product or service can satisfy that need. Your job is to get the person to the point where he is completely focused in how he will gain by using your product, rather than how much he might lose by committing himself to it.
All buying decisions are emotional. If we say we are going to do something for a logical reason, that means we gave more emotion invested in that reason than any other. Whenever a person says he would like to think about it, he is saying that you have not aroused his desire to own or enjoy the benefits of your product.