Understanding Why Prospects Buy (Part I)
By Kent HowellWe've all made lots of sales during our careers, some big and some small. The reality of it is that often times we didnt make the sale at all, the customer decided to buy. What do I mean? Well, the customer had a problem or a recognized need that he wanted to solve. We got that sale not because of any real skill on our part, but because our product or service was the best fit or the lowest price for what he wanted. Sure we had to provide the information to him but he made the decision without any help from us.
As prospects have more and more access to information and resources, and as the time they are willing to part with to talk to salespeople shrinks, we need to understand more clearly why they buy and, maybe even more importantly, why they buy from whom they do.
Lets address the "why they buy" part first.
Prospects buy a solution to a known problem or to prevent a possible problem or out of desire. This desire is almost always a desire to gain something she doesnt have not currently have, but believes or knows that they must obtain it.
People buy for their own reasons, NOT FOR YOURS. Until you know your customers reasons for wanting, or not wanting, to buy your product/service...you are in the dark! It doesnt matter how many reasons you give for believing your product/service is a great buy, they will mean nothing unless your customer has VERY GOOD reasons to buy from you. Customers face new challenges every day that can alter their needs for your products/services. The key is to stay in contact with your prospects...and ALWAYS ask questions to learn where they are in terms of needing your product/service.
If a prospect avoids making the decision to buy from you, its typically because they have no sense of urgency to buy or they may not be convinced that your products/services will solve a problem they have. Your challenge is to prove to the prospect that buying now is best for them and you must be able to offer support and real reasons why. What will they miss if they wait even one more day? What will they miss if they dont buy from YOU? Make sure you emphasize on the potential opportunities if they go ahead and get started on the program NOW. WHY is it important for them to buy now? In other words, whats in it for them? Remember...the reason a customer buys your product or service is because of what it can do for them. JUST TELL THEM.
Again prospects buy for their reasons, NOT yours. Your responsibility is to engage them in a dialog to understand what reasons they have for needing your products/services. The key word here is dialog. You need to ask effective questions that allow them to comfortably share information with you. This is casual two-way conversation. It is NOT you reading down a list of prepared questions and going at the prospect like an attorney conducting a cross-examination.
If you can master the art of effective questioning skills youll be able be able to gain the knowledge you need to effectively and accurately position your offerings with the needs of the prospect. You can tell them all you want about the features, advantages, and benefits (FABs) of your products/services but it you dont have a clue as to the reasons they would need it, then all of the FABs arent going to make any difference.
Knowing your prospects needs is one thing but knowing the reasons behind them is an entirely different thing, and is actually the more important aspect of understanding what they will ultimately buy.
In Part II we'll look at the second half of the equation from whom do the prospects buy?
NOTE: A condensed version of both Part I and Part II of this article appeared in the May 04, 2007 Edition of Business Lexington. Understanding why prospects buy
