We are in the final stretches of the prospect's buying process. Your prospect has understood their need, researched the alternatives, and evaluated their options.
You are waiting for the buyer to make their decision. They seem to be taking forever. What is holding them up?
- Unanswered questions
- Unaddressed concerns
- Need isn't great enough
- Alternatives aren't compelling enough
- One alternative doesn't stand out
- Something doesn't feel right
If the buyer's issue is with questions or concerns, the good news is that you can fix this by:
- Opening up feedback mechanisms that encourage the buyer to communicate their issues with you
- Understanding the issues of previous buyers and develop content to address these issues
Audience interviews are a great mechanism to help you understand prospect and buyer issues.
If the buyer's issue is with the need or a compelling, stand out alternative, you haven't lost the sale yet. These issues often point to a failure of the buying process to date to adequately develop the pain and the solution.
- Quantify the negative effects of not making a decision
- Enable the buyer to envision their success with your product
The biggest issue you face in product selection is buyer's emotion.
It is most important to recognize that the buying decision will not be based solely on the merit of your product.
How the buyer connects emotionally with your offering is critical to the purchase decision.
- Do they like you?
- Do they trust you?
- Do they want to work with you?
- Have you addressed and alleviated their fears?
- Do they believe that you will stand by them if problems surface?
- Are they excited about what you will do for them?
Did you notice that I repeatedly said "you" instead of "your product"? This isn't a mistake. Buyers will tend to humanize products. (That is one of the reasons why branding continues to play an important role in product selection.)
Creating that positive emotional connection that helps you sail through the selection stage is not easy. In fact, it is so important that I will focus on it in my next blog entry.
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