How to Overcome Buyer Hesitation with Common-Sense Marketing

Do you know how many of your warm prospects have failed to commit to actual sales in the past year? I’d bet that for most businesses, it’s a frustratingly large number.

 

So, what if it was possible to capture a large number of these lost potential sales… imagine what it could do for your annual sales figures.

 

Well, here’s the point…

 

Your prospects are just like you and I, they have certain triggers that must be pushed in order to complete a sale. And if you don’t tell your full story, they will never be educated as to the unique advantages of dealing with you.

 

They will never be forced to act on an initial interest and will instead become the customer of your competitor, who provides the information and reassurances they are looking for upfront.

 

Does that concern you? Then follow these simple tactics to Overcome Buyer Hesitation with Common-Sense Marketing.

 

Customers loathe risk

Without telling your full story, the prospect is left with a big hurdle. It’s called RISK. Whenever they contemplate buying any product or service, they are silently asking: “Will this really work for me? Is this the best choice I can make, or should I look for something better? What if I make a mistake? What will it cost me if it stops working?”

 

The more you tell the prospect about your company and the benefits of dealing with you, the fewer questions you will leave unanswered.

 

How to Add Value to your Quotations

This tactic is overlooked by companies when it is perhaps most important – during the sales process.

 

Every company has invisible guarantees. For instance, what would be your response if a product you had supplied stopped working only 3 weeks later? That’s right, you would bend over backwards to solve the problem. Start advertising your ‘hidden’ guarantees – you’ll find that many customers would even pay extra for added peace-of-mind.

 

You could leave it for the reader to work out for themselves the benefits you offer (which is exactly what most of your competitors do), but by doing the work for them, the quotation letter becomes a much more powerful sales tool. Ignore this simple tactic and you will be left competing solely on price.

 

Risk Reversal – Your Secret Sales Weapon

Here is a simple but devastatingly effective sales strategy that can transform your business…

 

If you will incorporate this strategy into every sales proposition and business transaction you make, you will make giant leaps in your enquiries, and particularly in the number of quotes and tenders you convert into sales.

 

How to remove the fears and barriers to sales, and make it easy for customers to buy from you

 

The risk prospects subconsciously feel is a real barrier blocking their decision to buy from you. You can reduce or eliminate this barrier by reversing the risk of the purchase, and placing the risk on your shoulders, rather than your customers.

 

By incorporating a risk reversal philosophy and statement into every sales message, you can say to your prospects “I understand you can’t be certain this product is perfect for you without buying and experiencing it first. Therefore you can buy it or try it at my risk, before you are committed to paying for it. If you are not totally satisfied after experiencing it in action, then simply return it and you don’t have to pay me a penny.”

 

That’s a very powerful sales proposition to put to your customer. No one in their right mind would refuse.

 

Whilst this form of wording is not right for every business, I can absolutely guarantee that risk reversal strategies can be adapted to suit any product or service, whatever the industry you operate in. In fact, we have helped clients in industries as varied as offshore oil and gas, building products, leisure and retail, employ risk reversal strategies with huge benefits to their business.

 

Risk free for you too… 

 

“Ah!” I here you say, “If my customers can try the product before they pay, and return it without owing a penny, surely they’ll take advantage of me and I’ll lose money hand over fist!”

 

In reality, the reverse is actually the case. When you include a powerful risk reversal statement in your sales message, my experience shows that your sales will increase by up to 300%, while your attrition rate will rarely exceed 2%.

 

If what you are selling will do what you say it will, and genuinely provides customers with the value they are expecting, then only a very small percentage will ever ask for a refund. In fact, the vast majority of people are honest. They don’t set out to rip you off. Customers are searching for genuine value and service. That’s all.

 

Can you see the importance of well-written direct mail?

 

Understanding how buyer hesitation works, and implementing strategies to remove perceived risk, is the single most effective tactic in converting sales leads and growing your profits.

 

More than anything else, a solid Marketing Strategy incorporating these kinds of methodologies is what distinguishes the most successful businesses – in terms of growth, revenues, profits, brand awareness, and staying power.

 

If you cannot see how removing buyer hesitation could be implemented in your specific business, then book a time in my diary here, and let’s have a chat.