Overcoming Objections - Risk
Friday, May 02, 2008
Risk is more than a great board game that takes way too long to play. Risk is something your clients face when making decisions about their project. Risk is a major influence for people. It is why some people choose a familiar company or product over an obviously better choice. When you're explaining your services to clients, keep the risk factor in mind. They may not pick your company because it involves taking a chance.
How Do You Overcome Risk?
- Try to take risk out of the equation. Whenever possible, provide a guarantee. Money back guarantees or satisfaction guarantees go a long way to letting clients feel more comfortable taking a chance on you.
- Allow people to try out your products, if you can. A trial or test of how a product works or how a material looks over a period of time can do wonders. You might even be able to promise them that you will remove or replace a product for free if they're not happy.
- Another option is to prove your experience. Risk goes away when people are convinced they are dealing with an expert. Provide testimonials, before and after photos, references, awards, associations you may belong to, and more. If they can see you are a specialist or good at what you do, you have a better chance of closing the deal.
Labels: Sales Advice
Sales Advice - Communicate What You Know & They Will Buy
Monday, April 28, 2008
Communication is your friend. When you are selling your services to a potential client, always keep in mind that what you know isn't always what they know. You may forget to include all the great details that would really sell your company and land you the contract.For example, you might make a statement like this, "We provide outstanding service to all our customers." It's a great thing to say to people but if you stop there, you're not communicating. Why is your service outstanding? What do you do to make it so great? Do you do something different from your competitor? Talk with the potential client, don't talk at them. You know that you offer 24-hour emergency service or that the products you install have a 10 year warranty. But these people don't.
"We have X years of experience in this industry." Doing what? This is a great jumping-off point but it has to be taken further. Break down those years and share the type of work you've done and demonstrate your passion for you've been in this business for so long.
"I'm confident we'll do this job right." I'm happy for you. But communicate with me why you're so confident. Do you have new state of the art tools? Do you use only the best materials? Does everyone on your team have 10 years on the job? Make them confident.
"We do this job better than anyone else." Very good. But... you know what's coming next. Give us the details, right? Right. Let them know why you're the expert. Tell them what they need to know and maybe what they don't need to know. If they see (and hear) you are capable, they will sign on the dotted line.
Labels: Sales Advice
