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The Great Motivator
August 2005
by Ann Barr
Think about what influences you to buy what you do, where you do.
Psychologists tell us there is a single driving force behind all human behavior. They say this force affects every facet of our lives, including our buying decisions.
Question: What is it that so strongly influences us?
Answer: Pain and pleasure.
Everything we do, we do either out of our need to avoid pain or our desire to gain pleasure. Research has found that the need to avoid pain is stronger than our desire to gain pleasure.
Look at the following two different statements used to convince a prospect of the benefits of purchasing a maintenance agreement for printers.
One statement is a pleasure response and the other is a pain response.
Customer’s Objection:
"We don’t need a service agreement because we’ve never had a problem with our printers."
PLEASURE RESPONSE
"Preventative maintenance with regular cleanings will help to keep your printers running smoothly and you will get more years of good service out of your printers."
That statement may convince some prospects to spend the money for a service agreement. But a more convincing response is the following one, with a detailed and descriptive account of the unpleasant things that can happen to a printer without regular cleanings.
PAIN RESPONSE:
"It’s great that you haven’t had problems with your printers. Most of my customers have a problem with their printers within a few years. What can happen is: Toner dust and paper dust gets into the gears and breaks up the gears and causes problems with the fuser, resulting in an expensive service call and down time. I would hate to see that happen to you."
It’s much more effective to paint a mental picture of exactly what can happen, and by doing this, you let the prospect know you have more than just a passing knowledge of the products and services you sell.
If You Sell Imaging Supplies to End Users . . .
You can help customers avoid the pain and inconvenience of running out of supplies by offering Annual Supplies Agreements (ASAs) with automatic shipping.
What is an Annual Supplies Agreement?
It is a written agreement between you and a customer, listing the type and amount of supplies the customer will purchase from you for a full year. You guarantee to supply specific products for a year at a set price or discount. The customer promises to buy these supplies from you for a year, and you both sign an agreement stating product descriptions, prices or discounts, quantities and delivery choices.
If you offer ASAs to your customers, don’t refer to the agreement as a “contract.” That word may turn off consumers who think of a contract as something legal, which requires an attorney’s services. “Agreement” is a much friendlier word.
You can see an example of an Annual Supplies Agreement letter at http://www.profitbyphone.com/ASA-Letter.htm.
If you are unable to access this page, email me at annbarr3@cox.net and I will email the link to you.
Are you a wholesaler selling to resellers?
If you are a wholesaler selling an item that has been on back order in the past, you can increase the order by reminding your clients about the consequences and pain of a back-order situation (lost business, angry customers, etc.) This is a necessity, especially when selling to buyers using a just-in-time ordering system.
The next time you talk about the benefits of your product or service, remember the driving force that influences human behavior: the need to avoid pain.
You Can Be a Hero
Anytime you can help a customer avoid pain, anguish, inconvenience or downtime, you will be the hero they remember the next time they need to order your products!
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