|
The
Great Motivator
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!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ann Barr is a
consultant and sales trainer who has
written eight
books on sales and marketing
available on her web site
www.sellingsupplies.com |
