Why Should I Buy From You?

Virtually every business you contact has this question in their mind. To truly maximize your revenues you need give people a reason to buy from you versus a competitor. Here are a few strategies that will help you differentiate yourself from your competition.

First, it's important to understand that people make their buying decision on two levels ? logical and emotional. The logical aspect revolves around the product or service and includes such things as product specifications, warranty, price, colour, size, ease of use, etc. Anything directly associated with the product is a logical need. The second buying motivator and, perhaps the most powerful, is the emotional aspect of the sale. These criteria are the less tangible needs and include feelings of success, relief, pride, joy, fear and concern. For example, a person buying a pair of jeans will have specific logical needs such as waist size, inseam length, colour and style. But, ultimately, the emotional aspect of how they fit and look will influence that person's buying decision.

To uncover your customers emotional buying requirement learn to ask, "What are you looking for in a??" followed by "Why is that important to you?" The first question helps you learn the logical need while the second question will help the customer express the emotional reasons behind their purchase. In the hundreds of sales training workshops I've conducted, I've learned that most salespeople and business owners have a tendency to leap into a product demonstration before they have learned what is important to the customer. Invest the time accurately and thoroughly learning your customer's need and wants. This will help you to begin differentiating yourself from your competitor.

The next step is to give a presentation that focuses on the customer's needs. Rather than discuss everything about your product or service, focus first on what the customer identified as being important. This demonstrates that you listened to what they said and will help you separate yourself more effectively.

When presenting your product or service ensure you discuss the benefits as well as the features. The feature is "what it is" and the benefit is "what it means to the customer." A great way to phrase this is to say, "Our equipment extracts 97% of the water from your carpet (feature) which means your carpets will be dry to the touch within three or four hours (benefit)." This addresses the customer's emotional buying needs which means there is a greater likelihood they will buy from your versus a competitor.

People also make buying decisions based on their overall experience in your store or place of business. Here are just three influencing factors:

1. Ease of business. Are you easy to do business with or do I, as a customer, have to jump through hoops to return something? Are you well staffed or do you reduce your costs by scheduling a skeleton staff at any given time?

2. Staff accessibility and attitude. Is your team friendly and well trained in customer services procedures? Do they exhibit the mentality that the customer is important and comes first or do they spend their time gossiping and gabbing? Do they eagerly approach the customer or do they wait for customers to come up to them first. I recently bought an aquarium and although the staff was knowledgeable they made me feel like I was intruding on their time.

3. Product selection and availability. Do you have a good supply chain management or order fulfillment process in place. Prior to buying my aquarium I placed my order at one store and at the time of writing this article almost six weeks later I still haven't been advised that my tank has arrived. And this was a stock order!

Lastly, equip your team with the tools they need to properly do their job. Take advantage of the product training most manufacturers provide, invest in the on-going development of your people, and help them succeed. I've worked with companies who invest a great deal in their employees and others who spend a bare minimum. The difference in their overall results is always significant.

Today's business environment is more challenging and competitive than ever before which means you need to give people a clear reason to do business with you rather than someone else.

Copyright 2003 Kelley Robertson. All rights reserved

Kelley Robertson, President of the Robertson Training Group, works with businesses to help them increase their sales and motivate their employees. For information on his programs, contact him at 905-633-7750 or at Kelley@RobertsonTrainingGroup.com. Receive a FREE copy of "100 Ways to Increase Your Sales" by subscribing to his 59-Second Tip, a free weekly e-zine at http://www.RobertsonTrainingGroup.com. He is also the author of "Stop, Ask & Listen ? How to welcome your customers and increase your sales."

In The News:


pen paper and inkwell


cat break through


Turn Your Wisdom Into a Workshop

The Technical Revolution has done a lot for us --... Read More

Hate Follow-Up Phone Calls To Hot Prospects Who Won?t Call You Back? Stop Calling!

We all learned in Sales 101 we must follow up... Read More

Tips for Increasing Your Profits with Gift Certificates

Offering gift certificates is an excellent way of increasing sales... Read More

Create a Magic Connection with Clients, Leads, and Business Associates Part II

Part I of this article explored how strategies of Neuro-Linguistic... Read More

Touchdown! Closing Skills for Successful Selling

It's early January 2004. The Green Bay Packers are just... Read More

Referrals: Getting Good Business By Doing Good Business

Whether you're a conventional sales person, a professional ? such... Read More

The Biggest Mistake In Selling!

Some trainers and sales managers teach that there are prospects... Read More

The Art Of Cold Calling

I know, don't groan. You have to do them if... Read More

Before They buy What You Say - 10 Steps To Selling Yourself

You are the productWe're all in the selling business whether... Read More

The Problem With Technology At The Point Of Sale In Financial Services

BackgroundThere's a conundrum that currently exists between the customer and... Read More

Why Write a Sales Letter for Each Product?

Authors/publishers are great at getting their books written. Entrepreneurs know... Read More

3 Ways To Sell and Have Fun Doing It

There are many ways to sell and have fun doing... Read More

Impotent Questions - How Much Are They Costing You?

Last issue we talked about what motivates people to buy... Read More

Telephone Techniques

TELEPHONE TECHNIQUESSelling face to face is different from selling on... Read More

Sell YOU With Your Small Talk (Yes You Can)

Want to build a relationship -- sell yourself for a... Read More

Web Promotion: 10 Amazing Web Promotion Ways To Jump Start Your Sales

Hello, do you have a website and sell something on... Read More

How To Profit From Initial Consultations

"I'd love to work with you, but?"How many times have... Read More

An Ideal Selling Situation

The largest sale that I ever closed was negotiated over... Read More

Give Up the Need to Sell

Most business people will tell you that selling is not... Read More

The Basic Secrets of A Million Dollar Sales Letter

"Accepting the consequences, good or bad, will free you; take... Read More

Selling Abilities - Part 1

Selling "-abilities": Reliability (Part 1 of 4) Most salespeople... Read More

Value Based Pricing, Not Price Cutting

Special Requirements for Reprint: we ask only that you include... Read More

Exporting to Europe: Not the Challenges You Think

If you plan to do sell your product or service... Read More

7 Ways to Stop Selling & Start Building Relationships

Sometimes we can all use a friendly reminder to keep... Read More

60 Ways to Increase Your Mail Order Catalog Sales

This article is meant to inform. Please don't construe this... Read More

Throw Out Your Selling Language - Unlock Your Natural Voice

I was sitting at my desk last week when my... Read More

Your Proposal Was Rejected... But Why?

When a request for proposal (RFP) comes in, you get... Read More

How Can a White Paper Support Sales and Marketing?

A white paper supports PR, marketing and sales because it... Read More

Why Executives Wont Take Your Call

Do you hang up on telemarketers? 9 times out of... Read More

The Trusted Advisor Relationship: What Is It, and What Should It Be?

For the past months, maybe a year, I've been hearing... Read More

No Regrets

Here's a chilling thought. If you were to die tomorrow,... Read More

10 Incredible Ways To Sell Your Products Now

1. Make your reader visualize they have already bought your... Read More

Program Your Biocomputer For Sales Success

Selling isn't something you do to people, it's something you... Read More