In which of these two scenarios are you most likely to give in to your buying instinct?
Undoubtedly, the second one, right? Well, guess what – Even your customers think likewise.
Sales is a crucial aspect of any business and sales teams are constantly striving to sell as much as they can. Be it weekdays, weekends or holidays, these heroes work all around the clock. But what exactly is it that keeps some of these sales cycles running for longer than expected?
Zig Ziglar, an esteemed American salesman, author and motivational speaker, rightly said – “Every sale has five basic obstacles – no need, no money, no hurry, no desire, no trust.”. An effective way of overcoming these obstacles and subsequently boosting sales is to offer irresistible discounts. Let’s understand how, one obstacle at a time:
1. No need
Need is the biggest motivator for any individual to make a purchase. There are two solutions to overcome this lack of need amongst your leads and customers – either wait for them to realize they need your product or create a need. It’s quite possible that your customers are not completely aware of all your products. Which is why you need to communicate better, educate your market, let them know what you can offer and offer it at a discounted price to keep their interests high.
2. No money
Perhaps your customers think that they can’t afford your products and maybe some of them really don’t have the budget to afford your products \. This is the best segment for you to target with your promo campaign. Low prices will not only encourage this lot to purchase your products but will also give them a good reason to come back to you for repeated purchases.
3. No hurry. No desire
The reason we mention both these factors together is that they both influence each other. Maybe your lead does not need to purchase that email solution from you yet, or maybe he/she is just assessing your products at the moment and is not prepared to buy them anytime soon. What’s required here is to create a sense of urgency, and what could be a better option than limited duration promos to achieve this!
4. No trust
For first-time buyers, trust is going to be a major factor in helping them choose your products and services over the ones offered by your competitors; the same competitors, who just like you, claim to be the best in the market. This is a problem which comes under the purview of your marketing team. You can build trust through the marketing communication that you send out – be it ad copies, blog posts, mass mailers or social media posts. However, it’s important to remember that what goes into your communication pieces decides the outcome of your efforts. Don’t sell your products, sell the solution to your leads’ problems. Your leads need trustworthy information, not rote-learned sales pitches. Offer them a joining discount or give them a free trial for a month to build a rapport.
There are always ways to overcome these obstacles and close that lead; all you need to do is pay attention to what your leads are thinking. Your approach to your leads needs to be tweaked depending on the stage your lead is at. Identify their concerns, acknowledge them, and give them an offer which they just can’t refuse. Lowered prices, after all, work like magnets!
We’re sure you must have faced similar situations where closing a certain lead felt like the most herculean task you’ve ever had to complete. And we’re also sure that you did all that you could to ensure that you did close that certain lead. Please do share these experiences with us in the comments section below; we’d love to hear all of it!
