Selling for a Change

You can lead a horse to water,
but you can’t make him drink...
Try salting the oats.
- Anonymous

Selling is often not just convincing someone to buy your product or service but to change what they already have or what they are doing now.

Some customers are already interested in changing to something new and they know they need to buy your product or service. Others need to be made aware that something new is available and that they should upgrade as soon as possible. Either you sell the customer your product or service or your customer sells you that they don’t need it. Either way, a sale occurs. It’s your job to convince them to purchase your service or product. But after you educate them and they still won’t buy. . . what’s the problem? As you already know, most people are afraid of change. Where does the fear come from and why? Like many people, I developed a fear of change during childhood. Looking back, I sense that changes were not necessarily improvements in my situation, rather they were dictated and initiated by others for their convenience. Perhaps the changes were not ones that I would have made. As a child, things were not in my control.

You don’t need to be a psychologist to see that my mental association with change was somewhat negative. Perhaps you had a similar experience. Fortunately for me, my reaction later on in life to all of this was ultimately to take control of things and make changes that suited me. I developed the ability to make changes that improved my situation. To this end, I’m relatively easy to sell to because I like to invest in improvements. Some people, on the other hand, still resist change because they're afraid that the change will actually make things worse. These people are difficult to sell to.

Some customers avoid change because they aren’t sure how they got as far as they have. They think they were lucky and they don't want to rock the boat. Any change at all could upset everything! Without getting much further involved in the psychological details of the fear of change, consider it as a possibility behind your customer’s resistance to buying.

Customers have to change what they have been using or doing
Out of your customers' mouths come all of the classic sales objections and excuses: "I can’t afford it. I don't have enough time. I need to think about it. Blah, blah, blah..." These standard sales objections mean nothing and simply mask the real fear of taking (or accepting) action.

Selling is offering someone the opportunity to improve their situation
Position your offer in such a way that the change (i.e., improvement) it will make in your customer’s life is obvious. Work with your customers to make them feel in control of the change so it will improve their lives. This is more than selling benefits, because you could pitch benefits all day long only to have your customers still be afraid to go forward. I like bluntness: "Will this make an improvement that you’re looking for?" or "Do you feel like you are in control of what's going on here?" The answers may reveal a few simple things you can do to complete your transaction. There won't be any more sales objections. Remember that this is an attitude adjustment on your part.

Appeal to the inner brat
Because I've studied marketing for so long, when I become a customer, I become a hyper-sensitive, critical-of-the-sales-process lunatic. I’m a sales and marketing perfectionist who’s always trying to do everything right. As a customer, I'm always gauging my own feelings, thoughts, and emotions toward a salesperson or a marketing tactic. I walk into a store to buy something and I become a six year old child. All week long I've been selling, I'm now the customer, I've got my money, and it’s my turn to buy. And dammit...

I want service, I want what I want,
I want it now, and I want it my way.

We haven’t matured much when it comes to our turn to be kids in the candy store. Since most sales are based on emotions (logic just provides the justification after-the-fact), our emotions as a buyer have probably not matured much either. If you’ve ever worked in a public service job, like a restaurant, gas station, or retail store, you’ve likely seen this to be true. As a salesperson you have to work your sales approach to appeal to this spoiled child in everyone. My initial reaction when I see a spoiled brat is to think about strangling them. On the other hand, being more interested in making the person happy and completing the sale, I remember to appeal to their good side and satisfy the child before they become the brat.

I know I’m successful if I can please my customers and make their inner child happy immediately, regardless of their demands. As the person selling, look at how happy you get by helping people have what they want. Remember the chapter on getting out of people’s way? Give them what they want.
To really study marketing, learn what appeals to you and incorporate whatever works with you to compel you to spend your money. Make changes to what doesn’t work for you in your own presentation to your own customers.

Business Black Belt Notes

• A customer’s real resistance to buying something may be because they feel out of control about making a change in their life.
  
• A customer can be like a spoiled child. The salesperson must make the customer happy immediately.
  
• Study what appeals to you and incorporate whatever works into your own presentation to customers.

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About the author and reprint permission
Burke Franklin is the originator of the popular BizPlanBuilder® business planning software and the founder of JIAN (jee’on -- www.jian.com), the company behind a suite of successful business development software tools for Windows & Macintosh. Burke was elected to White House Conference on Small Business and nominated for Ernst & Young’s “Entrepreneur of the Year.” Burke is also an instrument-rated pilot, and a second-degree black belt in TaeKwonDo. Burke’s highly praised book, Business Black Belt draws parallels from the martial arts and is rich in hard-won advice for building and running a business today.

Permission granted to reprint this article in its entirety with no text alterations. You must include this byline in its entirety, plus, if it's to be posted to a web site, an active hyperlink to www.JIAN.com. (However, you may become an affiliate and insert your affiliate link to JIAN.)

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