subject: The True Story: Why Clients Buy From You [print this page] As a speaker, I stand in front of companies big and small and teach them how to get more sales. I generally ask this question: why does a potential client choose you?
How do they determine which hotel to stay in for the night or where to get a tire changed?
After I ask these questions, hands always shoot up: "Price!"
Incorrect.
Based on our research, price is NOT the number one consideration for someone making these types of purchasing decisions.
Now, before you stop reading in disgust, let me be clear; price is a consideration and a specific price range is a big consideration. However, over 80% of the time price is NOT the number one reason a customer chooses you.
So what are the biggest reasons a customer decides to buy from a certain business?
Value - This can mean different things for different people. Value could mean a combination of price and quality. In other words: a good deal. For someone else, value means being treated well. For someone else it may mean 'feeling' like they made a good purchasing decision after-the-fact.
Confidence - The customer has to have confidence that they were well taken care of during the purchasing process and confidence they will be taken care of in the future. Your actions control this outcome. Are you treating the customer in a way that engenders confidence? Are you acting like a salesman or making educated recommendations as a trusted consultant? Are you treating the customer with respect and kindness? These actions build confidence.
Trust or 'Like' - Finally, the number one factor a customereither consciously or subconsciouslyconsiders when making a purchasing decision is, whether or not they like and trust you. It's simple. We like to hang-out with people we like and trust. We like to work with people we like and trust. And, yes, we like to buy things from people we like and trust.
Think about it this way: if your front desk employees were more likable on the phone could your price be $20 dollars higher than the competition and still get the business? You bet. What about $40 or more? Depending on the situation, and the customer, absolutely.
If you can get a potential customer to like you, you can avoid or overcome almost any price objection. But, instead of attempting to get to know the customer, instead of getting them to like you, what do most employees do? They immediately quote a price or they try to price match, in a last ditch effort to get the client. In most cases all this price talk is simply unnecessary. Just get the customer to like you.
3 Ways to Get the Customer to Like You
Tone - When you're speaking to a customer on the phone, the words you use are only 14% of what you're communicating. The tone of your voice is 86%. If you sound happy and engaging, the customer will like you.
Validate - Make sure the customer knows that you've heard their concerns. Make sure they know that you care about them. That is the key. Phrases like 'I understand what you're saying' or 'So let me make sure I understand correctly' followed by a restatementare really, really important.
Questions - Ask many. Make sure they are open-ended. Think 'why,' 'what,' 'where,' 'when,' and 'how.' Everyone likes to talk about themselves. If you ask questions and are legitimately interested in the answers, the customer will like you.
And remember don't fall back on price. Price is a cop out. Immediately quoting the price is an excuse for an employee to avoid getting to know the customer.
Our statistics prove: if you avoid quoting price at the beginning of a phone call, you will close substantially more sales
Remember, price is not the number one reason someone buys something from you; their liking you is.
by: Jeremiah Wilson
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