3 Powerful Mindshifts You Need to Make to Sell More of your Product!

The amount of power a word holds never ceases to amaze me.

In business, even a single word can make all the difference in perception, persuasion and acceptance. When chosen carefully, words can set the right tone for a sales conversation, diffuse awkward situations and get people to agree with your point of view. Simply put – the words you choose can easily make or break a deal.

That said, word choice not only affects your prospect’s perception of your product or service, but it also changes the way you can individually approach an opportunity. On that note, here are some changes to the words you would commonly use which will enable you to hear the word YES more often than no

1. Benefits vs specs

When I bought my latest laptop, I did a bit of research to figure out which model best suited my needs. I knew I wanted a powerful machine with more disk space, RAM, flash cache and battery life. So I checked some tech sites showing comparisons of specs for the latest laptop models on the market. As I’m a bit of a techie, it wasn’t hard for me to make a decision.

But here’s the thing: in sales, you can never assume that your customers know anything about your product or service. Most people don’t buy a product because it has impressive specs; they buy because the product satisfies a need they have. And while some people may be able to understand the technical terms in your marketing approach, many would find it difficult to place those terms in context. Is 8GB RAM good enough? Do these features justify the price?

Sure, it’s good to impress with specifications and features, but customers will only care about them in relation to how those qualities will meet their needs. Ultimately, they want to know how your product can solve their problems. So instead of reciting specs or product features to them, probe a potential customer to find out potential benefits of using your product to ensure that their needs are being met.

2. Emotion vs reason

It’s easy to assume that people think rationally when making purchase decisions, but nothing could be further from the truth. Think about it: if we are all logical when it came to shopping, then luxury brands would never have become retail empires. After all, luxury items are difficult to justify rationally (however I still really love my exotic tie collection)

Although we look at the facts and our alternative choices when buying a product, emotions ultimately dictate our purchase decisions. In fact, emotions are the reason we prefer brand name products over generic ones.

So if you want to build a real connection with your prospect client, make sure your sales pitch hits an emotional high note. Below are some of the emotions you could appeal to for better chances of making a sale:

• Fear of Loss: “If I you dont buy now, then you may never get the chance again.”
• Pride: “If you buy this, you will be the best looking person in your office.”
• Shame: “Everyone else has one of these, you don’t want to be the only person stuck in the nineties.”
• Jealousy: “How do you think this would look in the office of your competitor?”
• Greed: “If you buy now you can enjoy it right away!.”

3. Value vs price

When people are making an investment, they tend to look for the finest quality, the best service and the lowest price. We all know too well those first two things never usually come at the lowest price.

As such, it is no surprise that most objections to a sales proposition are price-based. It’s just easy for us to say “It costs too much” or “It doesn’t fit into my budget” rather than to outright shun the offer.

Price objections are so common that any business person would them to come up in any conversation. The key is to emphasize value over the price. Although it is common practice to offer discounts, payments plans or customisable bundles, it’s always better to sell at the best possible price than to haggle.

Especially if it is not in your power to negotiate on price or you are selling a big-ticket item, showing the customer they are getting more will usually overcome price objections. One way to do this is by showing them the opportunity cost of not buying. Another is to focus on the product’s benefits and how it can make that person’s life better or more convenient. Possibly another angle is to talk about alternatives and how they actually are inferior or even worse for the customer compared to your product or service!

I want to talk more about value in a separate post and on how to effectively execute on the three points above – but for now reflect on how you approach these issues in your daily business dealings and leave a comment for me below!

Yours Truly,

The Wolf of York Street (@wolfofyorkst)