3 Sales Facts
Posted by: Cheryl Clausen in sales coaching, tags: increase sales, sales plan, selling in a recessionAccording to marketing expert Philip Kotler your buyers are responding to the current economic environment in three ways:
- They are shifting to lower priced offerings
- They are postponing or eliminating discretionary purchases
- They are cutting back on driving and eating out, and spending more time at home
Negative or Positive
Some of you will look at that list and say, “Yep, that’s exactly what’s happening and why I can’t sell anything.”
Others will look at the same list and say, “Yep, that’s exactly what’s happening now how do I turn that into an opportunity?”
A Positive Opportunity
Every potentially negative circumstance has an equally positive opportunity. The very reasons potential buyers aren’t buying your stuff now are exactly why they should be buying your stuff now. Here’s what I mean…
Many business owners, entrepreneurs, and sales professionals respond to interest in lower-priced offerings by cutting their prices. The exact thing you should NOT do. You never want to get into a price cutting war because you can’t win. Someone can and will cut their price to be lower priced than you.
Instead, respect the fact that potential buyers who are looking for lower prices are really looking for greater value. Your potential buyers are intelligent people. They understand you can buy a $10 pair of shoes. They also understand those $10 shoes won’t last, they may not be comfortable, and they could end up costing you in terms of foot and back pain.
So rather than focusing on price help your potential buyer focus on what they really want… more value. Demonstrate how your offer is a better value or has more value than the competition. Tell them you understand things are tight and that’s exactly why they need to get the most value from the dollars they spend so they don’t waste money, time, or other resources on unsatisfactory options.
People are delaying the purchase of big ticket items like cars and homes. However, now is a great time to get the most value when purchasing a car or home. Again rather than focusing on why now isn’t the time to buy focus on why now is a great time to buy. Not only do they get more value in the item purchased… interest rates are lower meaning the total cost of the purchase is lower now than even a few months ago.
When people drive less, eat in, and spend more time at home that means there are opportunities to position what you have to offer in terms of fulfilling their current need. When eating out is more of a luxury you can play on that fact and demonstrate the importance of choosing a restaurant where the experience is memorable over the run of the mill eating joint. Small things can now become the new luxury. You simply equate the increased value of these items with the sense of satisfaction they generate.
Rather than trying to fight the facts or giving up because of those facts… use the facts to position your offer in the potential buyers mind the way that best meets their current need.
Given the new sales facts how will you change the way you talk about what you sell to better meet your potential buyers needs?
Entries (RSS)