To Sell Something, Eliminate the Risk of Buying It

That strategy of “educating” the customer about who you are?  Totally dead, says Jeffrey Gitomer, author of “The Sales Bible”.  Gitomer has news for us.  Prospects don’t care who we are, UNLESS, he says, they perceive that we can help them.

The traditional selling sequence:

1. Appointment
2. Probe
3. Present
4. Overcome objections
5. Close

“Those 50-year old practices are dead,” says Gitomer.  “The problem is that 95 percent of salespeople haven’t heard the news.”

What’s new in selling, Gitomer advises, is step-by-step risk elimination.  What’s that? Well, a risk of purchases is some mental or physical barrier, real or imagined, that causes a person to hesitate about ownership. The salesperson’s job? Identify the risk and eliminate it.

Some of the fears that may go through prospects minds include:

• Financial – am I spending too much? Is this a budget violation?
• Quality – something better exists.
• Salesman is lying – (risk of nondelivery or overstated promises)
• Hidden agenda – (friend in the business, I’m not the real decider)

How does the salesperson go about eliminating these barriers to a sale? List the corresponding gains – and loss avoidance –  if they buy.

Most people will not react overly positively to a blog that is just sales spin,” cautions Problogger.net. “While blogs can be used as a tool for selling they are at their best when they are relational, conversational and offer their readers something useful that will enhance their lives.”

Business blogs, I’m fond of saying in corporate blogging training classes, are nothing more than extended interviews.  (Just as in a face-to-face job interview, searchers who read your blog evaluate the content, judging whether you’re a good fit for them.) The good news for business owners and practitioners who use blogs as a marketing tool, is that blog posts are an ideal vehicle for demonstrating support and concern while being persuasive in a low-key manner.

You might say that due to the cumulative effect of ongoing content posting, blogs and step-by-step risk elimination are a perfect match!