How to Sell When They Are Not Ready to Buy?

 

What happens if you got a really neat product but somehow, there are no sales no matter what you did? Are you ahead of your time? Is the target audience so obtuse that they cannot see the benefits your product/service can provide? Or are your customers not in a buying stage yet?How many stages are there before your customers whips out his wallet?

Basically, a buying process can be broken down into these 5 stages:

1. Thinking
2. Exploring
3. Planning
4. Short-Listing
5. Buying

If you were tempted to buy a new home or a new car …

Thinking and dreaming of it is the first stage. You’ll begin to gaze at the beautiful house you pass by. You’ll imagine putting your hands on the steering wheel and listening to the car’s purr. You’ll stop to look at furniture, thinking how nicely it will fit into your new home. You seat on your colleague’s BMW and start thinking you want that walnut dashboard as well.

With all the ideas swimming in your head, you venture another step forward. You enter Stage 2 where you go on an expedition to suss out the options. You start to list your buying criteria, wants and don’t wants.

One fine day, you decide that you know exactly what you want for your dream house or car. You decide to put all your thoughts into action. Now you’re into stage 3 where you start to plan. When to buy? Where to buy? Which one to buy? What price to pay? How to pay?

Stage 4 can be the easiest or the trickiest – short-listing what to buy. Buy a red or silver car? Buy the left house over-seeing the sea or get the right one which is facing the field?

Stage 5 is the happiest. You own that dream house or car. Actually, every step can be done at the point of purchase except Stage 1. This is why merchandising and in-store displays are so important in a retail environment.

Your advertising is most important when the prospects are at Stage 1 through Stage 3. You must find ways to ensure your product/service is noticed at these stages, be short-listed and ultimated be considered as the choice of purchase.

What can you do?

Include a website address and customer service hotline prominently in your advertisements. Now your prospects have two methods to find out more about you before he pays you a visit. Do understand that there are people who feel intimidated by the presence of salespeople when all they want is to browse and have a feel. Another suggestion is to write a Special Report about your product which not only spells out the features and benefits but also include a FAQ. Some people start to imagine problems even before they have the product. Tell them you are the expert who knows how to tweak and fix every problem imaginable. This Special Report can be in a download-able format or you can produce a CD or a brochure at a low price. Offer them for free in your advertisement: “Visit us for your free CD on the 10 tips to get rid of all stains from your carpets or rugs without getting them wet”. Well, you can mail it to them but it would be better if your prospects make a trip down. When they are at your place, they will see what they have been thinking, exploring and planning for quite sometime. If all the buying criteria is present and you got yourself a super sales consultant to poke the hot buttons, you might find yourself a new customer and your customer is now a owner.

[tags] buying stages, how to sell when they are not ready to buy[/tags]