Sell For Success 4 – the 4 No’s

This is the fourth and last in our series of articles on successful selling. When I first started out in business I was taught that there are four reasons that prospects don’t buy from you. They are: No Trust – they don’t know you, don’t trust you and don’t want to deal with you. When you get an unwanted call in the evening and they say they are in your country and the telephone display shows ‘overseas’ then there is no trust and you hang up. If you are starting up in business then perhaps you have some expertise. Your prospects may not know this unless you tell them, not by being boastful but also not by hiding your experience. Think about how you develop a feeling of trust with your potential customers, through your branding, customer service, image, history, easy access and communication.
No Need – they have sufficient trust to be prepared to listen to you but they weren’t awake in the middle of the night wanting what you have to offer. However, many can be convinced and this is where knowledge of potential pain is required.
No Help – now they want what you are offering but they are not convinced that you are the one to buy from. They want to check competitors, websites, etc. When you can match your benefits to their pain, you can demonstrate that you are the salesperson who will help them.
No Hurry – they have decided that they need what you have to offer and that you will be the person that they will buy from. One day! Maybe soon! Maybe not so soon! A lot of sales are nearly made but linger on at this point without going ahead. Think laterally about how to overcome this because it can sometimes be the hardest obstacle of all. Discounts are commonly used, although not my preference. Imminent price rises are good if they are true (you will lose trust if they aren’t real). Generally people don’t like being squeezed into making a decision and sometimes giving prospects a bit of space and then following up promptly can be a good strategy. It alway surprises me how few salespeople follow up.
Happy selling.