Your Market Wont Give You the Benefit of the Doubt. Explain Your “Why”.. or your market assumes the worst.. { A.K.A. The “There’s no such thing as a free lunch” Conundrum! }

Unless you are in the highly unusual position of having no competitors (and don’t kid yourself – even if you think your business is so special/different that you are in a different market from others who offer a similar service – does your market know that?), your potential customers are going to be overwhelmed with information about the offering you and your competitors have. Not explaining why our customers should buy from us is one of those “leaps” that business owners make when communicating: we assume our prospects understand elements of our business that they just don’t know about!

For someone to make the decision to buy from you, they need to understand (in addition to understanding the features and benefits of your product/service):

• The reasons why your product is priced the way it is — whether that price is higher or lower than competitors’ prices/market average
• The reasons why you're making a special offer or running a promotion
• The reason why the offer is "limited"
• The reason why the product is unique
• The reasons for any “negative” aspects of the product – i.e big and awkward, slow to arrive, ugly, only available at certain times, etc. Own these and explain why if they are for a good and functional reason and when your client understands, it no longer becomes a negative
• Why you do what you do. Did you see a gap in the market place that left consumers at a loose end? Are you passionate about fixing a problem for your market?

Unless they know you personally, chances are -- your prospects will be cynical about you and your offer, unless you let them know why they don’t have to be.

We’ve all been burnt before – there are so many competing offers and ads in our face each day – many of which are misleading or dishonest - that we learn to be cynical about anything which “seems to good to be true.”

If this is what your prospects suspect, they will not buy from you even though your offer seems and is -- amazing. lf you tell customers the reasons why the situation is the way it is, they're MUCH more likely to believe you. Not only that, it has the added benefit of creating a warm relationship between the customer and the salesperson or the customer and your company.

Let’s look at the different types of offers you might make, and how to explain them to your clients:

Why Such A Great Offer/Deal?

Not everything in business goes to plan – you know that! Imagine that you had a big order for 1000 of a particular item, and when the stock arrives, the customer cancels – but you’re stuck with the stock. This is a time when many business owners would choose to run a sale on the item to simply get it out the door. But what do you tell your customers? The truth!

Instead of simply promoting a Clearance Sale, tell your customers the reason for the sale. Tell them about the error. Tell them that you need to clear out your warehouse to make way for your summer range. In doing that, you're going to give them away at cost plus 10%. When people know the reason for a discount, the chances of them purchasing a product will double. They’ll go from thinking the product is “dodgy”, “unpopular” or “out of fashion” to thinking “we nabbed a bargain!”

Why Free?

For many service-based businesses, such as consulting, health and beauty etc, a trial session is a crucial part of the sales process. Don’t try to pretend it’s something else – or you’ll just make people suspicious. Be honest, let you prospects know that the reason you let them try out your services is so that they’ll find out how great you are and choose to do business with you. For example, “Why are we offering this report/consultation free? Simple. We figure that the best way for you to find out more about how we operate is to experience our advice first hand. That's the sole reason for the free consultation. It's an opportunity for you to test-drive our expertise with no risk or obligation."

Why So Cheap?

lf you guarantee that your product is the cheapest in town, tell your customers why it's so cheap. Prospects will often assume that cheap price means cheap quality - but if your product is of top quality, and the reason you've been able to offer them cheaply is because you've cut your overheads to the bone, tell them that.

“Warehouse” type businesses like Cheap As Chips, The Reject Shop etc. have nailed this. You’ll often see signs in these businesses saying things like “we buy in bulk so that you save”. This serves to let the customer know that the cheap price doesn’t come at the expense of the quality of the product.

Why Act Now?

Consumers are very aware of offers that talk about limited time frames and limited numbers. People know that, in many cases, this sense of urgency is just a ploy to get them to stop procrastinating and make a decision immediately. As a result, people become anesthetised to the call to action. If, on the other hand, you give people reasons why the offer has a limited time frame or limited number, that offer instantly becomes more valuable and your message becomes more credible. For example, “We want to ensure maximum amount of individual attention possible for each participant so we are limiting the number to just 10 people at each workshop."

Why So Expensive?

At first glance, a high price can be perceived to be a negative, but it needn't be that way. lf your product is more expensive than others, tell people why. ls it double the price because it will save them three times the money? ls it double the price because it will last them ten times as long? Be upfront and proud that it's more expensive because being more expensive means that the customer is going to experience even better results.

Focus on value, not price, and your clients will do the same.

To Your Success!