Which question from your prospects and customers scares you the most?

 

 

If you are like most business owners we work with, you will probably answer:

  • How much does it cost?
  • Can I get a discount?
  • Why should I choose you and not your competitor? or
  • Can you provide a guarantee?

While all of these are intimidating and sometimes difficult to overcome, they all have one positive thing in common – your prospect is giving you a signal that she is interested in buying from you but she needs for you to help her overcome her objection.  She has already started to think about trying your product/service but she is unsure about at least one aspect.

And for that reason – you can take those questions as a sign that a sale is in fact still possible.

However, the question that should frighten you more than any other because it is by far the worst one that you get from your audience is – Can I have some time to think about it?

Thinking is counter-productive to deciding. Whenever you put your prospect into a position where they have gone into the thinking part of their brain, you will not get a decision.  Thinking takes place in one part of your brain (the neo-cortex), while deciding happens much more quickly (and automatically) in your old or “reptilian” brain.

Let’s examine where you went wrong…

The biggest part of your brain is the neo cortex.  It is the last thing that forms in the womb and it lights up when we listen to music, look at colours, speak, read and process numbers.  If you ever hear people talking about right vs. left brain thinking, they are talking about the neo cortex.  In a nutshell – this part of your brain THINKS.

So when your customer says “I need to think about it” this part of the brain is firing up and looking for data.  Neuromarketing research has revealed that this uses up tons of her brain energy and prolongs the decision making process.  So, if you want to drag out the process of getting your customer to decide or compete on price, you want to make sure that your customer has to us this part of her brain.  Make sure you give your customer lots of BIG words, numbers, graphs, lists of features and benefits, talk about your competitors and how you stack up next to them – and your customer will NOT decide <that is guaranteed> buts he will do a whole lot of thinking and take up more of your valuable time and energy in the process.

If you want to get your customer to decide, you must tailor and deliver your message to her old (reptilian brain).  It lights up even before she has conscious awareness that she has made a decision.  Now, while it is very true that this is the most primitive part of her brain, the good news is that it is very predictable.  By understanding how this part of the brain works, you will never again bore and overwhelm your customers AND you will never again be lured into the trap of having your audience tell you that they need to think about it.

How will you do this?  By understanding how this part of your customer’s brain works, you can help her to use the least amount of mental energy in processing your message which means that she will make quicker decisions.  It is important to remember that unlike the neo-cortex (the thinking part of her brain), this part right of her brain is automatic – it does not think, it only DECIDES and ACTS.  It is always at work scanning her environment looking for information of value to her survival.  In order to avoid having your customers ask for time out to think about whether they need your product/service, you need to grab their attention up front quickly, deliver your strongest claim first and show her how your solution is going to solve her primary source of pain.  This is the essence of Step 1 in the Sales Seduction process.

 

ImagineeringNow
About The Author
Rhondalynn's life changed forever after the loss of her mother due to a senseless tragedy in 1992. She decided that despite her formal training and a promising career as a lawyer and chartered accountant, she wanted to do something more. So despite the fact she had already invested 10 years of her adult life in university and articling, she did the unthinkable. She left her high paid job as Commercial Manager for one of the largest corporations in the country, she re-trained herself in the sciences of the mind and she discovered a passion for writing and sharing her knowledge with business owners and executives. Rhondalynn has distilled the secrets to business success - that she learned from her life experience and working in GM level roles with Price Waterhouse Coopers, Max Factor, Village Cinemas, and Coles Group Ltd. - and produced a simple step-by-step process that you can apply to your business to boost your sales and bottom line. Rhondalynn can help you put strategies in place to grow your bottom line and ensure that your customers would never think of going elsewhere. She is the leading expert on harnessing the power of your brain and using it to improve your financial results in business. Rhondalynn is the author of On The Shoulders of Giants, Imagineering Your Destiny, Sobre Hombros deGigantes, Financial Foreplay®, and Sales Seduction. She has appeared on CNN, Bnet/CBS, Channel 7, Channel 9, Kochie's Business Builders and 3AW, and writes for Yahoo, MYOB, Fast Thinking, Sunday Life, Dynamic Business, Business Spectator and Australian Retailer.

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