Find the ‘Aha!’ Moment
If you find the ‘Aha!’ moment with your prospects, then you are more than half-way to welcoming them as a new customer!
Whether you are selling your products or services directly to consumers or businesses, someone is going to have to make the decision as to whether to buy from you or not. One common thing we all share is that we are all unique. Some of us like to gather all of the facts about a product or service, and compare them to one, or maybe even ten comparable products or services on the market.
When in possession of all of the facts, some people like to procrastinate, review and re-review the potential purchase before committing. Others, and I have certainly been guilty of this myself, can purchase on a whim, an instinct or a feel-good factor. You are welcome to inspect the wear and tear on my treadmill as proof (although you will have to move the drying clothes first).
Most purchasing decisions happen because the buyer has a requirement and this is matched to the benefit or value-proposition of a product or service. The requirement could be anything from feeling hungry at lunchtime or a need to de-stress, to replacing a car or moving house. The goods or services needed could be anything from a B.L.T. sandwich, going to a West End show, booking a holiday of a lifetime, buying a new car, or choosing a mortgage broker or financial advisor. The matching process is still the same; when the customer is convinced that the value-proposition matches their requirement, they will make a purchase.
Most goods or services have more than one value-proposition. It sounds simple, but it is important that you fully understand all of the value-propositions of your offering. Often the most obvious ones are overlooked. It is just as important to qualify and fact-find when engaging with your prospects. Spend as much, if not more time trying to understand their buying requirements. If you also understand the value of your offering, this makes the matching process much easier.
I have witnessed, and have absolutely fallen into the trap myself, of sales people throwing out as many potential benefits of their offering as possible, hoping that one of them somehow sticks in the mind of the prospect. Occasionally it works, but more often it is off-putting and can come across as desperate. In fact, at times, earlier in my career I have been under-pressure to hit sales targets and that has led to an element of desperation, and this is when I would resort to the verbal diarrhoea tactic. In reality, this was probably the worst thing I could have done.
What I should have focused on was looking for the ‘Aha Moment’, or if you prefer, the ‘lightbulb’ or ‘eureka!’ moment. You don’t have to study Neuro-Linguistic Programming to recognise these moments, they are usually quite obvious - The look of relaxation on the face of your prospect - The “I see, now I understand” remark - The nod-of-approval to a colleague or spouse. Whatever it is, we have all seen them; we’ve all done them. When they happen, you have just matched your goods or service to the requirement of the potential buyer.
We have worked with a number of organisations to help them understand their value propositions. It is good practice to document them in a list. This is a great basis for increasing the success of your sales team and ensuring your marketing content is also attracting the buyers with the requirements that you can match to the benefits of your product or service.
If you would like us to help you find more ‘Aha!’ moments, as well as attract and convert more leads, then we would love to hear from you.
