Overcome These 3 Buying Obstacles And Increase Your Sales

by Bob Leduc

OVERCOME THESE 3 BUYING OBSTACLES
AND INCREASE YOUR SALES
Copyright 2002 Bob Leduc

Do you know how may sales you lose from customers who
almost buy from you? Losing "almost customers" is a major
source of lost income for most businesses. But few are
aware of the problem and even fewer employ a strategy to
prevent this unnecessary loss of income.

Here are the 3 major buying obstacles that cause paying
customers to become "almost customers" ...and how you can
easily overcome each obstacle.

1. PROCRASTINATION

Many prospective customers procrastinate after they decide
to buy from you. The benefit they gain from using your
product or service fades in their memory as time passes.
Other things distract them and they soon forget about you.
Procrastination converts your paying customer into another
"almost customer" ...causing you to lose the sale.

You can avoid losing these sales by rewarding customers for
taking immediate action and penalizing them if they do not.
For example, create the best irresistible offer you can
afford. Include a specific expiration date. Give your
prospects the option of accepting your offer now or
forfeiting it. This will motivate many procrastinators to
buy now so they don't miss your special offer.

2. LOW PRIORITY

Some prospective customers don't buy from you because they
place a higher priority on spending their money for
something else. You can save many of these "almost
customers" by motivating them to make your product or
service their first priority.

One way to boost the priority level of your product or
service in your prospective customer's mind is to dramatize
the good feeling they will enjoy when they use it. For
example, a financial planner can describe what it feels
like to enjoy an affluent lifestyle without debt. Or a
network marketing recruiter can describe what it feels like
to work at home without a boss.

The irresistible offer I described above for overcoming
procrastination also helps overcome the "low priority"
obstacle. It motivates many "almost customers" to move your
product or service ahead of other purchases so they can
take advantage of your special offer before it expires.

3. DISTRUST

Many prospects are "almost customers" because they are
skeptical of your promises. They bought things in the past
that did not produce the promised results. They don't want
to risk repeating that experience. Some ways you can
overcome the obstacle of distrust include:

** Eliminate their risk of loss. Offer an unconditional
money back guarantee if your customer does not get the
results he or she expects.

** Prove your record of delivering what you promise.
Provide testimonials from satisfied customers as evidence
you lived up to your promises in the past.

** Provide your customers with direct access to you in
person or by phone if they have a problem. Prospective
customers feel secure and are more likely to buy when they
know they can talk with a real person.

TIP: Direct access to a real person is especially effective
for overcoming distrust when marketing on the Internet
where entire transactions can occur without any personal
contact. Many online sales are lost to distrust because a
web site does not provide the name of any real person or a
phone number to reach a real person at the business.

You probably lose more income than you realize from
customers who almost buy from you. The 3 major buying
obstacles of procrastination, low priority and distrust
cause you to lose these sales. Apply the tactics revealed
in this article to overcome these 3 obstacles ...and
convert your "almost customers" into profitable paying
customers.

Bob Leduc is a Sales Consultant with 30 years experience in
building successful businesses. He just released a revised
and completely updated New Edition of his manual, "How To
Build Your Small Business Fast With Simple Postcards", and
several other publications to help small businesses grow
and prosper. Email: BobLeduc@aol.com Subject: "Postcards"
Phone: 702-658-1707 after 10 AM Pacific Time/Las Vegas, NV

About the Author