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How to Turn Prospects Into Paying Customers

Written by: David Frey

Article Overview: Converting prospects into cash paying customer isn’t always easy, but if you follow the four steps outlined in this article, it will become infinitely easier.

How to Turn Prospects Into Paying Customers

Making a sale is the crowning moment in any business. Nothing happens in business until the cash register rings.

Ask any business owner and they’ll tell you that sales don’t just magically happen. It takes a combination of several elements to take place at the right time, in the right way to make someone eventually whip out their money and buy your product or service.

Each of the following elements play an important factor in making a sale…

1. Your Prospect Must Know You, Like You, and Trust You

Can you think of the last time you purchased something from a totally new business that you were completely unfamiliar with? Or have you purchased something recently from a business that had previously treated you poorly? Probably not. Most people buy from businesses that they’re familiar with and with which they’ve had a relatively good experience.

Good experiences build trust, which is a key ingredient to getting people to buy from you. A few ways to do this are…

1. Give away something to introduce your product or service.

2. Give full disclosure on your company and its principals.

3. Be easy to contact in order to answer prospect’s questions.

Just this morning I received a call from a would-be online buyer of one my products. He mentioned that he rarely buys online because of all the horror stories and scams he’d heard about, which was the purpose of his call. He just wanted to make sure I was a real person with a real business.

2. The Perceived Value of Your Benefits Must Exceed the PRICE You Are Asking for Your Product or Service

The results from every focus group study I’ve ever done had buyer’s pointing to price as their most important criteria when determining whether to buy a product or service. But when I actually examined people’s purchasing habits, price always came in third or fourth down the criteria list – or even lower!

Why the discrepancy? Because when it comes down to it, people are more interested in getting their needs and wants met, than the price they have to pay. But there is a price/value threshold that if exceeded, sales will be begin to decrease.

As a business owner your responsibility is to increase the perceived benefit of your product or service so that it exceeds the price people have to pay to get it. Some ways to increase the perceived value of your product or service are…

1. Adding low cost high value premiums.

2. Creating a compelling unique selling proposition.

3. Modify your product or service to solve a specific niche problem.

4. Use specific details to explain the value of your benefits.

I often get comments from business managers that say, “Our competitors are undercutting us on price. There’s nothing we can do.” My response to that comment is…it’s your fault! If your prospects are choosing to buy from your competitors then you haven’t done a good enough job establishing the unique value of your product or service.

If you did, they would be buying from YOU regardless of what you competition is doing. Once the perceived value of your product or service exceeds the cost, you’ll get the sale.

3. The Perceived Benefit of Your Product or Service Must Exceed the Perceived RISK of Buying from You

There is always a perceived risk in any product or service that is sold. Consumers often ask themselves questions such as, “How do I know it will work?” or “What happens if I’m not happy with it?” or “What if I’m not getting the best deal?” before they buy.

These are all valid questions that are subconsciously posed in the backs of people’s minds when they consider a purchase and should be addressed in the offer for your product or service before you expect your prospect to buy from you.

The more you reduce the risk in your offer, the more attractive your offer becomes. You can reduce the buying risk to your prospect by…

1. Strengthening your guarantees and warranties.

2. Including testimonials and case studies from people and businesses that have successfully used your product or service.

3. Include a “frequently asked questions” in your marketing materials.

The key is to anticipate possible objections and respond to them in your offer.

4. Follow Up With Your Prospects

Like it or not, no matter how good your offer is, there will be a large percentage of people who will not buy. In many cases, it’s not because they didn’t want your product or service or you didn’t present a compelling offer. The fact is, people are busy. There are lots of things competing for their attention. Don’t take it personally.

When people don’t take advantage of your first offer, it’s important to keep trying. You’d be surprised at how many people respond on the second or third attempt. Perhaps you might even progressively sweeten the offer.

You should also employ a stay-in-contact program. My wife enjoys quilting and each month receives a newsletter from the quilt shop she buys from. The newsletter is fun, educational, newsy, and contains special offers. And as a member of their monthly quilting club, she enjoys special discounts and educational opportunities. It’s no wonder she raves about that quilt shop.

Converting prospects into cash paying customer isn’t always easy, but if you follow the four steps I’ve outlined it will become infinitely easier. In fact, I would dare say that you would be ahead of 95% of your competition.

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Simple way to avoid Cold Calling - Gary, A chiropractor I work with hates cold calling (me too!) and he uses a technique to warm people up to using his services - it's so simple! In Sales your dealing with 3 pools of people: 1. Strangers 2. Prospects 3. Returning Customers You need to move people from one pool to the next. We'll concentrate on #1 and #2 as it's most relevant to your question. My Clients does the following (you just have to tailor it to your situation - be creative). My Client (we'll call him Bob) Bob leverages his time and resources to only get people that need his offer (pain relief) to put their hand up. Dealing with Strangers can get expensive and they don't like to be told what to do as they have no trust or relationship built with him. So to get Strangers to put their hands up he writes up an offer with a free report on a particular pain relief - let's say lower back pain (note: he can simply just change lower back pain to neck pain and have a new report). and uses multiple marketing vehicles to promote the Free report - magazines, newspaper, forums, postcards, private clinics etc. The only people picking up this information are the very people Bob would like as customers as they have Lower back pain. Bob's Free report ends with him stating his services and includes a Free in-house Consultation with no obligation. You'd be surprised at how easily Bob converts Strangers into Prospects. Note: They become prospects when they ask for the Free Guide and in exchange provide their contact details. This gives Bob unlimited opportunity to contact them for the Free in-house consultation with no obligation to continue using him. At this stage Bob's ability to close the sale lies in his office providing good customer service, Bob's ability to help the prospect and provide value at the free in-house consultation. Notice, he hasn't had to pick up the phone to COLD-CALL his Stranger pool or his Prospect pool. Hope that example helps to increase your prospecting!
Re: Two Useful Books To Help You Focus On The CLIENT - Hi David, To add to your thread, I'd like to recommend Jonathan Tisch's "Chocolates On The Pillow Aren't Enough: Reinventing The Customer Experience". Tisch's book includes content on "Welcoming Customers", "The New Art of Customization", "The Challenges of Customer Diversity" and "Offering Something Extra to Your Customers" to name a few.
Best incentive to offer employees - What's the best incentive to offer employees? Is it more health benefits? More vacation? Health club memberships? Paying for training? Cash / non-cash bonuses & rewards? I'm preparing a new package for my company and would love to get your thoughts! Thank you in advance!
Re: Ways to Boost Productivity - 1. Give Employees More Than a Paycheck 2. Provide Better eSupport Channels to Promote Self-Service 3. Complete your most dreaded tasks first thing in the morning. 4. Outsource as much as possible 5. . Turn off the TV.
Re: Email Etiquette - [quote="jvprosperity":24jznj58] The P.S. suggestion is good but it depends on the type of communication (e.g. Autoresponder series verses one off emails to Clients or Prospects)[/quote:24jznj58] Andy, You are right. I was mainly referring to Auto Responder emails. To end a normal email, I attach signatures. Takuya


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