SHiFT! – TURN PROSPECTS INTO CUSTOMERS by Harnessing Trigger Events

The number one mistake sales people make is… they make it too hard to become a customer.

Think of all the sales opportunities that started out strong only to have the prospect decide to stay with their current supplier. The #1 reason they stayed with their current supplier is: it was not worth the effort of becoming your customer.

One of the keys to turning prospects into customers understanding the level of emotion a decision maker has and matching the effort of becoming your customer to this level of emotion.

When you get to decision makers after they experience a Trigger Event they have a certain amount of emotion related to solving the problem. As long as the level of effort required to become your customer is less than the level of emotion they have they are likely to become your customer.

BUT when decision maker’s perceive it to be too much effort to become your customer they typically stay with their current solution/supplier – aka the Status Quo.

Here is a personal example… I am a customer of ActiveConversion.com – a Sales 2.0 service that lets you know who visits your site and how often they visit – and I recently became aware of their autoresponder offering, for those who fill in a form on my web site. An autoresponder allows me to set up a number of emails that go out a specified number of days, weeks, or months after a form has been completed.

The reason I want an autoresponder system, beyond the traditional reason of drip/nurture marketing, is that I want to know when a prospect’s/customer’s email address starts to bounce. This signals the Trigger Event of a change in decision makers and typically means three opportunities:

1. The person who left where did they go?
2. Who took their place?
3. The person who took their place where did they come from?

After doing some initial investigation I learned that I needed an account with VerticalResponse.com in order for my autoresponder emails to go out.

Because I am currently satisfied with my current email marketing solution, if Vertical Response had only sold a monthly subscription plan, based upon how many people are on my mailing list, I would have stayed with the Status Quo – no auto responders. BUT Vertical Response has a pay as you go plan that I could take advantage of.  For as little as $15 I could buy 1,000 autoresponder emails that can be used any time and keep my current email marketing solution.

Because the level of effort of becoming a customer was less than the amount of emotion I had about solving the problem I spent $15 and bought the 1,000 autoresponder email, package.

Now Vertical Response has me an a customer and I am learning how to use their systems. When I experience a Trigger Event and become dissatisfied with my current email marketing solution who do you think I am most likely to buy from. You guessed it Vertical Response.

Too often sales people are so focused on getting the big sale that they miss the opportunity to make a smaller initial sale with those who recently experienced a Trigger Event and then harness the future Trigger Events that create larger follow-on opportunities in the same account.

My question, to be answered by commenting below, is “What can you do to match the effort it takes to become your customer to the level of emotion the prospect has?”

Win $1,500 worth of Trigger Event services by getting the most votes for your answer.

Answers are voted on by clicking on the button that appears at the end of each answer and voting ends on Monday June 29^th.

Answers/Comments need to be approved – to avoid spam – which typically takes just a few minutes. Contact me by phone (+1.403.874.2998), Skype me (Craig.Elias), or this contact form, if you don’t see your comment approved within a few minutes of posting it.

Stumble!, Digg, Tweet, and email your friends so you get the most votes, because the voting system I use does not allow you to vote for your own answers.

Have an EVENTFUL week!

Craig

The number two mistake sales people make is that, even when they get in front of highly motivated decision makers at EXACTLY the right time, they lose the sale because they fail to understand the decision maker placed them in the red zone of the credibility curve – below.

When prospects believe the risk of being your customer is greater that the your credibility you end up in the red zone, above your current place on the prospect’s credibility curve, which is highly likely to result in no sale!

Only when prospects believe your credibility to be greater than the risk of being your customer are you in the green zone, below your place in the prospects’ credibility curve, and therefore more likely to make the sale.

In order to win business you need to shift yourself as far as you can into the green zone of the credibility curve. This meas you need to, on your first call or visit with the decision maker, find ways to:

• Lower a prospect’s perception of the risk of becoming your customer and
• Increase their perception of your credibility

My question, to be answered by commenting below, is “What can you do to increase your likelihood of closing the same by reducing a buyer’s perception of risk and increase their perception of your credibility?”

Win $1,500 worth of Trigger Event services to help you close more sales by shifting your place in a prospect’s credibility curve by getting the most votes for your answer.

Answers are voted on by clicking on the button that appears at the end of each answer and voting ends on Monday April 13^th.

Answers/Comments need to be approved – to avoid spam – which typically takes just a few minutes. Contact me by phone (+1.403.874.2998), Skype me (Craig.Elias), or this contact form, if you don’t see your comment approved within a few minutes of posting it.

Stumble!, Digg, Tweet, and email your friends so you get the most votes, because the voting system I use does not allow you to vote for your own answers.
Have an EVENTFUL week!

Craig