Anyone who has experience with sales, whether on the sales end or the prospect end, knows that the words “We don’t have it in our budget,” is just a lip-service excuse to gently get the salesperson to buzz-off. Unless the prospect is absolutely broke, or the item being sold is disproportionally expensive to their financial situation- they really do have the money. So what is the reason your prospects are telling you to buzz-off if most of them really do have it in the budget, and what can you do about it?
Here are the main reasons why prospects will reject an offer.
A- You Don’t Believe in What you are Selling
People won’t buy a wishy-washy sales pitch. Until you believe in your product, don’t bother trying to convince a prospect to spend money gambling on you. A lack of belief in your own product could be due to one of two reasons.
- Possibility #1 Your Product is Nothing Special & You Know It : If this is the case, don’t pass “Go,” and don’t collect $200, go directly to the drawing board. Once you have a product worth selling come back and read the rest of this article.
- Possibility #2 Your Product is Good but it’s not Right for the Prospect: Find different prospects.
If, on the other hand, you have a product which you believe in, and it’s right for your prospective customer, you can usually assume your prospect has it ‘in the budget’ to purchase whatever you are offering.
B- You Haven’t Earned Their Trust Yet
People won’t take your word for it until you earn their trust. Until your prospect trusts you, your promise that the product is ‘perfect for their needs,’ doesn’t carry any weight. But hope is not lost, even if you are just meeting a prospect for the first time, there is a way to convince prospects that you are worthy of their trust. Give them valuable information that they can appreciate. This has three powerful effects
- Establish Authority- By providing valuable information you will set yourself up as an authority which naturally makes prospects trust what you say
- The Like Effect- Prospects will grow to genuinely like you, and will naturally want to do business with you.
- The Reciprocation Effect- When you provide valuable information to prospects they will usually feel the need to reciprocate the good done to them.
C- They Aren’t Convinced that Your Product is a Match for Them
Even once your prospect begins to really trust you they may hold back from purchasing your product simply because of considerations of their own. This can be more difficult to deal with, because you won’t always know what is holding them back. For instance if the prospect is worried that using or learning to use your product will demand too much of their time, then show them how the product will actually save them time (if it really does).
Another example is of the guy who lacks confidence and figures that they aren’t smart enough to use your product; convince them that your product is easy to use by demonstrating it, or telling a story about how your 3 rd grader figured out how to use it all by herself.
When all Else Fails- The Ironclad Guarantee
Another type of offer, which is becoming increasingly popular, especially in online marketing, is the “Ironclad Guarantee.” A very believable ironclad guarantee offer is one which you guarantee to give them something great if they are not fully satisfied. Guaranteeing their money back is a good start, but you could also offer double their money back if they are not completely satisfied. Although generous ironclad guarantee claims are risky propositions, they make magic for getting the point across.
About the Author
Rachel Walker is a FastUpFront Blog contributor and business consultant. Fastupfront offers an alternative to business loans and based on future sales.