Before we begin with the buying triggers, you should know the basic sales process. Below is how it works, in a nutshell:
Your customer has needs. You translate the features of your product or service into benefits. Your product or service has features. Product benefits are the links between your product’s features and your customer’s needs. You satisfy your customer’s needs by translating features of your product into benefits.
Having got that out of the way, let’s take a look at the 11 reasons why people really buy:
1. People Buy To Save Time: Time is the most precious commodity in the whole world. We all have the same 24 hours a day, so the person who makes the best utilization of his time stands to reach his goal faster than others. So if your product helps save time, it will certainly have a lot of demand!
2. People Buy To Save Energy: We need to accept the fact that most humans are lazy. They work because the “have to”, not because they “want to”. So if your product or service can save energy or effort and the price is right, people will want to buy it.
3. People Buy To Save / Make Money: A penny saved is a penny earned. So if your product / service can save money, people will be interested in buying it. If it can “make money”, they are game! Examples are – a software that replaces human labor, automates business, etc.
4. People Buy For Security: If your product / service gives some type of security or protection, it will be sought for. This can be burglar alarms, insurance covers, law services, medical services, etc.
5. People Buy For Comfort: How many times have you “switched over” a product for a similar one, just for the sake of comfort? As and when one progresses his financial situation / ages, he seeks comfortable things. He wants to replace the wooden chair with the cushion one, the old rumbling car with the new air conditioned one with special shock absorbers, etc. Comfort is an excellent buying trigger.
6. People Buy To Reduce / Eliminate Pain: This one is simple and doesn’t require much explanation. Nobody likes to bear pain, especially physical and emotional pain. People will do just about anything to eliminate / reduce their pain. If it can be done with money, they will beg, borrow or steal if they don’t have it.
7. People Buy To Avoid Trouble: Anything that causes trouble is stressful and people hate it. Buying a “stay order” through a lawyer in a dispute, paying taxes on time to avoid the IRS hounding you, insuring a vehicle to avoid legal charges when it is “not your fault” are all examples of this buying trigger.
8. People Buy For Pleasure / Entertainment: We all need to unwind at some point of time. Movies, plays, dancing, eating out, celebrations are all examples of pleasure and entertainment.
9. People Buy To Satisfy Curiosity: Magic games, gossip magazines, gossip parties, “the secrets of ______ (fill up anything like writing, making money online, advertising, etc) are some examples of the curiosity trigger. This is really a big one – an itch which will go away only if you buy. Did this actor had an affair with this married model? This magazine exposes the facts! You get it..
10. People Buy To Take Advantage Of Opportunities: One Time Offers, limited edition cars, limited club membership, fire sales, discount offers are all examples of opportunities. People will buy stuff that they neither need or want, just because they will never get the opportunity to buy again, should they want to buy in future. Big one, here.
11. People Buy For Vanity: Flashy Sports Cars, expensive suits, rolex watches, unique jewelery, antique paintings – are all examples of vanity buying in action. People want to show off, they want to perpetuate an experience. Make heads turn, make friends freak out, make your neighbors green with jealousy, etc.
I hope you got a lot of value from this article. Remember, nobody’s interested in the features of your products or services. Don t bother with specifications, how long you are in business, etc nobody gives a damn. They only want to know what it can do for them. Remember the WII FM radio formula – “What’s In It For Me?” Once you can answer this well, you’ve got them hooked!
Nirjara Rustom moderates the sales tips section of http://www.bharatbhasha.com at http://www.bharatbhasha.com/sales.php. The content here is free to read, so do check it out.
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