Why do procrastinators procrastinate?

In my thirty years of sales and marketing experience I have had to deal with many clients who cannot make a decision. They literally procrastinate and delay moving forward for many reasons. As a small business, the survival of your business may depend on the positive outcome of many sales calls. If your main prospects are all vacillating, you will need to move the sales process to the next step.

People procrastinate because they don't know what the next step is. If they don’t know what it is, they can’t take it. It's that simple!

If you are currently dealing with a procrastinator who professes real interest but keeps putting you off, you’re probably dealing with a genuine procrastinator. They don’t procrastinate intentionally. It’s just in their Buying DNA.

Here’s a great question to ask to help you get the ball rolling with all the procrastinators you encounter. Please don’t underestimate the potency of this question.

“The Great Question”

“What would have to happen” for you to place an initial order of three units of our new XYZ product?

The key words are, “what would have to happen”?

Trust me, it works.

Insert whatever is appropriate for the situation after the phrase, “What would have to happen...?”

This question works like magic. It literally forces the procrastinator to think what the next steps ought to be. He tells you what the steps are and at the same time he tells himself what the steps are.

I can’t tell you how many times I've seen this work. It may be the single best way to un-procrastinate procrastinators.

Ask better questions and “Build Your Business”

Donald Robichaud is the President of FloodLight Consulting and can be reached at donald@floodlightconsulting.com or at 250-768-9415.

-

As posted on Castanet

Do Testimonials work?

When you’re selling, you’ll have to make a claim about your product or service to appeal to potential customers. However, because research suggests that people are reluctant to believe hype, it’s essential that you’re able to validate your claims in some way.

Using testimonials provides a perfect way to do this because positive statements from happy customers are much more believable than the words of a company spokesperson.

By using a customer testimonial, research shows your business could increase by around 30%.

Do they work?

Testimonials may not seem like an incredibly powerful selling tool but when used correctly, they are extremely effective. By informing readers of the positive experiences your existing customers have had, testimonials lend credibility to your product or service.

Without using testimonials, any claims you make will remain unsubstantiated and customers will find it hard to trust you and ultimately, will be reluctant to buy your product or service.

It is very important to solicit testimonials from your target market. People want to hear from people in their industry. If you’re soliciting realtors to work with you then you need to have one or more testimonials from this market.

When you solicit a testimonial, you must remember to ask after a ‘moment of satisfaction’. This is the moment when the client has expressed satisfaction with your service or product. This is the moment in time when they are most enamoured with you and your service.

Example:Client says: “That’s the best service I have ever received.”

To Client: I am glad you’re satisfied with my service. Can you provide me with a testimonial that speaks to how you felt before you used our service, how you felt during our service and how you feel now about our service?

Testimonials do work!

Use a testimonial to ‘Build Your Business’

As posted on Castanet

Donald Robichaud is the President of FloodLight Consulting and can be reached at donald@floodlightconsulting.com or at 250-768-9415