Everybody likes sales!
Not! most people I know hate sales. I know I do. Though, I will admit that I am getting better as it the more I step out side of my comfort zone. But ever wonder why women are so quick to drool over Loubontin’s….those red bottoms…..those bloody shoes. (Had to channel Cardi B.) The reason, my friend, that people are willing to drop thousands on a pair of shoes is due to one concept: Perceived value.
I want you throw out any old thoughts and burn this new one into your mind: People will usually by the cheapest thing they can find, but if you can sell them on the qualities and the benefits they are more likely to buy if they can truly afford it. Most things have no true value. The only things that do are food and water because they are essential to keeping you alive. Everything else is negotiable. The higher the price; the higher the perceived value.
You have one minute? Sell me this pen. How would you find a way to increase the perceived value of this pen?
First understand who you are selling to and what their values are. For example, let’s say you are going to sell a two door convertible to a woman with a family of three, she is not going to buy that because that is not where her values are. This would be a prime example of not understanding the customer and, therefore, you will not make the sale.
Imagine you want to sell this pen for $1,000, the first thing you’d have to do is find someone who can afford to buy. You would want to identify who is your ideal customer. So, you would run straight to the nearest campus and sell to the first student you can find, right? They can afford it, can’t they? Wrong. You’d have to be strategic. You’d would want to target financiers, high-end real estate agent, executive, or anyone high on the totem pole that has to sign off on important matters-like the school President.
The next thing you’d need to do is find out what their values are. Some people will have ego points and need to feel better about themselves in some situations. Do they like luxurous items? What kind of car do they drive? What do they like to do in their spare time? What is their favorite joke? It is always worth it to get to know the people to whom you are selling.
Next, figure out how to trigger their pain and sense of gain. These are the only two reason reason people buy things. It is typically a combination of both. So as it relates to selling the pen, you have to make it super painful for them not to buy the pen and make the person feel like they’d gain everything by buying the pen. Pain can be triggered through a sense of scarcity, exclusivity, rarity, and lose of uniqueness if they do not buy. Connect it with something they find of high value. For example, imagine that this is the that wrote the script for “Black Panther”. There is none like it. It is exclusive, and you have other people who are interested in buying it.
Sense of gain can be experienced though being special and unique, or having increased time. Why do people buy fountain pens. It’s a freaking piece of steel. It is not because the price is indicative of its value. It is the the perceived value causes it make them feel higher than other human beings. Therefore they are willing to pay the price.
Lastly, if after you sell them on the pains and the gains, and they are unwilling to make up their mind in a timely manner, do not hesitate to walk away. Your time is valuable too.
