How do you motivate a prospective customer to buy?
It’s a big question and I have been disappointed in how little academic research there has been done to look at what motivates someone to buy something.
Allan Mackintosh of performance coaching firm TeamBuilders International has written an article that is included in the November 2007 issue of Better Business Focus that looks at this very issue.
The article is called “A Gem Of An Idea” and he explains his Diamond Motivation model.
Very briefly Allan has identified four factors that help to explain whether prospective customers are motivated to buy:
- Clarity and Understanding
There needs to be a clear contract between sales representative and buyer about what they both want from the relationship.You can see this approach in the Sandler Sales up-front sales contract and Jay Abraham emphasises the importance of explaining why you are making a particular offer. If the buyer understands your motives because you are open and honest about what you want, they are more likely to trust you. - Expressing Opinions, Hopes, Fears, Ideas and Concerns
We all have a desire to express our thoughts and feelings and to believe that the other person is really listening to what we have to say.This is a return to the issue of the sales person asking good questions. - Having A Choice In Decisions
This side of the diamond emphasises the need for the buyer to still feel in control of their buying process and one way to do that is to give the buyer a limited range of choices.During your sales questions you will have investigated the problem, the implications and the pain of the status quo. You are now ready to propose a solution but can you do it in a way that still gives the buyer choice? Do you offer bronze, silver, gold service levels? The basic need is met by every level but the buyer feels involved in the decision and takes ownership. - Feeling Valued And Recognised
You know your customer is important but do you make them feel important to you? Make sure that you listen carefully to what they say (no matter how many times you may have heard a similar story) and thank them.
This is a very interesting article and Allan also touches on the motivation of the sales person. You can find the article in the November 2007 issue of Better Business Focus.
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