One of the greatest impediments to a sale is client inertia.
“Yes, I can see the value, and I’ll get around to it… sometime.”
But unless you give your prospects a reason to buy, right now, that “sometime” may never happen. Competing priorities or life just gets in the way.
Therefore the key to selling more is to:
Offer great value. Then create urgency and scarcity.
A good example presented itself the other day.
SPORTSCRAFT is an Australian Fashion Chain.
Over the last couple of months Barbara had seen some blouses. The quality was good (value), she couldn’t decide which ones she wanted and so bought none. Barbara knew they’d be there next time and there was no hurry to buy.
Ergo, while she perceived value, no urgency or scarcity killed the sale.
All that changed with the “One Day VIP Sale”. SPORTSCRAFT were offering 40% off their entire new season range for one day only. Right before Mother’s Day!
They heavily promoted the sale to their VIP list via email. And got a lot of foot traffic into their stores. People who bought multiple items. Barbara being one of them.
Having a one day heavily promoted sale achieved a combination of value, urgency and scarcity.
These were new season clothes being offered at a generous price point.
People love a bargain. It generated buzz. And it got them to come in and look around.
Many bought far more than they would have otherwise.
Because Barbara didn’t have to “choose” just one item within a budget she considered reasonable, she actually spent more money and bought three. And the shop pointed out she saved $159 which all adds to the good vibe.
Everyone wins here.
The clients win as they feel they got a really good deal. Ultimately this builds loyalty.
The business wins as they would have brought back old clients while attracting a whole host of new customers whom they can now market to ad infinitum.
So while they may lose some initial margin, they more than make up for it over the lifetime purchases their clients make.
However they may not have achieved this level of success if they hadn’t taken the time and effort to build up a marketing list of VIP clients. A list they could keep promoting to.
This principle holds true for any business.
People buy when they’re ready. But sometimes you need to give them a push.
You must, repeat must, build up a list of prospects and clients who you can keep your name in front of with interesting material and occasional promotions.
B2B or B2C. Doesn’t matter. This list is vital to your ongoing success.
Then communicate. Communicate. Communicate.
Tell your prospects AND clients about everything you do. You’d be amazed at how many of your current and past clients will buy from other suppliers just because they had no idea you could help them.
Create events that give your clients reasons to come in and buy more.
But above all, know your economics. While I don’t normally recommend discounting, if done right (you have to know your margins), you can create a rush of buyers. The caveat though is you don’t want to train your clients to expect a discount every time.
And finally, give people a choice of “yeses”.
If you only offer one thing, people can only say yes or no. Offering more gives people alternatives, often resulting in them buying more rather than nothing at all.
By offering items at various price points SPORTSCRAFT allowed customers to buy more for less while not feeling they needed to choose only one or worse, none.
Need help creating a rush of new sales in your business? Hit me up for some ideas that would work for you.
