Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/123858
WORLD FENCE NEWS • MAY 2013 • Are you finding that your prospects are uneasy or uncertain about the economy? Do they have a "wait and see" attitude now more than ever? Is it harder for you to "get them off the fence of indecision"? Just take a brief look at the negative news that has bombarded us the past several years. These reports can affect the mindset of your prospective consumer. But they should not affect your mindset. You can instill certainty into the mind of your prospect with just a few key confidence building strategies. Take a gander at these: Confidence builder #1: Build physical and verbal rapport with your customer. It still remains true that the number one reason people buy from you is the trusting relationship you have created with them. How often do you buy stuff from a jerk? Probably never. Neither does your customer. They want a refuge in the time of uncertainty. It doesn't matter if you are selling snow cones or million dollar homes or fencing products and services. The fundamental principle is the same. Get people to like and trust you and you have a much better chance. When you do this, your customer will also see you as a very authentic individual – and authenticity breeds sales. Confidence builder #2: Give people a huge reason to ask more questions about your product. Rather than diving in and telling your customer everything about your product at the outset, what would happen if you lead them down a gentle trail of reasoning that would encourage them to ask you questions? All too often, business people want to push their way into the sale. It's okay to be assertive, but put a little spice on it, folks. It is a very ancient axiom, but people buy your product based on what they feel is in it for them. Give them a red carpet to ask all the questions they need to determine how your service will benefit them personally. Confidence builder #3: Create expertise in advance. When your prospect perceives you as an expert, they will have an elevated level of confidence. You can become an expert in your business in many ways: write articles, publish a book or mini-book, have a radio show, be interviewed on radio or TV, win awards, work in a position of leadership for your professional trade association, teach a course at the local university, operate a community blog on the main topic of your product, etc. By becoming an expert, your customer looks to you for validation, rather than to the negative media. How to sell to uncertain customers BY PAUL MONTELONGO Confidence builder #4: Have an "attitude." It sometimes works to have a nearly irreverent demeanor about the way the media portrays events. If you have some facts, figures, testimonials, or other information that is contrary to what the media reports, that could play into your favor. Let's face it: The media is in business to do one thing – sell ad space or time. If you don't believe me, try starting your own network and then try to pay for it. Controversy fosters viewership, and that means advertising dollars. By having your own facts and figures in place from your own research, you could head off a lost sale. Confidence builder #5: Elevate your professionalism. Highly professional companies attract highly professional – and confident – customers. You won't see very many skeptical, worried customers at Nordstrom's, Four Seasons, Mercedes, or Spago Beverly Hills. Assess everything about your business and your sales to discern if you are being the most professional you can be, and then "Emeril" it: "take it up another notch." It may be something as simple as your logo, station- ary, web site, job signs, company vehicles, or even the way your sales staff dresses when they visit a prospective customer. Confidence builder #6: Know your premiere buyer and know what they "fear." Fear is nothing more than a perception of bad events that is blown up in your mind. Understand the perceptions of your customer and work to overcome it, manage it and remove it. Then replace it with the huge benefits of your product for your customer. By the way, what benefits one customer doesn't always work for another. When you know who buys your product and, more important, what continued on page 62 SOLUTIONS SOLUTIONS O fence installation Olation fast st installa instal a a ation for VFN1 / VNF2 Malco picket and rail notchers for vinyl fence create high profile louver-shaped projections for "better-than-factory" pull-out resistance. t se lecrethet! l Coenti FP1 / FP2 Legendary sleek fencing pliers! Malco's highly maneuverable 8-in. and high leverage 10-in. pliers feature 3 gripping areas and 3 cutters. HRP5 / HRA5 / HRS5 Magazine fed 9-ga. hog rings and pliers system features 9-ga. aluminum and exclusive collated 9-ga. galvanized steel rings. need for speed Scan this 30 second speed test video of our HRP5 Hog Ring Pliers system! 53 VRR1 Reliable, safe and easy vinyl rail removal. Use this Malco tool to remove and rework or replace fence rails without damaging rail or post! check us out at www.malcotools.com and see how easy it is to locate a local Malco Distributor. Malco Products, Inc. | Annandale, Minnesota, U.S.A. | www.malcotools.com | ©2013