FIFTEEN

Establish Megacredibility

The average customer is bombarded with hundreds and even thousands of commercial sales messages every day.

The customer is surrounded by people and companies trying to sell him or her products of all kinds, at all levels of quality and price. The customer today is therefore extremely skeptical and suspicious of any and all sales efforts.

For you to be successful in selling, you must develop a method of overcoming skepticism and building high levels of confidence in the mind of the customer toward you, your company, and your products and services. In short, you must learn how to develop high levels of credibility—what we call megacredibility—in everything you do that affects the customer and the buying decision.

Neutralize the Fear of Failure

The major obstacle to buying today is the fear of failure in the mind of the customer. Customers fear paying too much for your product or service. They are afraid of ending up with the wrong product for their particular needs, or making a buying mistake and being criticized by others for having bought something that is inappropriate or overpriced. Customers are afraid of getting stuck with a product that they cannot get serviced or repaired.

The reason that customers have these fears is because they have had this type of negative experience in the past, usually many times over the years. They are determined not to make the same mistakes again.

Trust Reduces Fear

The good news is that the more customers believe you and what you say, the lower their fear of making a mistake in a buying relationship. As the customer’s trust in you grows on the one hand, the fear of making a mistake decreases on the other. Your central job therefore is to increase the customer’s confidence and trust in you. This increases the likelihood that the customer will accept what you say and buy what you sell.

Everything you do in the sales relationship either helps or hurts in the building of trust and credibility. Everything either adds to or takes away from the credibility you need to make a sale. Customers are nervous and uneasy about making a wrong decision and will therefore interpret things in a negative way, if you allow them to.

Your main job is to position yourself as the low-risk provider of your product or service. Position yourself as the lowest risk rather than the lowest price seller. Customers will pay more to reduce risk in a purchase decision; if they have the choice of high risk accompanied by lower price or low risk accompanied by higher price, they will always move to higher price and lower risk.

Five Elements of Megacredibility

There are five key elements in the megacredibility that you require to make a sale:

1. The Salesperson.Your appearance, your behavior, your attitude, your clothes, and your grooming all raise or lower the customer’s confidence in buying from you and your company.

2. Your Reputation. The most valuable asset that your company has is its reputation for quality products and services with other customers in the marketplace. It is said that fully 85 percent of the sales decision is based on what is called word-of-mouth. This means that someone else, either directly or indirectly, says that your product or service is good and that you, as the customer, should buy it.

Be sure to tell your prospect about the size of your company, how long you’ve been in business, and how large your market share has become because of your quality and service. Be sure that your brochures, handouts, sales materials, and business card all look first-class. Be sure that the telephone manners of you and your staff, and how quickly you respond to inquiries, are handled in an excellent way.

3. Social Proof. Perhaps nothing is more persuasive than stories of other customers in similar situations who have purchased your product and were happy with their decision.

The customer always wants to know, “Who else has purchased it?” and “What was their experience with your product or service?” Use testimonial letters, lists, photographs, and even videos of your happy customers. Best of all are stories of customers who might have hesitated to buy your product or service at first, but after they did, they can tell others how happy they were with their decision.

4. Authority. Any respected third party that speaks highly or positively about your product or service makes it easier for someone to buy from you. An authoritative voice is often the decisive factor. Publications, magazines, and news stories mentioning your product or service build credibility. People who are known for their expertise or knowledge and who use your product or service build your credibility. Symbols of affluence and authority, such as your dress, briefcase, wristwatch, and even the quality of the pen you use, increase your credibility, too. They imply that you are successful at selling a desirable and attractive product, especially at your prices.

5. The Product or Service. When your product provides the specific benefits that your customer is seeking, it has more credibility. When you show that the value the customer receives far outweighs the price, you build credibility and buying desire. When you back your product with guarantees and assurances, you increase the credibility you need to get the customer to make a buying decision.

The most successful salespeople are those who work continually to build their credibility in these five areas and with their customers.

ACTION EXERCISES

1. List three things that you can do to lower the fear of failure in the mind of your prospect.

2. List three key elements of megacredibility that you can incorporate into your sales activities.