Here’s why selling on pain is so powerful
I run workshops and mentor people on selling printing services
One of the core principles that I cover is selling on pain. It’s the most effective way to get a prospect to hit the buy button.
Sell on pain to feel like this!
Here’s an exercise that I run with clients.
Imagine that I give you £100 or $100
How do you feel about this. You might expect people to be jumping for joy at this point. After all, they’ve just been given some free money. But actually, when I run this exercise at workshops, people usually react very differently.
Some of them are quietly pleased. But many seem pretty indifferent to receiving this money. Quite a few are very suspicious – why would I give them something for nothing.
Now it’s time to move on to the second part of the exercise.
Imagine that you suddenly lost £100 or $100
Picture this: it’s a great day. Tonight you are going to take your partner out for a special meal. In your pocket you have the cash for the meal. But on the way home, the cash falls from your pocket. You’ve lost some of your hard-earned wages. And tonight there will be no meal. How do you feel now?
There was one memorable occasion at a workshop when a participant said that they were delighted they didn’t have to spend an evening with their wife! However, normally people are extremely vocal about how they feel. I usually hear phrases such as “fed up”, “gutted” and “sick as a dog”.
Loss is a much more powerful, emotional sensation than gain
Let’s translate this to the print world. You prospects will rarely get excited about the quality of their print being slightly better. Nor will they be rushing to buy a slightly higher level of service.
What will excite customers is how they can use your products to create more sales for their business. Or how your services will help them create a more efficient way of working. Or even how you can help them leave the office five minutes earlier!
Find out more about how pain fits into the selling process
I’ve written a book about using pain to sell. It’s called “How To Stop Buyers Choosing On Price”. You can find out how to buy your copy here.
Check out my mentoring services and my workshops too.
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