The Secret to Winning Back Customers

There's a difference between lost customers and dead customers. Most sales managers and salespeople don't make that distinction, but Jill Griffin does in her book Customer Winback: How to Recapture Lost Customers -- and Keep Them Loyal.
In the rush to get new business, we ignore lost business. Marketing Metrics, a Paramus, New Jersey-based consulting firm, estimates that the closing ratio for new prospects is 5 percent to 20 percent. The potential for winning back lost customers is 20 percent to 40 percent. Here are five ideas for creating your own customer win-back program:
1. Sales Management Must Drive the Win-Back Program
It's unacceptable to give the lost causes and hopeless cases to the new salesperson. Sales managers have to identify the lost list and get out of the office and visit them with their sales reps. During those meetings, sales management's job is to listen, take notes and summarize the lost customers' comments to demonstrate they are understood.
2. Establish the Measurement System for Tracking Losses and Win Backs
Sales management needs a system for identifying lost and recovered business. If you're not measuring lost customers month to month, you're not managing churn. Identifying which customers who did business with you last month are not doing business with you now is vital for beginning your win-back program. Request a free copy of a Churn Calculation Worksheet.
3. Create a Strategy for Revisiting the Lost
Your win-back strategy might include a meeting with top management, a letter from the CEO and a new needs analysis meeting. This all flows from the first face-to-face meeting where you discover the problem and refine your approach.
4. Celebrate Your Win Backs
Make sure the salesperson who wins a customer back gets recognition for that sale. What gets rewarded gets done.
5. Document Your Successes
Winning back customers is a process, and it should be a repeatable one. It may take seven steps instead of the previous four, but once you've won back several customers, you'll begin to see patterns. The last thing you should do is document the steps that work and make them part of your training program going forward.
As you can probably tell, prevention is easier than the cure. Manage customer expectations at the beginning of the relationship, not the end. Ask, "What result are you looking for in the next quarter (or appropriate time period) that will make you continue to do business with us?" Knowing the expectations at the beginning makes your life as a salesperson much easier and increases your chances of renewing a client.
It's not easy to win back lost customers. There may be some confrontation, and you will undoubtedly hear things you don't want to hear. However, it's hard to correct a problem you're not willing to discuss. According to George Walther in his book Upside Down Marketing, the easiest sources of new business are customers who got frustrated, aggravated or annoyed and can be seduced away by the competition.
So why are you sitting there reading this? Go talk to a lost customer.

The Benefits Of Getting Business Advice

You know your business, so why would you need business advice? Because you can't think of everything and a seasoned business consultant can help you move your business to further success and profitability. Whether you are selling services or products hiring a small business consultant is a good investment in the future of your business. Think of your consultant as a mentor whose goal is to help you do better and to achieve your goals. You need support while you improve your business and consultants can help with all the tasks you need to manage. Here are some areas where getting business advice can help.

Many times, moving your business to the next level depends on marketing and promotion. This can take a number of forms. An experienced consultant will have worked with a range of businesses and will know which strategies work best for what type of business. The consultant may recommend rebranding, changes to marketing material, overhauling your customer communication channels and more. Perhaps the consultant will suggest new ways of marketing yourself, such as a targeted email campaign. This business advice will not exist in a vacuum. Your consultant will review your entire business before selecting the strategies that are most appropriate for you.

Preparing For Growth
If you are preparing for expansion, then getting business advice from a consultant could help you to secure the funds you need to grow. Getting investment often depends on having a sound business plan and knowing how to present it. Your consultant can help you with forecasting and models and can use his contacts to get your plan in front of the right people. This is one reason to get business advice from someone with experience in similar business types – networking can be invaluable when you are ready to grow.

Perhaps you just need to find a way to become more efficient at managing your business. You might need advice on controlling cash flow, converting leads and enquiries to sales or setting up a web sales portal that sells your business as well as your products. All of these are areas where you may need business advice. A consultant can take an objective look at your business to see where you can save time, money or both. At the end of the process, you will have a more profitable business that is poised to dominate your chosen niche. Isn't that a great reason to pay for business advice?

Posted in March 2009 by GiztheBiz http://www.blogger.com/profile/00730143392777624619

RAPPORT

Rapport : An emotional bond or friendly relationship between people based on mutual liking, trust and a sense that they understand and share each other's concerns.


Building rapport with customers is like squirting oil into gears. Imagine some gears grinding together. When you squirt lubricating oil into the gears, you reduce the friction and make everything work smoother.
1. Pay attention to your appearance.


2. Try an occasional bit of disarming honesty


3. Humor


4. Use a sincere complement


5. Ask a perceptive question


6. Indicate a personal connection


7. Tell a short personal story

Tips

• Reaffirm the timing and ability to focus on the agenda.
• Ask to meet in their buying area.
• Ask if it ok to take notes.
• Compliment.

• Share something unique and personal about yourself

• Be able to articulate your value adds.

The Job Of The Sales Person

Simply stated, the Job of the sales person can bet reduced to these six elements:


• Engage With The Right People
        o  You can be the most trained, thoroughly equipped salesperson, with the best questions, the most powerful presentations and the gift of a good sense of humor. However, if you waste all this on the wrong people, you’ll never be successful.

• Make Them Feel Comfortable With You
        o If they aren’t comfortable with you, they won’t spend much time with you, and the time that they do spend will be guarded and tentative.

• Find Out What They Want
        o This step is the heart of selling – the essence of what a salesperson is all about. I know that flies in the face of the routine practices of multitudes of salespeople, who believe that the end all of their focus is to push their product. While it is certainly true that the company expects you to sell your product, how you sell it is really the issue.

• Show Them How What You Have Provides Them With What They Want
        o Sooner or later you have to make an offer to your customer. In order for you to sell anything, they must decide to buy it. And if they are going to buy it, you need to make them aware of it.

• Gain Agreement On The Next Step
        o Every sales interaction has an assumed next step. If you call someone for an appointment, the next step is the appointment. If you present your solution to a decision-maker, the next step is the order. In between, there are thousands of potentially different sales calls, and thousands of potential action steps that follow the sales call.

• . Insure That They Are Satisfied, And Leverage That Satisfaction To Other Opportunities.
        o This is the one step in the sales process that is most commonly neglected. Most salespeople are so focused on making the sale that they neglect to consider that their real purpose is to satisfy the customer. And that extends beyond just the sale itself.

JUST LISTEN!

When we listen, we send a powerful message that we care about the other person. Conversely, when we don’t listen, we send the message that our agenda is far more important than the customer’s trivial ideas and issues. That makes effective listening one of the all time great relationship-building devices.


From a salesperson’s perspective, the more we listen, the more different positions, motivations, opinions and nuances we are able to understand and accommodate. The wiser and more capable we become. Since we are able to understand an ever-growing panoply of positions and opinions, we are able to feel a rapport with more and more customers, and move closer to a consensus position with them.

Listening positions us as a consultant, not a peddler, in the eyes of the customer. Ultimately, listening provides us our competitive edge.

1. Listen constructively.


2. Discipline yourself to build the habit of responding to your customer’s comments.

NEON SIGN

Imagine your prospect with a three-inch high neon sign fixed to his/her forehead.

The sign is bolted in with four stainless steal bolts at each of the four corners.

On the sign are bright red neon letters which spell the words

"SO WHAT?"

“The only way you can get the sign to shut off is to translate that statement into a benefit by using the words "This means that you....."
Mediocre? Or outstanding?



The world is full of salespeople who never invest in their own success. Few salespeople have ever been trained in the best practices of their profession. They are content with mediocrity. A few continually pursue their own growth and development. They become outstanding salespeople, significantly outperforming the others.

Beat The Recession – Invest In Consulting

The economic recession may be the best time to invest in consulting, if you do it the right way. Most people are not looking to spend additional money now, but if you hire a consultant who gets paid when you get results, you have absolutely nothing to lose. In fact, you could end up a winner, by creating a lean, mean business machine which can react quickly to new opportunities as they arise. Here are some of the ways in which investing in consulting can help you to ride out the recession.

Don't Flash The Cash
There's never been a better time to control your cash flow. Is the right amount of money coming in each month? Have your expenses spiralled out of control? Are your suppliers being less flexible than they were, putting the squeeze on your bottom line? Hiring a business expert who offers consulting services will help you to identify strengths and weaknesses. The consultant will review your business and will help you to see where you can improve. Even better, the consultant will give advice on how to make those improvements, making your business much more efficient.

Promote Yourself
When you hire a  consulting service, you may learn new ways of promoting and marketing your business. The consultant has worked with many businesses and has picked up information on best practices. That means there's a shopping list of options for you to select. Perhaps there are networking events in your niche that you should be attending. Maybe you need to make contact with new suppliers or potential customers. It could be that your website and sales brochure need an overhaul. All of these are services that a consultant can provide. They will expand your market reach, boost your market presence and give you a new look that will appeal to your customers.

Plan Ahead
Perhaps your competitors are being short sighted in closing down some services. This could be a good time to snap up a bargain so you are ready for the upturn. One of the advantages of consulting is that it helps you to plan for the future, starting from where you are now. You will end up with a feasible plan for the development of your business which will make it stronger and more effective. There are always new opportunities around; your  consultant can help you to identify the right ones so that you can gain the most value for your business.

Summary: Is the recession getting your down? Inject some new life into your business by investing in consulting services

Posted in Feb. 2009  by GiztheBiz http://www.blogger.com/profile/00730143392777624619

Who's Kicking Your Cat

The master motivator, author, and speaker Zig Ziglar came up with this wonderful analogy years ago. Here is our paraphrased version of his great work.

Mr. B was the top dog in a very large company. Every morning, he met some of his cronies for breakfast. On this particular morning, he lost track of time. He looked at his watch and realized he was going to be late for work.


He left the restaurant and jumped in his car. He barely had the engine started when he threw it in reverse to back out. He burned rubber leaving the parking lot. As he got on the freeway he put the gas to the fiberglass.


As he sped down the highway, he looked in his rear view mirror. His heart skipped a beat when he saw the flashing lights. He pulled over and rolled down his window.


“Where are you going in such a hurry,” the officer asked.


“I’m needed at work,” he replied abruptly, “I’m a very important man!”


“Well, you’re not above the law.”


“I didn’t say I was … but shouldn’t you be chasing real criminals and leave me alone?”


“I’ll leave you alone in a few minutes. Let me see your driver’s license, registration, and proof of insurance.”


Mr. B handed him the requested information. Then he sat there and stewed. As the minutes passed by, he got more and more angry.


The officer came back and handed him a ticket, along with the rest of his documents. He grabbed them out of the officer’s hand, rolled up his window, and took off down the road.


He finally arrived at work. He was really late now. When he got to work, the first person he saw was his sales manager.


“Good morning, Mr. B” said the sales manager with a smile.


“There’s nothing good about it,” barked Mr. B, “I want to see you in my office NOW!”


The sales manager followed him into his office.


As Mr. B threw his coat down on the couch, he yelled at the sales manager, “You fell short of your goal last week for the second week in a row. I want to know what you’re going to do to get back on track and I want to know now.”


“Mr. B,” the sales manager objected, “We just talked about this yesterday. We have four big deals. Any one of them will put us over the top and I’m sure we’ll get at least one of them.”


“I’ll believe it when I see it,” Mr. B blurted out while looking at some papers on his desk. “You’re dismissed.”


The bewildered sales manager walked back to his office. When he got there, the first person he saw was his assistant. He screamed at her. She screamed at someone who screamed at someone else.


And so it went for the rest of the day.


Eventually the receptionist got yelled at. When she got home, the first person she saw was her twelve-year old boy. She yelled at him and sent him to his room.


On the way to his room, the family cat walked in front of him. He kicked the cat!


So here’s the question –


Wouldn’t it have been much better, for everyone involved, if Mr. B had just gone directly to the receptionist’s house and kicked her cat himself?

And here’s an even more important question –


Whose cat are you kicking?

How can I get by the gatekeeper?

—Edward G Anderson

A: The challenge here is that the majority of sales people try to "get by the gatekeeper." It's like a game: come up with a variety of new and incredibly fancy techniques to stump the gatekeeper and reach the final target. You can play the game or you can try something different.

While most of us have been taught not to waste time and get to the decision-maker as quickly as possible, think about the information that you can gain by engaging the decision-maker's administrative assistant. That information can be vital in how you move forward in the account.

Also, these days, getting direct access to the decision maker is a lot easier than in the "good old days." For starters, you should have your Google alerts turned on for the person and the company you are targeting. Remember that you can't provide a solution until you have an idea of the problems that they face or you know something about what they are going through. You also have LinkedIn, Plaxo, Twitter, and Facebook giving you access to your industry thought leaders. You can join the groups that they participate in, follow them for a while, and then you can ask them directly for a meeting if you believe you have a solution for them.

I was just prospected by someone who contacted me directly through LinkedIn. He performed his search through the LinkedIn Search utility, checked my credentials, presented his case and asked for the meeting. What was his offering? A software product that allowed sales people to leverage their social networks, connect those networks with their CRM and give them the ability to effectively prospect through these networks.

If you do happen to get routed to the administrative assistant, ask for the assistance. The administrative assistant will have inside information on the company as well as the knowledge of the decision-maker's current challenges, issues and schedule. If you wanted inside information on your prospect, the administrative assistant is the place to get it.

Another point to remember is to identify what you are trying to accomplish. If your goal is to get to the decision-maker, then call in the early morning hours between 7 and 9 a.m., before the crew gets in, or call in the early evening hours between 5 and 7:30 p.m. Most managers, directors, and small business owners work outside of normal business hours to get things done. Most will even answer their own phone. There is nothing in the sales rulebook that says you need to call between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. If you have a viable solution for them, they will be more than happy to listen to what you have to say.

On the other hand, if you are looking to "get past the gatekeeper," then you will restrict yourself to activities that bring you into direct contact with the gatekeeper just so you can have the pleasure of "getting past them."

The primary goal of your initial contact phase is to get to the person making the decision regarding your solution. If you stay on track, then your efforts to reach the decision-maker will include activities like:

1. Calling outside of regular business hours.

2. Using the social networks to reach them.

3. Using networking groups and referrals to reach them.

4. Using direct mail techniques to lead in to a phone call.

5. Leveraging the power of the administrative assistant.

Here is one final thought. Once you have your audience with the decision-maker, you need to provide a relevant solution. If you aren't providing a solution that is relevant to their needs, then you will find yourself facing the administrative assistant at every turn because they will have been given specific instructions to "get rid of the time waster."

Words & Phrases You Should Use to Maintain Rapport With Prospects

By Larry Prevost, Dale Carnegie Training Instructor

As sales executives and account managers, one of the things that we need to be aware of is how our audience is responding to the words that we are using. As one of my mentors told me, we can see the results of our communication through the response that we get from our audience.


For sales executives and account managers, the audience consists of our prospects and clients.

We have talked before about the effect our words can have on our prospects. Here are two more types of words or phrases to use when presenting your solution and favorably impacting the prospect.

Bridges. A bridge is a brief phrase that links a fact about our product or service to a stated benefit and it implies a causal relationship. Think of the bridge as helping your prospect cross over from the hard, real world fact to the more tenuous and desirable benefit. Words and phrases like:

1. Therefore...

2. Which means...

3. So...

4. You will find this helpful, because...

For example, "Our instructors are required to take a refresher program annually, which means..."

The bridge keeps the dialog between you and your prospect conversational, which allows you to maintain rapport with your them.

Cushions. We use cushions primarily when a prospect states an objection. It is a statement that acknowledges that you were listening to the prospect, you heard the objection and you understand its importance. However, the cushion does not agree, disagree or address the objection. When you use a cushion after hearing an objection, you allow yourself to maintain rapport with your prospect while trying to understand their position on the subject at hand.

Most of the time, your cushion will be specific to the objection or point raised. However, some of the more generic phrases that can be used as cushions are:

1. I can appreciate that.

2. I understand what you are saying.

3. I can see where you are coming from.

Examples of words that we commonly use as cushions but are more like staging areas for a verbal ground assault are:

1. ...but...

2. However...

3. Nevertheless...

These words typically are used between two opposing opinions or views, and they have the undesirable effect of putting you and your prospect on uneven ground in the conversation. The perception is that they tend to lessen or negate everything that comes before them and elevating everything that comes after them. Statements like, "I can see your point, but..." or "I feel your pain. However..." don't really build bridges or establish common ground. A good cushion will maintain rapport and keep the channels of communication open so that you can address the concern or determine if the concern is real.

In all of our communication as sales people, we are trying to convey our ideas to our prospects and clients. In order to do that, we need to maintain rapport throughout the sales process. Keep your communication conversational and directed by using bridges and cushions. Your prospects will appreciate the effort and they will show that appreciation by becoming clients.

About the Author: Larry Prevost is an instructor and an IT consultant for Dale Carnegie Training of Ohio and Indiana.

Churn Rate... Do you know what yours is?

...and how it affects your business?

Churn Rate* The phrase is based on the English verb "churn", meaning to agitate or produce violent motion.
Customer base
“Churn rate, when applied to a customer base, refers to the proportion of contractual customers or subscribers who leave a supplier during a given time period. It is a possible indicator of customer dissatisfaction, cheaper and/or better offers from the competition, more successful sales and/or marketing by the competition, or reasons having to do with the customer life cycle. The churn rate can be minimized by creating barriers which discourage customers to change suppliers (contractual binding periods, use of proprietary technology, unique business models, etc.), or through retention activities such as loyalty programs. It is possible to overstate the churn rate, as when a consumer drops the service but then restarts it within the same year. Thus, a clear distinction needs to be made between 'gross churn', the total number of absolute disconnections, and 'net churn', the overall loss of subscribers or members. The difference between the two measures is the number of new subscribers or members that have joined during the same period. Suppliers may find that if they offer a loss-leader "introductory special", it can lead to a higher churn rate and subscriber abuse, as some subscribers will sign on, let the service lapse, then sign on again to take continuous advantage of current specials.” * From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Your Territory
There is churn in every business, with some causes being external, and some being internal. Your territory is no different. Do you know what the average rate of “Churn” is for your territory? Typical green industry figures are in the 20 – 25% range depending on market segment. There is higher than average churn in the landscape segment, and lower than average churn in the garden center segment.
External factors include economy, change of business model, change of personnel, and impact of competition, weather, and government regulation.
Internal factors include customer service, personalities, quality of products, pricing, firing you customer, credit policy, change of market focus, change of product lines, or change of services.
Staying whole (it goes without saying retention is the first golden rule)
A key strategy to maintaining and increasing sales success in your territory is to focus on replacing those customers lost to inevitable (and ugly) churn. The only way to accomplish this is to be constantly seeking new opportunities. If your current territory management plan does not include the objective of adding at least as many accounts as lost, or even better, more accounts, then your territory is destined to shrink.
Ask yourself: “What is your weekly goal for new opportunities?”

It’s the Risk, Not the Price!

By Dave Kahle

"Low price, low price, low price." It’s the mantra that sales people in every industry segment are hearing more these days than ever before. Customers, looking for ways to contain costs, naturally pressure their vendors for lower costs.
But, is low price the motivating factor in a customer’s decision to buy?
In every survey of buying motivations I’ve ever read, low price is never the primary motivation. Yes, it’s important. And, when everything else is equal, it will be the deciding factor. But very rarely is everything else equal. And very few people in this world buy only on the basis of low price. How many of you are wearing a suit you bought at a garage sale? Or watching a 12-inch black & white TV?
If low price were the only motivator, you would have gone with those lower priced options. But, you don’t always buy on the basis of low price, so why should you think that all your customers do?
The truth is, they don’t. And here’s a secret that almost nobody knows, including all those gurus telling you to sell value. They don’t always buy the best value. But, they can invariably be counted on to buy the lowest risk!
The biggest issue in the minds of your customers and prospects is not price, and it is not value – it is risk.
What’s risk?
It is the potential cost to the individual customer if he/she makes a mistake. It's not just the money, although that is part of it. It is also the social, psychological and emotional cost that your customer will pay if your choice isn’t the best one. The lower the risk of the decision, the more likely your customer will say yes to you – regardless of the price.
Let’s become comfortable with this concept of risk first, and then discuss how to use it in your sales efforts.
In order to really understand risk, you must first see this issue from your customers' perspective. Try to put yourself in their shoes, and calculate the amount of risk that you expect your customers to take when you offer them an opportunity to say "yes" to you.
Here's an illustration to help you understand this concept. Imagine that you are under orders by your spouse to pick up a package of disposable cups on the way home from work today because you're having friends over for a casual evening of dessert and drinks tonight. You stop at the local grocery store, and make a selection between brand A and brand B. You pick brand A.
What happens to you in this instant in time? What is the consequence of your decision? I don't know about you, but I would be the recipient of some negative emotion. My spouse would be upset with me. That may be the most painful cost of your decision. But there are other costs.
You're going to have to fix the problem. If there's time, you'll have to run back to the store and replace the cups. So, in addition to the emotional cost, you must also pay in terms of extra time and additional money. All because of your bad decision. Those costs -- negative emotions, time wasted, extra money spent - all combine to form the risk you accepted when you made your decision.
Here's a simple exercise to help you understand this concept. Draw a short vertical line. At the top of the line, write the number 25. At the bottom, write the number zero. Now on a scale of 0 to 25, with 0 being low, and 25 high, where would you put the risk of buying a package of disposable cups? You’d probably say it is close to zero. So, put an X on the line from 0 to 25 where you think the risk of buying those cups would be.
Let’s look at an illustration at the other end of the scale. I once had an adoption agency as a client. When a young lady is in a crisis pregnancy, and she's making a decision as to whether or not to release her unborn child for adoption, how big a risk is that for her? Put your X on the line that represents your assessment of that risk.
Most people put their mark around 25. The risk in this situation is a lifetime of consequences for at least four people – the mother, child and adoptive parents. That's a very high risk. Compare the X’s for the two different decisions, and you’ll conclude that different decisions carry with them differing degrees of risk.
Now, let’s apply this concept to your customers. Remember that every time you ask your prospects to say yes to you, they are accepting some risk. And each of those decisions you ask of them carries with it a different degree of risk.
Imagine your typical customer. Then think of the typical offer or decision you ask of that person. For example, take one of your newer products. Imagine you are presenting it to your customer for the first time. Now, put yourself in his shoes, and see the situation through his eyes. On the 0 - 25 scale, how much risk does your customer accept when he says "yes" to you?
For an easy way of calculating it, just ask yourself what happens to that individual if you, or your company, or your product, doesn’t do what you promise?
If your customer buys that product and it doesn’t do what you claim it will, what trouble will that make for your customer? What consequences will he/she pay? What is the risk?
And don’t say that there is no risk because you’ll take care of any problem that might develop. You may think that, but your customer doesn’t know that. And remember, you’re trying to see this from your customer’s point of view, not yours. The amount of risk is what your customer perceives it to be.
I had a great example of the role of risk in sales several years ago. A young man approached me to help his company with their sales efforts. They were selling a product that was, at the time, a real state-of-the-art breakthrough. The company designed computerized controls that were retrofitted on food processing equipment. As a result of the use of these controls, the savings in energy consumption would pay for the cost of the equipment in less than a year.
It looked like a great product. But he couldn’t sell them as rapidly as the company wanted.
"Tell me how you go about selling them" I asked.
"We qualify our prospects to the point where we know we have someone who could use the equipment. Then I call the production engineer or the plant manager on the phone, and gather some information about the type of equipment they use. Then I create a written proposal showing the economic payback, and mail it to him. Next I call and try to close the sale."
"Let me see if I understand correctly," I said. "You’re calling a plant manager on the phone. I would guess that most plant managers are men in their 50’s, probably with advanced degrees, and who have been in the plant for a number of years, is that right?"
"That’s right."
"OK," I said. "So, you’re calling someone twice your age, asking him to spend $30,000 - $40,000 on equipment he’s never seen, from a company he’s never heard of, and from a sales person half his age who he’s never met. Is that right?"
My client became a little defensive. "If you put it that way, I suppose its right."
"Well put it that way," I replied, "because that’s the way he sees it."
The problem was simple – risk. On that scale of 0 – 25, how much risk would you think the plant manager would be accepting if he said “Yes” to the over-the-phone offer?
Put yourself in his shoes. Suppose the equipment didn’t work the way it was supposed to? He could shut down production lines, spend weeks trying to make things right, cause all sorts of havoc in the plant, and potentially even lose his job. Now that’s risk.
If you were that plant manager, how much more than the original $30,000 quote would you spend to reduce the risk? It wouldn’t be hard to justify a price double that.
That should give you a clue as to how to fight the “low price” issue. Worry less about low price, and more about lowering the risk.
Here are four strategies to do so.

1. Build solid, deep relationships with the key decision-makers. Relationships mitigate risk. The greater the relationship, the lower the perceived risk. That’s why the salesman with the longer relationship almost always has the benefit of the doubt in a competitive situation. It is not the price – it is the risk.

2. Make ample use of third party recommendations, customer lists, case studies and testimonials. All of these say to the customer that someone else, or lots of other people, have used the product or service. That means it is less risk for your customer to buy it.

3. Try to get your customer as physically involved with the product as possible. For example, if you’re selling a piece of equipment, try to get the customer to trial the equipment, or at least visit somewhere its being used. The more your customer can see and feel the actual thing, the less risk is it to them.

4. Finally, work with your company to create offers that reduce the risk. Trial periods, money-back guarantees, delayed billing, warranties, service desks – all of these reduce your customer’s perception of risk.

The winners in the competitive selling arena of our difficult economy are those who are the low risk providers, not the low price people.