Before preparing for any sales presentation, it is crucial that the sales professional understand that each buyer must make five decisions before walking out of the store with the product. There are five important questions or decisions that every customer must ask and answer before deciding to buy a product or service. “No” to any of the five buying decisions will defeat the sale for the sales professional. Also, all objections that will be raised during a sales presentation will fall under one of the five buying decisions. The five buying decisions are:
1. Do I really need the product?
2. Is this product the best solution to my need?
3. Is this the right source or company?
4. Is this the right price?
5. Is this the best time to buy?
Whatever you sell, put yourself in the prospect’s position and realize that attention will have to be given to these five important questions in a satisfactory manner before the big commitment toswers to these five questions. Think of how you react when you are a buyer. If the sales professional pressures you to make the fifth decision before you have answered the first four, you become disturbed, rushed, and a little irritated. Let’s look at clothing and accessories. Let’s suppose that you bought a suit recently. You started off seeking answers to questions like these:
(Do I need the product?)
(Is this product the best solution to my need?)
(Is this the right source or company?)
(Is this the right price?) buy is made. As a sales professional, you must help the customer come up with the right an
(Is this the right time to buy?)
The Five Basic Buying Decisions
If you can recall a good clothing sales professional you bought from, the seller may have anticipated these five questions and helped you answer them in a way that would lead to closing the sale. The sales professional probably asked you for your color preference and size and then picked a suit and asked you to put on the coat “just to try it on to check for size.” You couldn’t object to trying it on for that purpose. With the proper size established, your decision process started into motion because of your active participation. The sales professional asked questions to get your preference concerning items like style, color, material, and price. He/she had you look at yourself in the mirror as he/she commented on the features and the benefits of two or three suits. The sales professional made sure making a choice was as easy as possible. The sales professional asked, “Which color do you like best?” That made you come to the part of the buying decision which we call the trial close. If everything had been answered in a positive manner up to this point, you said, “I’ll take it!” which are the best three words a sales professional can hear. You may have stopped with a partial decision. The sales professional then asked you to try on the trousers; another trial close attempt by the sales professional. If you agreed, the sale was still moving towards being made as you became emotionally involved in the presentation. If you were reluctant, the sales professional reviewed the features and the benefits you would receive from the suit. The seller then justified the price with quality. If you were still reluctant, the seller might point out that by the time you make a decision, your selection would be vastly limited, and you would have to settle for much less than the beautiful suit you had selected today. Besides, you would also probably save about $25, because the sales professional would throw in a free tie with the suit purchase. If the sales professional helped you answer the five basic buying decisions positively, you bought. If not, you went to another store, or put off the decision.
Whatever your product or service is, think of your prospect as having to make these five important buying decisions. By asking some basic questions at the beginning of the presentation, you can quickly determine how far or close the buyer is toward the final purchase. Remember, the first four decisions must be made before the final one is made and these decisions are usually made in the sequence found in the previous illustration. Learn to recognize where the buyer is on the road towards the final purchase and become familiar with the five basic buying decisions.