Why Do We Make Buying Expensive, Complex Products So Difficult?

People want to buy. This is such a simple truth, but whether it is someone walking into a car dealership or a CIO talking to a software company, they are not doing so because they are trying to avoid buying.

Buyers Want To Be Buying

Yes, they need reassurance and want to find a simple buying process, but so many companies refuse to provide this. We put barriers in the way of a sale, particularly of high-ticket items. Amazon makes buying easier than not buying, and most people do not realize that this is a large part of the key to success. eBay knows how much people want to buy, as do the best retailers. The same applies to many other products.

In order to buy something, people need to feel that the risk is low and the buying process is easy. So how much effort do we put into these key components? The fact is that most companies put in very little.

Reducing the Perceived Risks of Buying

As far as risk is concerned, there are a number of things that can show a prospect that the risk is minimal:

• Sharing great reviews, from peers and experts as well as direct referrals.


• Demonstrating the ease of use, particularly when the product has to work with existing products, such as in the case of software or manufacturing equipment.


• Knowing and trusting the people involved. Vendors who are proud of their products think that the prospect will make a buying decision after a web meeting.


• Being empathetic about the issues the buyer faces with budget, his or her own career, the difficulty of replacing an existing product that works “well enough,” or a product which recently cost a lot of money.


• Getting to know the internal buying influencers and helping the prospect to “sell” internally.


• Taking opportunities to spend time with prospects and building trust over time and repeated conversations.

Avoiding Barriers to Buying

In addition to these aides to the buying process, the seller can avoid putting further barriers in the way of an easy sale. Among these potential barriers are:

• Charging prospects for a “free” trial, even if these charges are disguised in some way, such as the cost of training. So while a prospect is still unsure, the relationship starts with a perception of being “nickel-and-dimed.” Yet, others use a “Freemium” model where it costs nothing to try and the customer only pays once he or she is happy and using the product.


• Spending a lot of time on legal issues relating to non-disclosure, data integrity, etc. Prospects do not want to have to deal with process and bureaucracy.


• Putting reporting or other documentation requirements on the prospect.


• Requiring the prospect to spend substantial time to “earn” the right to buy.

If you really want to sell something, recognize that the prospect would not be talking to you were they not interested in buying your product. Yet, so often the seller sees the prospect as someone to be vanquished rather than a partner to be helped.

via Business 2 Community http://www.business2community.com/strategy/why-do-we-make-buying-expensive-complex-products-so-difficult-0593140?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=why-do-we-make-buying-expensive-complex-products-so-difficult