Fear could be the most powerful motivator affecting your buyers. In order to maintain an image of power and control, buyers may not reveal the underlying anxieties affecting their decisions. Some of these anxieties are obvious; others are subtle. You'll increase your sales once you help your buyers discover their fears, show that you are sensitive to those fears, and lead them to the conclusion that your product, service, and/or solution will replace fear with peace of mind.
1. Fear Of Buyers' Remorse. Buyers are afraid that even though buying from you today looks like the thing to do, they'll regret that decision tomorrow, next week, or next month. This fear increases in direct proportion to the price and the number of choices they must pick from.
2. Fear That The Wrong Choice Will Diminish Respect And Esteem From Others. Peer pressure does not lose impact once we leave our teens. We continue to vie for the approval and recognition of our peers. This fear increases if the buyer has strong social needs, serves a domineering boss, works in a team environment, or is employed by a company demanding continuous improvement and excellence.
3. Fear Of Losing Self-Esteem. We all want to feel good about ourselves. Making the wrong decision and suffering the consequences of that error can cause self-respect to plummet.
4. Fear That The Wrong Decision Could Ruin A Career. For some buyers the wrong decision means a pink slip. A corporate culture where one mistake is your last mistake creates paralysis by analysis. Of course, the right decision of significance could bring kudos and eternal gratitude from upper management and even shareholders.
5. Fear That The Wrong Decision Could Mean Disaster Or The End Of The Company. Some decisions carry life-and-death consequences for the person or the company. A buyer who realizes the company is on the edge of survival may lack the courage to make a decision of major proportions. A buyer who has to be very careful with limited resources is in the same position.
6. Fear Of The Unknown. Regardless of assurances and guarantees from you, buyers maybe more content to stick with a painful status quo than to opt for an uncertain future. They may not like what they currently have, but they know what they currently have. The future is too big a question mark to take any risks. The fear is especially pronounced for buyers whose job may not be assured and for those who lack self-confidence.
7. Fear Of Relinquishing Control To You. Like all people, buyers want to feel in control and have the upper hand. They want to call the shots, establish the agenda, and have autonomy. They are comforted by the power of being able to delay purchase decisions as long as they want. Once you interfere with that control, you reduce their power and elevate their fears.
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