When you’re meeting with a prospect and attempting to make a compelling case for change, you must remember that people are often averse to change. You may think to yourself, “Oh my goodness, all I have to do is tell them that this new technology is available and they’ll just jump all over it.” Not necessarily. What seems obvious to you may not be so obvious to your prospect.
Remember: the easiest thing to buy is nothing. If you recall Seth Godin’s hierarchy of decision-making, avoiding risk and avoiding hassle are numbers one and two. If you have a piece of equipment that’s working fine, are you really going to be so anxious to rip it out and install a new one… much less go to the mat to argue for the capital, fill out the rebate applications, endure the pre- and post-inspections necessary, and so forth? To accept something new, something old must be given up, and you must acknowledge the sacrifice of change. If you don’t do that, you’re going to be at a disadvantage. You’re going to be less persuasive.
You also must acknowledge the risk of change, because if the current technology is still working, the boss is probably not on their case. You must get them to a state where they’re comfortable enough to take a leap of faith and accept the risk of change.
So what’s the moral here? Before you start pitching the benefits of your product or service, you must acknowledge the current state and explain why it’s still worth investing time and money (and yes, risk) to make the change.
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