One of the best ways to turn a skeptical prospect into a buyer is to give them evidence that your product or service has worked for a client in a similar situation. You might provide them with case studies, testimonials, or any other forms of “proof” that buying from you is the right decision. But what do you do when you’re rolling out a new product or service that doesn’t have any demonstrable history of success? In my experience, it’s all about how you spin it. Here’s an example of how you might approach the situation:
Prospect: “I don’t know if I’m comfortable being the ‘guinea pig’ for this new energy management system. I usually like to know for a fact that what I buy is going to work.”
You: “I understand where you’re coming from. The good news is that because you’ll be the first person to buy this system from us, we’re going to be especially flexible with our terms and lovingly support your installation to make sure that it goes swimmingly. In fact, we’re even thinking about writing a white paper for the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy’s annual conference with the intention of positioning your company as the poster child for innovation in energy management. If you’re into that, we would be happy to produce that case study for you at no extra charge.”
At this point, your prospect is probably going to report back to the rest of the decision-making team and tell them, “If we get on board with this, we’re going to get twice as much love and attention from this vendor, and we’ll even get written up in an ACEEE white paper, which would look great for our company’s image.”
So what’s the moral of the story? It’s all about reframing the situation. If your prospect wants something from you that you cannot yet provide them (in this case, proof of success), find a creative way to reframe the picture by emphasizing the distinct benefits of being your first customer.
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