“Negotiating a sale is not a battle of egos, it’s a question of highlighting key issues and interests.”

~ Debra Hilton

Lessons in Pessimism from an Animal Shelter

You’ve seen those ads for pet shelters, haven’t you?

The ones where they show you a row of dogs or cats looking pitifully at the camera, each one silently pleading with you to give them a home.

Well, the reality isn’t quite like that.

Most of them have their sales process very carefully choreographed – It’s very similar to selling your house at auction.

Anyway, a while ago I went with a friend to choose a dog. She had selected the dog from photos, talked to the shelter, and anticipated that she would walk in with the money and proof of residence and walk out with a dog.

It didn’t work out that way.

Before she even saw the dog, the people at the shelter interviewed her, told her that there were other candidates and that if she wasn’t suitable that would be it. They even told her what their reservations were.

Their decision. No redress.

That put her on her mettle. She was not going to let these people tell her she couldn’t adopt this dog and she was determined to convince them of her fitness.

By the time they told her she could ‘meet’ the dog, she had committed herself so far that she simply had to establish a great relationship instantly.  (Which, of course, she did.)

She then went to pay for the dog with it prancing beside her, and obediently invested in all the paraphernalia they recommended (including bonding and behaviour classes) which cost many times more than the base $350 for the dog.

It was a brilliant example of sale by pessimism.

Where Does the Power Lie?

One of the reasons that authority marketing (and other forms of attraction marketing) is such a powerful tool is its effect on the balance of power between buyer and seller. When the seller is reaching out to prospects, the power of rejection lies in buyer’s hands. When a prospective buyer is doing the reaching out, the probability of acceptance shoots up dramatically.

If a Pet Shelter can do it…

Recently I was talking with a pedigree dog breeder who had erected more barriers to sale than many businesses have when they’re hiring new employees (hiring is another powerful way of using attraction marketing).

It may seem counter-intuitive, but I did some research and discovered:

1. That his dogs sold at more than double the price of comparable animals (His waiting list for prospective owners is also longer); and
2. That his financial services firm was equally highly priced and even more profitable, which also allows him to provide even greater customer satisfaction.

Some final thoughts…

• Is your client qualifying process designed to increase your prestige, make working with you more desirable, and put the onus on buyers to qualify themselves?
• Does your marketing process attract ideal customers, or do you frequently complain about the quality of prospects you are talking to?
• If not, wouldn’t now be a good time to rethink your sales presentation and marketing materials so that they make that easy and effortless?

There are fantastic prospects for every product and service out there. You know… the kind of prospects who consume everything you sell and demonstrate its effectiveness.

They’re looking for your products and services now…

1. Will they find you?
2. When they find you, will they instantly know that you have what they need?