I read a post in a Facebook business group recently that blamed the customer for not taking action and being excuse-makers. I could tell the business owner was frustrated by a lack of interest in a program she was running. She had promoted in the group a few weeks before and then dropped her price significantly. That right there signals a lack of sales. Her post was designed to be a firey conversation starter about women not taking action, about them not putting themselves first and about them waiting for permission to improve their lives. I saw something very different!
Don’t blame your customers for your marketing failures…Â
I get it. I 100% understand the frustration you feel as a business owner when you offer the exact solution to a problem your customer is looking for. I have fought with this frustration for years. I have to admit I have even been angry with my Profit Lovers (I hate saying that, I LOVE my tribe) for not buying the solutions I offer. I have been angry that the problems so often complained about could be easily solved with one of my online courses. I have been even more frustrated when I noticed that people were purchasing other courses, courses that were double and even triple the price of the course I was offering. My frustration was misplaced, it isn’t about you…
It’s not you, it’s me….Â
When your customer isn’t compelled to buy it’s not them, it’s you. You have missed the mark somehow and have you have failed to convince your potential customer that you offer the right solution for them.
Here are the most common excuses we all hear and what they actually mean:
“I have to ask my husband/partner”
You didn’t convince me that this is the right solution for me
“I don’t have the time right now”
You didn’t convince me that this is the right solution for me
“I am on a budget and can’t afford the investment”
You didn’t convince me that this is the right solution for me
“I have some big bills coming up, maybe after then!”
You didn’t convince me that this is the right solution for me
“I need to check my work schedule first”
You didn’t convince me that this is the right solution for me
Noticing a theme here?
Yes, there will always be legitimate reasons for customers not purchasing, I get that sometimes you do need to check with your husband/partner before you spend money. I understand that people live on budgets and money can be really tight. I am a super-budgeter so I rarely make impulse purchases. Sometimes people do have a lack of time! But that is the exception, not the rule.
More often than we are all willing to admit (me included) it has nothing to do with anything other than “you didn’t convince me that this was the right solution for me”. This is why we see our potential customers heading off to our competitors while we are left scratching our butts wondering how they could betray us. They didn’t betray anyone, they made a decision based on the information presented to them. They saw a better fit. They saw a more accurately matched solution to their problem.
Your customers lie sometimes
Customers lie, they give excuses instead of just saying no. Why would they want to hurt your feelings by saying “your offer is crap, I am going next door instead”? It’s not up to them, they don’t have to tell you truth. Often it isn’t even a conscious decision. They don’t know why they don’t want to buy, they just don’t feel compelled to do so. They aren’t convinced so they pull out a reason without thinking too much about it.
What can you do about it?
+ Define exactly who you’re trying to help in fine detail
+ Know the pain point your customer is experiencing right now
+ Identify the solution that would relieve the pain point and frame your offering around that
+ Communicate features and benefits of your offering using language your potential customer will relate to
+ Understand the buying decision steps from your customers perspective
+ Acknowledge resistances to investing during your sales funnel
+ Ask why potential customer didn’t buy, the info will help you improve your marketing message
And finally… market your socks off! Spread your marketing message and track interest and results. If you have high interest but low results you lost your potential customers somewhere. You made it too difficult to purchase, you offered too much or the pricing didn’t seem like it fit the offer (don’t discount!). If you have low interest from the start you are targeting the wrong people, not target enough people or you’re not catching people’s attention.
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