Marketing and Sales: The Secret of Stuck
This is the third article in a 3-part series on marketing and sales. In the first article, we considered marketing and sales as engaging in the first two steps of the change process. In the second article, we considered the importance of good communications to help prospects make forward progress through the two steps. In this article, we consider how to help prospects who get stuck.
Stuck Is Normal
You should understand that getting stuck within a step of the change process is not uncommon and it’s quite normal. We will consider some of the main reasons for it in a moment, but you should understand one thing.
Stuck threatens your sale. If you can’t help prospects move out of stuck, they will not convert into clients – at least not yet. So, do what you can to get them unstuck.
Reasons for Stuck
There are 3 main reasons why a prospect might get stuck in one of the 2 steps of the change process. These are:
- Low trust
- Fear
- Confusion
Let’s consider these one by one.
Low Trust – the prospect doesn’t trust you enough and this becomes an obstacle to them. If they don’t trust you, they may not like you, warm to you, feel connected to you, or listen to what you say. They may feel like you want to take advantage of them, or that you’re trying to sell them something that’s good for you, but not for them.
You really need to work on this.
Fear – even if prospects trust you, they may not trust themselves. People have a lot of performance anxiety. Can I do this? Am I good enough? It’s okay for him, but I’m not like him. What if I spend a lot of money and fail? What will other people think? I’m not confident enough to put myself forward.
Everyone has fears, and it’s okay to have them. But we need to understand what to make of them. Most of the time our fears are based on our imaginations rather than the facts of our circumstance. We fear things we haven’t done yet and we fear what might happen. We undersell ourselves, question our ability, think negatively, and worry too much about what other people will think of us. Other people are probably too busy thinking about themselves to care much about us.
You need to help the prospect handle these fears. Tell them you’ll be there to offer support, or tell them where they can find support elsewhere. Offer them a full refund if they decide that working with you was a bad idea. Do things to help take away their fear.
In reality, what they should be more afraid of is getting stuck and staying stuck.
Confusion – some prospects get confused because their heart says one thing and their head says something else. Or they get too many facts and then get confused. You job is to cut through the confusion and to bring clarity.
You first need to understand why they are confused. Don’t guess – ask them. And then think about how to overcome their confusion in ways they can understand. Remember your audience.
If you find there is a lot of confusion with your prospects, you may well have a communication problem, or perhaps you are not sure what you’re offering. If you come across clear and confident, it’s less likely your prospects will be confused.