Have you ever met with, or talked to a prospect that wasn't ready to buy what you had to offer? What did you do with that prospects? Most sales gurus of the 1980's and 90's wrote books that told you to move on to the next prospect who is ready to buy now, and not waste your time on those that aren't ready yet.

Here's the wrong assumption to make in that situation. You took the time and educated the prospect; they walked out, and you automatically think that they either bought from someone else, or they were just tire kicking. Wrong!!!

Why Prospect Shop Price Alone

Did you know that your prospects were conditioned by your industry to make price the overriding issue when looking for products and services? Whose fault is this? In my opinion, I would have to say that in most cases, it's the fault of the vendors that are selling your product or service.

Why do I say this? Think about it...most prospects that call you have done most of their research regarding the type of product or service that you offer and are now ready to buy. The typical prospect makes 3 to 5 phone calls asking who can provide the best price, because they've already done the research and know what their needs are. What might you tell them? You might jump at the opportunity to gain a new client and say, "I'll give you the best price, what did the other guy offer you?"

Have you ever wondered how to sell your products and services more on value than simply on the price?

Understanding The Educational Spectrum

Think of the Educational Spectrum as a horizontal line from left to right, with the letter "A" representing the far left hand side of the spectrum and "Z" being the far right. Prospects jump on the educational spectrum somewhere from A to Z. A is when the prospect first gets the idea that they have a need for what you have to offer. We call these "Future Buyers". Z is when money changes hands and they acquire the goods. We call these "Now Buyers".

Here's a simple illustration of the Educational Spectrum. The key is to determine where your prospects are on this spectrum and help them move comfortably and consistently towards the right of the spectrum where they then become the "Now Buyers".

"The Educational Spectrum"

A====D=========G=====J=======M=======P========S=======V======Z

A- Prospect firsts gets the idea to buy what you sell

Z- Money changes hands

A====D=========G=====J=======M=======P========S=======V======Z

Just like we know that having a baby takes 9 months, you have a good idea what the selling cycle is for your products. Whatever it is, you know it is fairly constant. So why rush the future buyers to buy when they are not ready? Why not use the selling cycle to your advantage?

Become The Logical Choice To Do Business With

Understanding the job of effective marketing will allow you to assist your prospects when you know that they are not ready to buy what you have to offer by providing marketing materials that are hit their hot-buttons and educate them in a systematic way until they are ready to buy.

This process should be systematic and automated, so that they receive industry significant information that helps them to make a quality decision. In other words, you can become the advocate for your industry that prospects look to for advice. When they become "Now Buyers", where do you think they will go for their purchase? Good chance, it will be you!

Think of yourself as the fountain from whence all information flows when it comes to buying what you have sell.

It should not be important who your prospect buys from as long as you are committed to providing the best information and knowledge so they can make the best buying decision for themselves and their situation.

In the end, no one wants to feel like they made a bad decision to purchase your product or service, so it is important that you assist your prospects every step of the way as they are gaining confidence in doing business with you.