Uncover Pain to Motivate Buyers

A Little Psychology Can Go a Long Way.

by Susan Bellows

Psychologists tell us that there are five major buying motives: pain/problem, fear, present pleasure, future pleasure, and interest. The most common reason why people buy is pain . . . something is wrong in their businesses or personal lives that they want fixed and they are prepared to pay to fix it.

The best sales professionals never sell anything . . . they offer solutions. They uncover pain and make it go away. People make decisions intellectually but BUY emotionally. For example, the $33 billion diet industry thrives because women buy weight loss programs on the emotional belief that they need to be a different dress size.

So how do we find pain? We learn to ask gentle, probing questions. Instead of asking, "How can I help you?" you could ask a more concrete question, such as "If you could wave a magic wand, what would _____ be like?" Allowing them to describe their ideal situation helps you identify pain, problems and possible remedies and opportunities.

Once you have built rapport with the prospect, try asking carefully worded, sensitively posed questions to help get to your prospect's pain. Prospects will not just tell you their real problems up front; they'll give you an intellectual "smoke screen." For example, a customer in a store, when approached by a sales associate, may deflect sales pressure with a casual, "No thanks, I'm just browsing." This is a common smoke screen -- one we all have instinctively used even though few of us have time to browse causally through stores . . . usually we have made a conscious decision to visit that store in search of a particular item.

Even though discussing pain and problems may be uncomfortable, asking probing questions can help you uncover your prospect's pain and helps them come to the conclusion that you can help.

In the ideal world, we seek prospects who have pain, who can pay to get rid of it and who can make the buying decision. When you find these people, be sure:

• The problem must be one you can fix. Your prospect must acknowledge that it is his/her problem.
  
  
• Your prospect must be willing to do something to fix the problem.
  
  
• Your prospect must be committed to fixing the problem.

Remember, people buy for THEIR reasons, not yours. When you become skillful at asking questions and uncovering pain, you'll see business skyrocket.