Keep Logic Brief with a Reluctant Customer

We’ve identified the product or service alternative that we’re convinced will best meet the needs of both the customer and your store’s bottom line. The customer is ready to be convinced, so we say, “What do you see as the two features you like best about the alternative I’m recommending?” The customer gives us two reasons, but still seems reluctant to make the purchase. So we say, “Okay, what are six more of the features you like?”
     Whoops. We meant well, but according to research findings from New York University, we probably made the product or service less appealing to the customer. Why? Because generating two reasons to buy is almost always an easy task. Generating six more reasons takes a substantial effort. When the customer has a tough time completing the list of eight, they tend to say to themselves, “I guess this item isn’t so great after all.” Next, the customer starts generating counterarguments to the reasons they already had come up with for buying.

• If the customer seems motivated to continue a list of reasons to buy, say something like, “I can understand that it can be difficult to come up with reasons when there are so many distractions right here on the sales floor.” The New York University researchers found that pointing to the situation as the cause of the customer’s difficulty in thinking of reasons helps keep a positive impression of the product in the customer’s mind.
• If the customer seems comfortable with purchasing the item, say, “May I give you this item to buy?” Ask for the sale. Other research says customers are likely to end up being pleased with a purchase if—after doing enough thinking to make themselves comfortable—they decide to take the plunge based on intuition or emotion.