The Only Reason Prospects Don’t Buy from You
I once worked with a CFO who had a great saying:
“If your product isn’t flying off the shelves…why not?”
I ask myself this all the time, whether in my own companies or when working with clients.
(It applies to service companies, too.)
And I’ve come up with the universal answer.
People aren’t buying your product…because they don’t want it.
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This is not a joke.
Sometimes we overlook the obvious. But the obvious is worth saying out loud.
Here’s what I often hear in response.
“They do want our product, they just can’t xyz.”
Are you sure? I think if they really wanted it…they would have bought it.
You can make up elaborate excuses all day long, but ultimately, if people want what you’re selling, they will purchase it from you.
But I never believe in asking why just once.
Why don’t they want what you’re selling?
Be careful: the reason almost never comes down to “we need to be better at selling.” If you have the right offer dialed in, a B- salesperson should be able to sell it.
It takes courage to look at the thing you’re selling and ask, “Is it good enough?”
Many leaders would rather double down on sales efforts instead. The vulnerability required to examine your offer can be hard to stomach, especially if you’re closely entwined with the product or service.
Your heart is in your offer, and it’s hard to hear that people don’t want it.
This examination, though, can make the difference between a slog and a scalable growth engine.
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I’ve seen 3 main root causes for an offer that isn’t in high demand:
1. People don’t know your offer exists. I call this “not enough at-bats.” Not enough of the world knows who you are, so you simply don’t have enough opportunities to sell. You aren’t well-known in your market.
You need: a dialed-in marketing plan to increase your visibility and generate more leads.
2. People don’t think your offer is that great. For one reason or another, prospects just aren’t that impressed with what you provide. This could be because:
- You aren’t 100% clear on what you’re selling, so the market lacks clarity on what they’re buying from you.
- Your audience doesn’t believe that your offer will give them enough value. They don’t see the ROI.
- You’re getting schooled by the competition. Potential customers can buy the same solution better, cheaper, or faster someplace else.
You need: to analyze how your product compares to competitors, what value it offers, and how well-defined the offer itself is.
3. People don’t understand how you talk about your offer. You might be talking to the wrong people or using messages that don’t resonate with the right ones. But somewhere, the communication about what you’re selling is breaking down and costing you customers.
(You’ll likely know this is the issue as opposed to #2 because once you make a sale, customers DO see value in your offer.)
You need: to talk to some customers and prospects to find out where your approach isn’t working. You may need to adjust your messaging or your audience for a better fit.
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That’s it.
I come from a sales background, so I push sales people as hard as anyone.
But I’ve learned that a great offer should almost be able to sell itself.
Build an offer like that, and growing your business gets a whole lot easier.
P.S. Our consulting team can help you evaluate an offer that isn’t working in your company. Contact us to set up a time to chat.
