Oct

Make It Easy To Buy

It might seem like a simple concept, but way too often I find myself in a situation where it is incredibly hard to purchase what I want to purchase from another provider. If you look at your customer purchasing process, is it a simple click of the button, or one signature? If not, then make a change now. Customers could be choosing other competing providers simply because it’s easier to work with them.

Yesterday I went to upgrade a piece of trial software I was using and I ended up incredibly frustrated. First of all, the trial download is named something different than the upgraded version. It wasn’t simply a Widget Lite and I wanted to get Widget Pro. It actually has a completely different name. Finally after finding that the upgrade version had a different name I decided to purchase the product and was then confused with what type of license I needed to purchase. The explanation was not clear at all, so I made my best guess and tried to checkout. This is when it all fell apart. I chose to purchase with PayPal and everything appeared to be working normally. I received an order number and links to download my product.

None Of The Links Worked!

I couldn’t believe that after all that hassle I now had an order fulfillment issue, even though PayPal had successfully processed. Being a technology business myself, I understand that these errors can happen. I contacted customer support and all they did is tell me that I would receive order links to download my product from. When I explained that I they weren’t working, I was told that PayPal must not have cleared. I tried to be understanding once again and just asked for another invoice, so I could pay, and get credit later. I really wanted their product!

Once Again I shocked By The Lack Of Intelligence

After asking to pay twice, I was told that I couldn’t do that, and that I would just have to wait for PayPal to clear payment. I was not given any reason why PayPal wasn’t clearing. I was not given any reasonable explanation or even a temporary license. Nowhere in the checkout process was I informed that this type of delay could occur. I was incredibly frustrated that I decided I better start looking for alternative providers.

Does This Happen To Your Customers When They Try To Buy From You?

I hope not. I don’t think that this engineer (I just supposed that it must be the engineer and not a sales person. Sales people usually don’t refuse double payment) I was buying from was trying to make it hard for me. I just couldn’t believe this was happening.

Take a look at your customer purchase process. What can you do to make it:

Faster
Simpler
More Relaxed
More Fun

Don’t let your customers ever experience what I just did.

589 days ago Short URL Comments

Marketing/sales/Small Business Resources

buying/customers/purchasing/sales/support

Aug

Don't Buy Hot Air No Matter What You'll Be Left Feeling Very Empty

Have you ever been incredibly excited while hiring that new talented employee, the highly recommended consultant, or been absolutely thrilled while installing the latest, greatest service or product? We all have the tendency to buy something or bring on a new team member based on how we think we will feel once we have taken that step. Slowly and painfully I have learned that 90% of us buy based on the imagination of how we will feel when we’ve completed the purchase. Basically, we buy the feeling we envision our purchase will give us, not the actual person, product, or service.

At a basic level trying to buy that elusive feeling is completely acceptable as long as there are actually real services or concrete value behind our decision. If we fail to clarify the details of what we are purchasing then we may find that once our buyers euphoria wears off we are left with a big box of hot air that leaves us feeling very empty. Personally to ensure that I actually get something of substance out of my purchase I try to make a habit of asking the following questions before I get married into the latest and greatest deal or individual.

These are the questions I will actually ask a consultant, or I will rhetorically ask myself about a product if there is not a directly involved individual representing the product or service. The example below outlines how I went about purchasing a one year marketing plan from an outside agency. Having selected a reliable partner, my questions were thoroughly answered by Jacob Andrew Consulting who now handles ZigZap’s PR work.

My Questions:

Month 1 & 2:

How many media contacts will you be personally communicating with?
Will ZigZap receive copies of contact information and communications as they occur?
How many press releases do you plan to send out?

Months 3-5:

What measurable results are we aiming for here?
What kind of growth, meetings, or opportunities are we going to measure our success by?

Months 6-11:

Again, what measurable results are we looking for in this phase?

Month 12+:

What will be kept current?
Should we expect publication of articles about ZigZap by this point?
How many publications by the end of 12 months should we expect?

Fees:

Are you proposing monthly fees, total cost annually, or what kind of structure are you looking for?
What’s your skin in the game (meaning, if we don’t achieve the results that you are saying we can, then does your fee to ZigZap go down)?
Based on what you are looking for we’ll need to have clear definable deliverables so I can measure the value of our investment together

Exit Strategy:

I believe that a successful business partnership has a clear definition of each stage of it’s existence. So with that in mind I always like to clarify the following few items:

How do we enter into and begin a new contractual relationship together?
What is the planned duration of the initial contract? (this allows for us to renew after the initial period and make any necessary adjustments instead of just assuming a perpetual initial contract)
In addition what is the plan for completion when all objectives are met, or in the unfortunate case where objectives are not met and the relationship needs to change how do we amicably exit our business relationship?

Although this post mirrors some of what I wrote about in Clear Definition Of Business Relationships Always Equal Success I felt it necessary to bring up with more detail because too often I find we all rush into things and do not understand what they bought. When we don’t bother to be thorough in our purchase we are left with at best an empty feeling and at worse a giant mess.

Looking for help with any area of your business? Follow Jacob, contact ZigZap, or Contact me directly. I am always happy to offer my advice and assistance.

647 days ago Short URL Comments

Instructional

buying/consultants/decisions/jacob andrew consulting/marketing/purchasing

Sep

Say Yes To Business!

Sometimes we forget one of the most important steps in sales is to just say yes!

The answer to any of your client questions, is “yes, we can help you with that”. Whatever they need done, you can accomplish it or provide them the references or resources to accomplish it. Learn to become the solution point for your clients needs. If they need to stage the roll out of your new product or service in steps you can accomplish their goal in phases. You can break it down however necessary on any specific product or service. The old adage says you can eat an elephant one bite at a time and it is very true. If your client can’t give you $20,000 today convince him to give you $200. You’ll get the entire $20,000 eventually. Be patient and consistent.

Remember, you must say YES to business. Have you ever come in contact with a service professional when you needed something and they proceeded to explain how they couldn’t do the job? I know I have walked into a mechanics shop and asked if they could do my oil change today, and before they had two sentences out they had 4-5 reasons why they couldn’t meet my need in a timely manner. Think of the times you have been un-sold in any industry when you were trying to buy. DO THE OPPOSITE! Everyone wants to buy and they want to be sold. It is your job to consistently make buying with your company a comfortable and exciting experience.

Go out and say yes to business today!

970 days ago Short URL 2 Comments

Inspirational

business/buy/buying/customers/owners/sales/selling/small business/solutions/yes

Jul

How to get customers to buy

In my experience, I have found that it is easier to get customers to buy after a considerable amount of face time is spent. It is psychologically and realistically unproductive for the customer if they abandon your company or service after spending 8-12 hours discussing the product or service you offer. They do not always consciously realize it, but unconsciously they know they do not want to start the process all over and spend another 8+ hours with your competitor to get to the same stage they feel they are at with you. Get your customer to like you and like buying from you. It’s not about the money. It is about the customer’s experience. Make it a good one!

1023 days ago Short URL Comments