Results

There are times when a prospect could use a little push to buy, and sales professional Victor Antonio has some advice on what you can do to give them the nudge. In his article “Three Ways to Manipulate a Buying Decision” Antonio discusses how salespeople can manipulate, or for a better word, “influence,” buying decisions, especially when it comes to potential buyers being on the fence. He breaks down the process of choosing to purchase into categories such as Options, Utility, and Justification, and he uses evidence from studies to reveal how each category plays into a buyer’s decision.

I’ve included below an excerpt from the article in which he discusses options and how they can effect your sales. To read Antonio’s article in entirety, click here.

Studies have shown that when there are too many options, the majority of buyers will simply choose NOT to choose.  In one study, one group of consumers was offered a choice a 30 flavors of jams and the other was only offered 6 choices.  By a margin of two to one, more people made a buying decision when there were only 6 flavors offered proving again that offering too many options causes the majority of buyers NOT to make a buying decision.  Simply put, too many options cause buyers to not buy.

Many options = low buy rate

The credit card industry has long marketed to consumers who wanted to buy now and pay later, sometimes much later, for goods and services. Over time, credit card companies hiked interest rates and fees to increase profits. But these practices resulted in restrictive legislation which went into effect in February 2010. As a result, credit card companies can no longer apply the highest interest rates to all outstanding balances and they cannot frequently shift payment due dates. The new legislation and the high rate of defaults on payments by consumers who are mired in debt are leading companies to market to the kind of consumer they long ignored – the one who pays off the card balance every month.

The American Association of Advertising Agencies annual conference was held this week, and featured some big names talking about advertising and media today and in the future. Topics included changing up the TV cost-per-rating point model and the idea that tablets may save print media.