The Art of Reading Your Buyer's Mind

>at heart?
Wouldn't it be fantastic if you had a crystal ball and15. How do I know you can you deliver to meet my
you could read yourprospects' minds you knew whattime frames?
they were thinking when you were making yoursales16. How do I know that you will deliver what you
presentation. You knew why there were consideringpromise?
the product in thefirst place. You knew what they17. Am I getting value for money?
thought about your product in comparisonwith others.18. Will you help me to implement their ideas or will I
You knew what questions and objections were goingbe left to fend formyself?
through theirmind.19. What proof do you have that it works?
In a face-to-face sales presentation you have the20. What happens if I don't have the time to
ability to gauge theirbody language and to askimplement the ideas?
feedback. With direct mail you simply don't havethat21. What if your advice or instructions are hard to
luxury.follow?
So, how do you know what they're thinking? And22. Are your payment terms easy to swallow?
how do you write copy thataddresses their questions23. Will I get quick responses to my requests?
and turns those objections into buying signals?24. What is your past track record like?
This is what I do.25. Do I like your company?
After going through a special process where I put26. Do I like the person writing me this letter?
myself in the buyer'sshoes and research the27. What happens if your solutions don't work? Will I
products' offerings along with what the competitionisbe left high and dry?
offering, I'll then say to myself, "If I was in the28. Will I get ripped off?
market for xyzproduct what additional information do29. What does the process involve?
I need and what would prevent me frombuying it?"30. How long will it take?
I'll then write down a list of questions and addressI'm sure you can add to this list and tailor it to your
each of these questionsin order of priorityparticular business,but the point of the exercise is to
throughout the communications piece.understand the potential negatives andaddress them
Here are some typical questions that I will addressin your communications piece.
when writing copy thatsells B-2-B services?By effectively nullifying those objections, you're
1. My situation/business is unique, do you have theremoving the barriers todoing business with you
experience and/orintelligence to deliver a solution thatwhich means your responses will increasedramatically.
meets my unique needs?So - grab your proposal templates and your standard
2. Do you understand my industry?direct mail pieces andmarketing collateral and talk to
3. Do you understand my clients?your sales people to find out ALL the mostcommon
4. Do you have the track record to make me feelobjections you face.
confident that they willgenerate results for me?In an information package, the most common way
5. Are you well-versed regarding the mostto handle objections is via a
cutting-edge techniques"Frequently Asked Questions" document. The
6. I've always performed this service internally, whyquestion addresses the objection
should I outsourcenow?(naturally) and the answer portion addresses that
7. How can an external company understand myobjection in a positivemanner that presumes the
business as well as I do?prospect will buy.
8. What do your clients think about you?Incidentally, a trick I use to maximise the
9. The competitors are cheaper so why should I goeffectiveness of FAQ documentsis to include
with you?questions that relate to the purchasing process. By
10. Are your services appropriate for my size ofdoingthis, you're presuming they will buy and you're
business or my level ofexpertise?helping them picturethemselves buying. Questions like
11. I'm not the biggest fish in the sea, so how do I"How do I pay?" and "When will I receivemy
know that you won'ttreat me like a number?product?"
12. Your competitors have been around a lot longerEach of these questions play an important role in
so why should I go withyou?helping you step into yourbuyer's shoes. Address
13. I've always done okay doing what I'm doing, whyeach of the major ones in your copy and you'll
should I change tack anduse your type of servicefindyour responses incread dramatically.
now?Happy writing!
14. Am I confident that you have my best interests