By Victor Antonio, BSEE, MBA

Let’s pretend for a moment that you’re in the business of selling laptop computers. If I asked you what your top five product strengths are, you might give me a list, in order of importance, that looks like this:

1. Weight
2. Screen size
3. Memory
4. Brand
5. Price

Now let’s say that you’re meeting with a potential client interested in buying a laptop computer. After some careful questioning you discover that the client has five criteria for choosing a laptop. Here, in order of importance, is what the client wants:

1. Screen size
2. Brand (quality and reliability)
3. Memory
4. Price
5. Weight

If we put your product strengths next to the client’s priorities we see immediately that there is a product priority mismatch between what the client wants and the strength of your product offering. The biggest mismatch occurring with the product feature ‘Weight’ (i.e., lighter computer).

The client is coming to you with a set of predispositions and has already determined what’s important (i.e., the feature have been prioritized). And if there's a mis-match, which there clearly is in this case with the 'weight' feature, you as a salesperson have your work cut out.

If you can convince your client that ‘weight’ is not only important, but should be prime determinant in making a buying decision, you then stand a better chance of making the sale since you’re playing to your strength. Also, if you know your competitors can’t compete with you on the ‘weight issue’, by making it the top deciding factor, by default you neutralize your competition.

In order to move the factor of ‘weight’ up the client’s decision making totem pole, we have to use a strategy called ‘redefining’. This strategy is executed with a series of questions that will cause a client to re-evaluate their priorities for making a buying decision. In the above example, the client gives the ‘weight issue’ the least importance. So your job as a salesperson is to make the client cognitively aware of the benefits of having a lighter computer and have the client mentally move weight up as a top priority when deciding to buy. Here’s how you would do it:

--- Transcript ---

Salesperson: So Bob, before I show you what types of laptops we offer, what are your five key factors that’ll help you make a buying decision?

Bob: Well, I’d have to say screen size, brand, memory, price is important and weight.

Salesperson (having written down all five items on notepad): How would you prioritize them?

Bob: The same way you’ve written them down.

Salesperson: So screen size being the most important and weight being the least important.

Bob: Yep.

Salesperson: I’m curious Bob, do you do a lot of traveling?

Bob: You have no idea. The airport is my second home.

Salesperson: Do you bring your computer with you?

Bob: Don’t leave home without it.

Salesperson: When I traveled I remember hauling around company materials, samples, and all kinds of small but necessary items. I remember feeling like a pack mule.

Bob: I’m with you on that. It’s a wonder I can fit most of that stuff in one carry-on bag.

Salesperson: Think back to the last time you boarded a plane where your overstuff bag didn't fit under your seat and there wasn’t any overhead bin space available. Has that ever happened?

Bob: That’s happened more than a few times. What’s worse is when you have to schlep it around the airport or run to catch another flight.

Salesperson: It can’t be good for your back either.

Bob: I’m sure it isn’t.

Salesperson: Bob, the reason I’m asking you about your traveling is because I know that the lighter you can pack the better off you’ll be. Would you agree?

Bob: Can’t argue that.

Salesperson: I know you have ‘weight’ down as a low priority, but if you think about it, it should be one of the key factors in making a buy decision since you travel so much. Does that sound right?

Bob: I honestly didn’t give it much thought until now. Buy yeah, that sounds more than right.

Salesperson: So let’s go ahead and move that up to let’s say in the top three things you want in a laptop. Does that make sense?

Bob: Yes it does.

--- End of Transcript ---

What I’ve just done in this fictionalized sales scenario is ‘redefine’ for Bob how important the element of weight is in making a buying decision. I did so by first asking a series of questions to understand Bob’s situation and then I proceeded to create the ‘pain’ by reminding him about all the stuff he takes with him when he travels.

Another benefit of using this method is what I alluded to earlier. If weight now becomes a central feature of what Bob wants and your competitors don’t have that advantage, this ‘weight conditioning’ will make it that much harder for your competitors to outsell you.

I also want to emphasize the use of the Rule of Commitment (i.e., getting people to commit aloud to a position) when it came to lowering Bob’s sales resistance and increasing his sales acceptance. By asking Bob questions and relating to him, I managed to lower his sales resistance when 1) he viewed me as someone who understood the toils of traveling and 2) I got him to agree (i.e., commit aloud) on why having a lighter compute make sense.

By asking him questions like, ‘Does that sound right? or the standard sales staple, ‘Would you agree?’, I’m getting Bob to ‘commit’ to a position (i.e., is weight a prime determinant in deciding which laptop to buy). We all know that once a person commits aloud to a position, they are more reluctant to change their mind. By getting Bob to agree aloud to what’s important to him upfront, makes it harder for him to change his mind later on in closing phase of the sale.

How can you use this?