Moving the prospect forward: Fear or relate?

Posted on February 5, 2007 by Dave J.

With me high on the poor effectiveness of fear tactics from reading Change or Die, I was stunned by the title of this week’s newsletter from SalesDog.com: Teaching Consequences to Your Prospects. Are we supposed to threaten them? LOL

Actually, the article opens up well with a couple good points and stories:

“Like a miserable plague, the educated, experienced buyer confronts and confounds us. What happened? How did buyers get better at buying than we are at selling? How can we adjust to this epidemic of enlightenment that is taking money out of our pockets?”

Then about halfway, that ugly title rears its head again:

“In selling, you want to talk about how the repercussions of not buying from you can damage the prospect’s business in some way. Consequences might include a slowdown in sales, diminished production, angry shareholders, or serious damage to the future of the business. Your job is to point the prospect to the real aftermath of his or her unsolved problem.”

Holy mackerel, how old school is this sounding? As we learned in Change or Die, fear doesn’t affect change, and that means you aren’t going to change the prospects actions with this approach…or can we?

The newsletter writer, Dan Seidman of SalesAutopsy.com, then gives us an example. Turns out he is asking questions about the prospect’s situation and relating to him to the point that the prospect actually ends up asking Dan what he has for a solution. So, its not really fear of consequences that is being used, but exploring with the prospect to find out what the consequences are.

I’ve been playing chess with my kids lately. It’s a teaching situation. If they make a bad move, I don’t tell them “you can’t do that or the queen will take you”, or at least not right away. No, I’m more likely to say “are you sure about that?” or “why did you do that?” Asking questions, letting them explore the situation and consider other solutions.

Getting someone to do what you see they need to do is a tough job for sales, marketing, and parents. Taking you time and not firing off your solution is probably the biggest lesson here: Relate first.

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  • Anonymous

    Dave — Great topic and some interesting points. The sale through fear definitely is a tool of the past with the possible exception of a current customer who is considering dropping you.At the same time, do you think you’ve ever been sold by a salesperson through effective selling? “Being sold” can have a negative connotation, but that’s not what I am referring to. I am talking about a positive experience where the salesperson made the difference.B2BMarketing_Guy@yahoo.com

  • Anonymous

    Dave — Great topic and some interesting points. The sale through fear definitely is a tool of the past with the possible exception of a current customer who is considering dropping you.At the same time, do you think you’ve ever been sold by a salesperson through effective selling? “Being sold” can have a negative connotation, but that’s not what I am referring to. I am talking about a positive experience where the salesperson made the difference.B2BMarketing_Guy@yahoo.com

  • Dave J.

    My positive experiences with salespeople ends up being a case where I don’t feel sold, I feel helped. I also tend to feel like we are peers or a team. Great question on the subject, Jim

  • Dave J.

    My positive experiences with salespeople ends up being a case where I don’t feel sold, I feel helped. I also tend to feel like we are peers or a team. Great question on the subject, Jim

  • Jon Miller

    When I read the article, I was struck by the general fact that buyers are much more educated: more educated about our products, our competitors, AND our sales and marketing tactics. (They’re also pretty educated about how to avoid unwanted marketing.)In response, I’m with you. I don’t think the answer is to create fear in the buyer’s mind. I do think it means B2B marketers need to find ways to help customers to educate themselves, but in a way that positions their company as a trusted adviser. I guess, in a way, that’s what you’re doing with your kids!

  • Jon Miller

    When I read the article, I was struck by the general fact that buyers are much more educated: more educated about our products, our competitors, AND our sales and marketing tactics. (They’re also pretty educated about how to avoid unwanted marketing.)In response, I’m with you. I don’t think the answer is to create fear in the buyer’s mind. I do think it means B2B marketers need to find ways to help customers to educate themselves, but in a way that positions their company as a trusted adviser. I guess, in a way, that’s what you’re doing with your kids!

  • Dave J.

    Jon–You make me realize that as a ‘buyer’ I already have a sense of what the salesman’s next move is going to be, then play it to my advantage. Actually it is so simple to do I am smirking as I write.If the engage and relate, then playing along means not being able to put them off. Thanks for making me think of this!

  • Dave J.

    Jon–You make me realize that as a ‘buyer’ I already have a sense of what the salesman’s next move is going to be, then play it to my advantage. Actually it is so simple to do I am smirking as I write.If the engage and relate, then playing along means not being able to put them off. Thanks for making me think of this!

  • Anonymous

    Dave, even though “fear” may sometimes be used to sell industrial vertical advertising, and Google is trying to “relate” better to their users, this comment is a little off topic, so I suggest you not publish it. But, I wanted to bring your attention to a post on Nettlesome Network (where I have promoted and defended you for quite some time). Reason being that you may want to blog on the topic yourself as it relates to the future of all industrial verticals like ThomasNet, IQS, and GlobaSpec. See “Beginning of the end” post #’s 3091 and 3094.http://www.quicktopic.com/26/H/LYfMVQJtMTxMStay well, and be happy.

  • Anonymous

    Dave, even though “fear” may sometimes be used to sell industrial vertical advertising, and Google is trying to “relate” better to their users, this comment is a little off topic, so I suggest you not publish it. But, I wanted to bring your attention to a post on Nettlesome Network (where I have promoted and defended you for quite some time). Reason being that you may want to blog on the topic yourself as it relates to the future of all industrial verticals like ThomasNet, IQS, and GlobaSpec. See “Beginning of the end” post #’s 3091 and 3094.http://www.quicktopic.com/26/H/LYfMVQJtMTxMStay well, and be happy.

  • Anonymous

    It depends on the product of course, but selling by fear is not a thing of the past and is viable. The key is to pick the right fear for the right product. Nobody buys insurance out of love. Nobody buys safety equipment without some sense of fear. You don’t buy, for instance, a fireproof liquid storage cabinet without some element of fear in your thought process. That cabinet does not make you money in and of itself. It’s only useful if a fear is realized and there is a fire. Understanding when a prospect integrates fear into his process is the key. If he does, so should you as a copywriter.

  • Anonymous

    It depends on the product of course, but selling by fear is not a thing of the past and is viable. The key is to pick the right fear for the right product. Nobody buys insurance out of love. Nobody buys safety equipment without some sense of fear. You don’t buy, for instance, a fireproof liquid storage cabinet without some element of fear in your thought process. That cabinet does not make you money in and of itself. It’s only useful if a fear is realized and there is a fire. Understanding when a prospect integrates fear into his process is the key. If he does, so should you as a copywriter.

  • Dave J.

    To the last comment…you are right, in a sense. But the cases you point out are cases where you (as the salesperson) should be <>relating<> to the customer’s fear, not trying to create it.I’ve always held ADT security ads in contempt because they seem, to me, to try to create fear where I had none. But, I suppose, they resonate with those who have security fears. Its a delicate balance.

  • Dave J.

    to the customer’s fear, not trying to create it.I’ve always held ADT security ads in contempt because they seem, to me, to try to create fear where I had none. But, I suppose, they resonate with those who have security fears. Its a delicate balance.