What criteria do people have when they buy a product or service?

Let me explain more.

Sometimes, but not always, your prospects have a list of things or reasons they are looking for when they buy your product or service. Now, if you ask your prospects sometimes they can clearly enunciate this, and sometimes they can’t. Sure, they will say good quality, etc. but for them to express clearly what they want is a challenge to most people.

And then sometimes people do have a “sort of list” of things they are looking for.

Here is a key thing, however. People generally do NOT know how to buy your product or service. They do NOT know what they are looking for.

So how does this apply to you? Well, say you are in a business to where people do a lot of “price shopping.”

For example, lets just say you do painting in someone’s house.

Sometimes your buyers would have a list of criteria (things they are looking for) and what you need to do is re-set this buying criteria for several things.

First, make sure whatever you are resetting it is in their best interest and you are honestly protecting them.

Secondly, educate them on what needs to be done correctly.

So, if you call up and someone is asking, “How much to paint a 20×20 room?” You can then re-position it to something like this…

“Well, that honestly isn’t the question you need to be asking.

You need to ask these 3 questions to make sure you are avoiding these 3 mistakes.”

And then you educate them on 3 mistakes, or 5, or however many(as long as this is reasonable) mistakes that people make when painting.

It could include the fumes of the paint, the type of paint, allergies, health risks, lighting, etc. In other words, you actually…get this…provide value.

So, while other painters are just doing quotes, you’re educating them on how to buy.

Does this make sense?

The end goal is for you to equip your prospects so they are quizzing your competition with things that…get this…you competition doesn’t understand or cannot answer.

So, if you truly do research and understand and can create a process on the fumes from paint and you have your prospects ask your competition what system or process they have for painting and your competition goes…uhhh.uhhh.uhhh…then you know you’re on the right track.

This does take a bit of work, but once you grasp this concept it can be very powerful.

So ultimately ask yourself this question. What can you do that your competition cannot, or will not educate your customers on?

The painting example is just one I pulled off the top of my head but EVERY business does indeed have things they can do to set buying criteria in their customer’s minds.

Psychological marketing strives to help you do this.

-Matt