By Ahmed al-Akber/Manama


In selling a professional service, what you must realise is that there are three other possible outcomes besides the client choosing you. They could choose a competitor, not do anything at all, or do it themselves. That means that your job is to compete not only with other service providers, but potentially with the client as well!
There are five typical reasons why clients say they don’t want to buy. Here they are and how to handle them:
1) No money. The truth is that the vast majority of people have the money but only want to spend it if they see the value in parting with their hard earned cash. Your job is to find out what they value most, and give that to them. Ask them what their biggest problems are in their business to determine whether you can help them and position your services accordingly.
2) No time. Sometimes they have the money but they tell you they don’t have enough time to work with you. One way to get around this is to explain how much time of theirs will be saved by hiring you, and how little of their time you’ll need to get the job done.
3) No need. Some prospects are simply not aware of how a service can help improve their businesses and their lives. Our jobs as marketers is to raise awareness and to educate them. Invite them to a speaking event of yours, or send them some written information on your products. You could also share some case studies detailing how you helped a client with similar problems and how working with you improved their situation.
4) Not urgent. They may know they have a problem but do not perceive it as urgent. Here you can ask implication questions like, “how much is that costing you per year?” or “how much time does that take your staff to do each week?”. This will help the prospect realise how much the problem is hindering the business.
5) No trust. This is where most service providers find themselves all the time. The prospect doesn’t trust you (or what you are selling) enough to make the decision to buy. I would re-iterate their problems and what they want to achieve, so they feel confident that you have listened and understood them. I would then demonstrate your capabilities by sharing an overview or approach of how you would help them, how much time it would take, and how much involvement you would need from the client. To further provide proof of the value you have provided others, you could share testimonials from happy clients that have received the results that you are proposing to the prospect.

♦ Ahmed al-Akber is the managing director of ACK Solutions, a firm that helps companies to improve their marketing and sales results by offering more effective ways attracting customers and significantly better products and services. Ahmed has worked internationally in marketing, sales, and strategic planning at companies such as the Coca-Cola Company, Philip Morris International and Dell. Questions or comments can be sent to Ahmed on [email protected]