[Music] welcome to the sales influence podcast where we talk about finding the why in how people buy I'm your host Victor Antonio and today we're going to talk about getting them to switch how do we get a customer to switch over to your product or your service when they're already using something else or somebody else in other words how do we reduce that perceived effort to switch over in order to do that let me tell you a story first to kind of set this up frame this conversation about a year or two ago I had a plumbing issue and I had this faucet that was constantly leaking it was bad but not bad enough month goes by it's still bad two months go by okay this thing has gotten to the point where I really need to deal with this thing now I go to the plumbing store get what I need I come back and within 10 minutes listen carefully 10 minutes I solve the problem and then I'm slapping myself on the forehead going why didn't I do this earlier why did I fix this two months ago well the reason I didn't fix it two months ago is because of the story I had told myself see the story I told myself in my head with something like this messing with plumbing issues is never an easy task it's going to be difficult and every time I've tried this in the past it's always been a bad experience and in my head I'm also Amplified how bad that experience really was so in other words the story I told myself had three components one it was hard and it was difficult two my past experience has never been good three I've Amplified how bad it really was and what I told myself was I don't want to deal with this because of all these issues now think about this for a second your customer you're challenging them to switch over to your product or service and much like the plumbing issue all they can feel in their head the story that they're telling themselves is how difficult that's going to be now to understand this let's look at the customer brain there's three parts of the customer brain there's the logical part right the prefrontal cortex the emotional impact part of the brain and then at the base of your spine right there at the base of your brain there is the what the most Primal side of you The Reptilian Brain and this little little nugget called the amydala that's the fear Center that's the fear Center that's triggered when customers are asked to switch over in other words they're afraid you know the amydala is all about safety risk aversion doesn't want to mess with the with the status quo doesn't want to change so right now when you're asking your customer to make a switch to make a change to your product over what they're currently using or doing all they can feel is that brain pain the amydala is like an alarm sounding don't do it don't do it don't do it and the customer much like me in my Plumbing story is telling himself the same story story he says well you know last time I tried to switch over it wasn't that easy in fact it was a bad experience and it was more difficult than I thought it would be so the customer is telling thems that story how difficult it will be now think about a personal example you might have have you ever tried switching cable companies ha don't laugh I know you know what I'm talking about switching over from one cable company to another it it's it's like it takes an act of Congress just to get it right I know that's a bad analogy but I did my best on that one but you get the idea that switching over is never easy because of the story We Tell ourselves right I don't want to wait for the Cable Guy I got to call them up then I got to cancel my other service and then I got to reschedule if I miss them and on and on and on even if they install it it may not be right so you tell yourself these stories in your head and all of a sudden you don't want to switch over so what can we do what can we do to help the customer switch over well here's a simple blueprint it's a simple three-step safety blueprint again the goal here is to calm down that part of the brain the amygdala the wrist center of our customers we need to reduce their perceived effort of how much effort it's going to take to switch over the more comfortable we can make them feel the better we can make them feel the safer we can make them feel about switching over the more likely they are to make the change so here's the three-step process step number one when you're talking to your customer acknowledge the fact that change is hard okay acknowledge that you also are concerned this is being very empathetic okay you're being very empathetic with the customer you're letting them know look I understand your fear I understand your trepidations I understand your concerns and then shift to step two step two is where you're going to lay out the plan you're going to educate the customer here on what you're going to do you're what you're going to do is the first thing you're here's what we're going to do then here's how we're going to do it and then give them the time frame this will be done by this time frame so again step number one is acknowledge that change is difficult and you understand the concern step number two show them that you have a plan talk about the what how and by when what you're going to do how you're going to do it and by when it's going to be done now what you're doing in this step is really calming down the customer's risk aversion factor in other words by seeing a plan the customer is thinking okay that's how they're going to do it that's what they're going to do that's how they're going to do it and okay so it'll be done by this time frame and you reassure them and that is Step number three reassure them with a guarantee find a way to reassure them with a guarantee that you'll give their money back or that you'll have somebody on site within 24 hours whatever the case may be find a way to reass assure them that you're going to be there to make sure this is executed correctly so again the three-step blueprint to get for getting people to switch over is acknowledge the change is difficult you're concerned and you know that they are also step two show them show them the What the how the when what will be done how will it be done and by when that time frame is so important I can't emphasize that there's something about giving people a timeline that makes the brain calm down that part of the brain the wrist Center calm down so again the time frame is very key then last but not least is reassure them with the guarantee something that will say I will make sure that I'm here on site this will be done by when and then also talk about what you're going to do to make sure that it's running correctly at least to meet if not exceed their expectations if you can do this you'll deactivate that part of the brain that says no don't do it don't do it and again it's not that people don't want to change people want to make the change and this is what you always have to keep in mind when you're talking to your customers customers if you can show them the value of what you have to offer they want to change but the first thing to do is create that value this is what you're always taught but what we often don't think about is the perceived effort in their brain they're magnifying how difficult this is going to be so again your job is to calm that amigdala down that part of the brain that says don't do it and you do that with a simple three-step safety blueprint this is Victor Antonio always reminding you selling ain't hard when you know how and you know how to talk to the customer brain take [Music] care every manager can feel it the difference between a motivated value-driven sales team and one that's stuck in a rut CEOs know the difference too they can see it clearly in the profit and loss columns the question is how do you get your team to this Elite level is there something extra you can do to break through the remaining resistance and equip them with the right mindset to grow your business yes there is but you're not going to do it with one of those cheesy inspirational speakers or some self-proclaimed Guru what you need is someone with a real business track record to deliver key insights in a captivating way to give your team the right tools for selling in today's tough Marketplace and Victor Antonio experienced executive Innovative thinker compelling speaker he's ready to deliver the message you need your people to hear not with a canned speech but a customized Dynamic keynote designed to deliver results bring Victor Antonio to your next event before the competition does go to www. Victor antonio.com for more information