Why would anyone buy anything from you? 8 reasons

August 29th, 2012 by Agent Kevin Miller

In looking at trying to sell a product or service, the ultimate question is…”Why would anyone buy it from you?” And it is THE QUESTION. It’s mind blowing how many people go after a business idea and don’t nail down this top priority. And thus…fail.

But not you! Here are the top eight reasons why someone would buy what you have to offer, in no particular order:

If you’d rather hear the show where I expanded on this topic:Right-click to download / Listen or subscribe via iTunes

1. Exclusivity – Obviously if you have the only product or service of it’s kind, you have a great corner on the market. A ‘monopoly’ in truth. Being able to claim this however, is very, very rare. When I hear, “I have no competition” it raises a red flag. Maybe you have no competition because nobody really wants what you have? Or…chance are you may see what you have as very different from other similar things out there, but the public really doesn’t. You’re unfortunately being lumped in with other, similar products. You have to be honest with how you’re viewed. If however, you really have a new invention, you’ve got a really, really strong selling point.
2. Quality – This is a very saturated claim. Everyone says they have the best quality, and few people will believe it. If you really do have the best quality, you’ll need to get way out of the box to prove it. Further than mere testimony from a customer. Saddleback Leather gives a 100 year guarantee, which is killer. But make sure the quality you offer is actually desired or cared about by enough people. Having the ‘finest quality toilet paper’ will be hard to sell. It’s…uh…toilet paper. Not a great place for premium claims. Though hey, maybe that’s why it’s a good opportunity, eh?
3. Trust – If you are highly trusted above other providers, this can be huge. Especially with service providers. I know contractors I’ll hire and gladly pay more to, simply because I trust them. This is near impossible to convince folks of till they’ve experienced you though. So, hard to attract new customers with this tact, but great at generating repeat and referral business.
4. Novelty – This generally means one of a kind, which would seem to fit above under ‘Exclusivity’, but I pulled it out to give it more focus. If you make hair bows it’s hard to try and claim exclusivity in a world of a billion hair bows. But you can claim a novelty, like…”The only hair bow made from your own hair” or “Hair bows made from your little girls threadbare blankie” (I actually think that’s a good idea). Again, just gotta make sure it’s a novelty people will really care about.
5. Scarcity – Again, this somewhat overlaps with ‘Exclusivity’, but it’s a different perspective. Back with the fad of Beany Babies, nobody had an exclusive one, but many places could claim they were the only one’s with certain types in stock…or ANY in stock, and thus created a rush demand. If you’re selling generators before an approaching hurricane, this suits you well. If you get a hold of an out-of-production product, or if you’re the only provider for a certain service in a 100 mile radius…you can utilize this tactic.
6. Image Association – Here’s where we get in to most big name brands these days. Very, very few have any real leverage or benefit over another. Take clothes for instance; GAP, Old Navy, American Eagle, Banana Republic and on and on. Folks may argue one over the other, but when you break it down the quality and design are negligibly different. Which leaves…what? Image. They all spend many millions on getting you to think of a certain image for their brand. And you, and I, line up and give them our money NOT because they are technically better in any real way, but because we have bought in to their brand. *NOTE: You can’t escape this one. You can nail every other area, but if you fail here it can be fatal. You’ve got to play this game as it often and so easily trumps all the rest. The good buy does NOT always win when it comes to branding. Longterm, you’re product or service must hold water, but if you don’t have an image people want to be associated with, chances are your effort will expire before it had time to prove it’s true merits
7. Fandom – Comparable to ‘Image Association’ is just…YOU. Who you are. Many people buy products and services from people they are just fans of. You may not be able to claim anything other than…people dig you. And it often supercedes trust. People didn’t buy Foreman Grills cause they knew and trusted George Foreman. They were just fans. Online there are many attractive women succeeding in selling products or services that in truth would not be succeeding if not for their looks. Sorry, but it’s true. And honestly, if I had cleavage, I’d be tempted to show a little if it helped me sell more…
8. Cause or Health – More and more in today’s marketplace, if your product or service benefits a humanitarian cause or is environmentally friendly option…you can command a premium price and beat out the competition. People have less and less meaning and purpose in their work other than making a buck, so they’ll try to fulfill the need in their purchases. Sad, but true, and you can capitalize on this. Give them a reason to buy your product or service that transcends what it is at face value. And promote Free Agent Academy so they’ll also look to fill the void with work and lives of actual purchase as well, you know?!

Of great importance…you’ll seldom win by maximizing only ONE of these aspects. You can have one as a lead dog, but you need to showcase a few well. And again, #6 is a must for all.

The point overall is having a product or service you make the best it can be. Have the highest integrity and customer service and knowledge and passion and ferver for your offering. But know that it will live or die by having and promoting and leveraging a very, very CLEAR “WHY”.