If you’re not selling as much as you’d like, do you know why?

There are several common reasons why people don’t buy. One of the major reasons is because you’re trying to sell to everyone. HubSpot’s Aja Frost suggests, “A good sales pipeline is about quality, not quantity. If your prospects aren’t buying from you, reevaluate the quality of your opportunities. Have they been carefully targeted? Do you know why they’re good fits? Or are you simply trying to sell to anyone who shows the slightest bit of interest in your product?”

However, if you’re focused on your most qualified prospects and they’re still not buying it is time to re-evaluate your strategy.

Why people don’t buy

It can be frustrating when you’ve created products and services that meet a real demand, marketed them to your ideal customers … only for people not to buy. It can leave you wondering what went wrong, what didn’t they like, etc?

I was on a Success Strategy call the other day and this was the topic of conversation. She had recently launched a new service. Initially, people showed interested, but didn’t convert into sales. She was driving herself crazy trying to figure out why.

So I said, “Well have you asked?” After a long pause it was if I’d asked the question in another language. She replied, “Ask? How am I meant to do that?”

Discovering why people don’t buy from you is important. Arguably, it can become extremely valuable information. Why? If you know why someone decides not to buy, then you know their objections. When you have first-hand insight into their objections you can better address them.

Overcoming sales objections

So why don’t more entrepreneurs ask why prospects don’t buy? It comes down to 3 things:

• They are afraid of the answers

• They don’t want to seem intrusive

• It’s an ego thing

But the fact is knowing why prospects don’t buy outweighs all of the above. Once you actually know why they aren’t buying you have the information you need to change it. If you blindly continue forward then a lack of sales is unlikely to change in the future.

Frost adds: “I get it: Digging for objections is scary. Once you acknowledge them, they’re out there — concrete reasons the prospect shouldn’t buy. But the reality is, objections exist whether or not you hear them … and the best (really the only) time to resolve those concerns is in the beginning and middle stages of the sales process, while the buyer’s mind is still open.”

So, how do you ask?

Just ask! Depending on the size of your business, that could mean you’ll ask in person, via your email list or through automated means (shopping cart abandonment surveys, etc.).

Just make sure not to complicate the issue. Keep it simple. For example, “Hey! Just wondering why you didn’t buy Product XYZ yet and why that might that be?”

The answer could be a common one. For instance, they:

• found a better price elsewhere

• don’t understand the value of your product or service

• got distracted

• don’t know what to buy, etc.

Once you have the information – use it. Every answer is an objection as to why they haven’t bought from you. It’s your turn to consider how you can help them (and future customers) overcome that same objection.

Use their feedback to build knowledge around why people aren’t buying from you. Then you can deal with objections and increase your sales moving forward.

Jane Baker is a business owner and coach. She specialises in working with online business owners helping them craft a message, packages and strategy that enables them to attract their ideal clients who are ready and willing to pay their prices!

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