spa business How Do I Know When a Customer Has Decided to Buy?

I love technology, but I can still be old-fashioned when working with clients. How? I like to put pen to paper and illustrate what I am saying with a handcrafted visual aid. My analog serves two purposes:

1. These handmade creations will hang on a museum wall with a plaque because of the tremendous amount of raw talent exposed.

2. I can see when a client is engaged and buying into my pitch, usually because they pick up a pen and start drawing, too.The drawing prompts their thought process regarding our topic of discussion.

I bring up my mad scribbling habit because our podcast listener, Jason Bradley, wrote in with a question asking us, "how do I decode when a customer has mentally decided to buy?".

There are physical and verbal tells that people give out. For example, when a client switches from talking about the product to what they want, it indicates that they are making a mental switch to the purchasing process.Also, when customers start asking you much more detailed questions, they are turning a corner in the decision-making process.

Some examples are:

•How exactly does the product work?

•When would I expect delivery?

•What are the payment options?

These questions indicate a mental choice to begin grappling with the unknowns in a new environment.

The Rubicon Model

The Rubicon is a river in Italy. Under the Roman Republic's laws, if you were a general, you could come to Rome whenever you needed to, but the rule was your army had to stay north of the Rubicon. So, if you brought your army with you, you were committing treason and could be put to death.When Julius Caesar went to seize control of the Roman Republic and turn it into an empire, he crossed the Rubicon. That was the point of no return.

The Rubicon model is a general-purpose psychological concept. Psychology names this the Rubicon model because if you decide and commit, it's like crossing the Rubicon. In this mindset switch, our perspective changes from deliberative to implementive.Therefore, once your customers ask about detail, like the questions I listed earlier, it represents a mindset about implementation. They had crossed the Rubicon.

Defending Your Position

When people are in a deliberative mindset before they've decided, they're much more open-minded. After deciding, people get defensive about their decisions. We're committed, and those mental gears switch over. We don't want to hear any more options or about what's best for different scenarios. Instead, we want to feel confident about our decision.

So, if you get somebody saying, "All right, well, what's the next step?" that's a pretty good sign that they've switched from deliberation to implementation. However, people in an implementation mindset are prone to feeling invulnerable. They have decided, so they are no longer worried about risk. They can handle it. Psychologically, we feel pressure to believe we made the right decision, so we don't want to feel defensive about it.

Some Other Signs of Moving Into Implementation Mode

Involving more people is another excellent sign of buying. One of the things I have noticed in my work with clients is the change in contacts.

Sometimes the person has an even better understanding of the product than you think, which is another sign

ByColin Shaw - Why Customers

Buy

of implementation. For example, in my experience buying something like a TV, I often know more about the product than the big box electronics store salesperson. That's because I have decided I want a TV, and now it's a matter of choosing one, which is implementation behavior.

Getting Through Death Valley

Death Valley is a desert in eastern California in the U.S. During summer, it is the hottest place on earth. Its name comes from pioneers who ostensibly thought this stretch of travel would be their death of them.

We had a sales training about getting through Death Valley in my corporate days. In this context, Death Valley refers to the time between delivering a retail suggestion to a client and waiting for their answer. Many people think this stretch of silence from a potential customer will be the death of them. One of the coping mechanisms taught in training was to maintain contact.

Have a plan for connecting with your customer about something other than the product. It could be about something unrelated, like the weekend's plans. It could be asking their opinion on something unrelated. The idea here is that you are staying in contact and keeping your name in the person's mind while they decide.

So, How Do We Know A Customer Has Decided to Buy?

To summarize, a customer's behavior transition will help you determine when they are ready to buy. Look for changes in mindset, perspective, and the types of questions they ask. For example, do they use different language to discuss the product or ask detail-oriented questions? Are they diving deeper into the details online beyond the benefit statements on the home page? All of these changes can indicate a decision— and hopefully one in your favor.