Here’s a great Sales strategy that never fails.

It’s a winner because it utilises a fundamental element of human psychology.

Chris Cardell first experienced this 15 years ago when the first design company I ever used, always used to present me with the option of two designs on any project that I gave them.

He always preferred one design to the other and it’s a nice feeling to pick one, because you feel like you’re involved in the process, even though you may know nothing about design.

Chris Cardell later discovered that what the company was doing was a classic sales approach that can be used by any type of Business.

Most businesses offer the customer a simple choice. Put simply, the choice is: “Buy this -or don’t buy it.”

We’re not going to say it that bluntly – but that’s what it boils down to. The customer has a decision to make – the decision is “Do I buy it or do I not buy it.”

However, when you give a customer a choice of two versions of your product or service, their brain is asking a different question. The question is “Which of these do I prefer.”

If you can get a potential customer to ask themselves which option they prefer, it’s sales magic because it’s pre-supposing the sale. It’s actually very powerful because it’s strongly influencing your customer’s thinking process.

Don’t be deceived by the simplicity of this. Avoid at all costs you or your colleagues asking customers if they want to buy. Instead, find a way to ask them which one they want to buy.

Every type of business can use this principle. Examples of the choices we can offer include:

Basic or Deluxe
Version A or B
Colour choice (eg green or blue)
Solution 1 or 2 (as in the design example)
Pay in full or by installments

One other tip on this. You can also use this strategy with appointment setting, if part of your sales process involves meetings. You’ll notice that highly effective sales people do not give you a choice on whether you want a meeting. They tell you that they’re available next Tuesday or Thursday and ask which works best for you!