The Quick Way to Reduce Prospect Risk

In the last post I warned new business owners that they faced a huge problem with their new business.  Most buyers online have an aversion to taking risk.  Given a choice, your prospects will usually choose the well known and proven alternative for their purchase even if the cost is more than what they might pay at your place.

Yes, online, consumers will pay more for an item that they know will deliver what they want and expect. They will shop at stores and businesses they have had positive experiences with over others they know nothing about.  Of course, this buying pattern is wonderful if you have an established business . . . but not so good for newcomers in a market place.

I gave nine strategies or ideas of ways to reduce the risk for a prospect.  The more of these that you implement, the less “perceived” risk the buyer will face regarding your business.  Of course, your business may not actually carry much risk at all for any buyer – but the prospect won’t really understand that until he has dealt with your business – maybe it will take repeated purchases before the buyer no longer feels his money might be lost.

For me, there is one strategy that stands out over all the others as a great method of reducing buyer risk (from his point of view) very quickly.

The very best approach I’ve tried that reduces and can even remove the risk inherent to new buyers is this:  offer a free product or service trial to anyone that wants it, no-questions asked, already set up and functional, try-it-before-you-buy-it opportunity so the purchaser can experience the benefit of his/her purchase before laying down any cash.

Not only does the prospect get to test the product to see if it is legitimate and something that will work for him, but he/she can experience your financial transaction system, product delivery system, customer service and care, follow-up and even your willingness to stand behind your product.  Most importantly, the prospect gets to enjoy at least some of the benefit to him that was promised in the offer.

If, by chance, you fear the customer may not be able to enjoy the benefits you claim in your sales letter or that you can’t afford to give free trials . . . I would think that’s a red flag for you and your business . . . maybe your product isn’t really as good as you thought it was!

Certainly there is a business cost to doing what I’m suggesting and the idea will work better for some types of products than others. For that reason, many will not even consider this approach.  If the business owner gets a little creative, however, I think there should be a number of ways he might be able to produce a trial version of his product or service.  But at the very least, do the math and see if there is a way to let your customers enjoy and experience the benefits of your product before buying it.

If you do that (give before you take), you are largely taking the prospect’s “perceived” risk out of the buying decision and giving yourself a chance to enter a marketplace largely controlled by the established brands and your toughest competitors. Get creative, there are lots of ways to give benefits before you get the money!

Put yourself in the shoes of the prospect.  What would you like to have access to in order to better help you make the decision to purchase one of your own products?

To your online business success,

Steve Browne

www.SteveBrowneDirect.com