You’ll Never Make a Sale by Just Being a “Better” Option

It was annual guys trip up the mountains. I have made the same trip every year for nearly two decades. Even though I know the route, I plug it into my phone for directions.

The highlighted route on the left represents the route I take each year. The route on the right represents an alternative. The route on the right is objectively better; it’s 5 minutes shorter and has no tolls. Easy decision right, I’m taking a new route, right? So which one did I take?

Unless you have been in sales long enough; you’d say the alternative is the clear winner. If you are in sales than you know that I did in fact take the same route I always take.

The decisions people make are rarely as straightforward as A vs B and which is better. Many emotions play a role even if the potential client or the salesman aren’t aware of them. In the case of which route to take to the mountain house, the emotion I felt was comfort. Despite logically knowing the alternative route was better and that it was unlikely I would end up getting lost or some other unforeseen issue, I still chose the original.

As sales professionals you need to uncover these hidden objections. That’s difficult as people aren’t necessarily aware of them. We can see this when someone becomes oddly obstructionist. Not necessarily giving an outright ‘no’, but definitely trying to avoid making a decision.

The best way to practice this is by being aware of your own choices and breaking them down. Next time you go to the grocery store; look at your milk options. You’ll have the one you always go with and then there will likely be 3 other options. Likely these options will have slightly different prices and different branding. You’ll find yourself just wanting to grab the same milk you always do. At that moment, ask yourself what it would take to make you switch? 25 cents cheaper? 50 cents cheaper? Be honest and ask yourself if the branding makes you feel more comfortable. There is a reason branding exists in the first place and no one is immune to it.

Once you have your answer you’ll have an idea of the hurdles to need to overcome and on the fly when trying to make your next sale.