{"id":97,"date":"2006-08-26T19:20:00","date_gmt":"2006-08-27T02:20:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fishingforcustomers.com\/its-not-the-weather\/"},"modified":"2006-08-26T19:20:00","modified_gmt":"2006-08-27T02:20:00","slug":"its-not-the-weather","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/develop-my-site.com\/fishing2\/its-not-the-weather\/","title":{"rendered":"It’s Not The Weather"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cTwenty years ago this used to be so easy,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen sales were slow we\u2019d put up the big tent, put a bunch of boats in the tent, set up a prize registration box, grill some hotdogs, and invite a radio station. We\u2019d sell half a dozen boats easily.<\/p>\n

\u201cTen years ago it didn\u2019t work so well. Today it doesn\u2019t work at all. I don\u2019t know what to do. Our sales are way off this year. I\u2019m hoping it\u2019s the weather.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

I might not have even remembered that conversation if I hadn\u2019t had the same one with a swimming pool dealer on the other side of the country later the same week. The conversation was nearly word-for-word identical.<\/p>\n

When the swimming pool guy said \u201cOur sales are way off this year, I\u2019m hoping it\u2019s the weather\u201d<\/em> I realized what was happening.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not the weather.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the message.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s recap something I\u2019ve already told you. There are only two shopping modes<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Transactional shoppers<\/a> believe that they already know everything necessary to make an informed decision. Transactional shoppers are only interested in price.<\/p>\n

Relational shoppers<\/a>, on the other hand, are well aware that they don\u2019t know enough to make an informed decision. They are shopping for an advisor they can trust not to take advantage of them.<\/p>\n

Three critical points:<\/p>\n

1. First, we all shop in both modes, depending on what we\u2019re buying. And whatever you\u2019re selling, your customers are about half and half. Roughly fifty percent are shopping price, and roughly fifty percent just want someone they can trust to offer advice on what\u2019s best for them.<\/p>\n

2. Second point: transactional shoppers will cheerfully play one supplier against another in an endless game of \u201ccan you top this?\u201d Transactional shoppers consistently provide lower closing ratios, smaller gross sales, and thinner profit margins.<\/p>\n

3. And finally, the right thing to say to one is exactly the wrong thing to say to the other. Doesn\u2019t this make sense? Why would a relational shopper, who fears not knowing enough to make the right decision, react positively to \u201cSave $1,000 if you buy today?\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I was reminded of those two conversations earlier today when I heard an ad for a swimming pool manufacturer.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe perfect day to buy the pool and spa of your dreams is this Saturday. Speak to the experts at our one day sale event, see our custom 3-D pool design system, and save up to six thousand dollars on the purchase of a new pool. Come celebrate with free hot dogs and soft drinks, prize giveaways, and face painting for the kids.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Which shopping mode do you predict will react positively to the implied pressure of this ad? Save six thousand dollars if you buy this Saturday? This one is definitely a transactional appeal.<\/p>\n

But, will this ad pull in ANY qualified buyers, regardless of their preferred shopping mode?<\/p>\n

Let me predict what\u2019s going to happen at this big one-day sales event. The radio station broadcasting the event will be pressured to produce a crowd. They\u2019ll pull out the stops, pour on the hype, and pump up the giveaways.<\/p>\n

The pool company is advertising free hot dogs and prizes \u2013 oh, and free face painting. They\u2019re going to attract people who want free hotdogs and free prizes. How many of them will be qualified to purchase a $60,000 pool?<\/p>\n

Come Monday, the pool company is going to count the number of pools sold on Saturday. If they are at all disappointed (and aren\u2019t they always?) they\u2019ll turn to the radio station and say \u201cYou brought in the wrong people.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

No kidding.<\/p>\n

Advertising seeks its own audience. Every ad will appeal to some shoppers and not appeal to others. When, like all of your competitors, you\u2019re screaming \u201cWe will not be undersold,\u201d<\/em> all of the transactional shoppers will come see you, then take your price to your competitor to \u201cgrind him down.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not the weather causing your lackluster sales. It\u2019s your message.<\/p>\n

As a business owner your first decision should be to which shoppers you want your ads to appeal.<\/p>\n

Suppose that instead of a big one-day sale, our pool builder had run a different ad?<\/p>\n

\u201cAs hot as it\u2019s been, you\u2019ve probably been thinking it would be nice to have a pool in your own backyard. We know that a pool is a major investment for a homeowner like you, and there are a lot of things to consider. That\u2019s why we\u2019ve brought in the experts to answer your questions in a casual, no pressure setting. Bring the measurements of your backyard, and we\u2019ll show you on our custom 3D design system just what to expect, the range of costs for the amenities important to you, and we\u2019ll even explain your financing options What we won\u2019t do is pressure you to buy.\u201d <\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Of course, it\u2019s going to take guts for Mr. Pool Builder to try to attract perhaps only four qualified buyers and making them comfortable buying, instead of attracting a couple hundred non-buyers who are there for the hot dogs, and hoping for the best.<\/p>\n

Oh, and hoping for good weather.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not the weather.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s that you, and all of your competitors, are screaming the same message: \u201cGet excited. Make an impulsive buy. We\u2019ll save you money.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

You\u2019re all fighting for the same low profit, highly fickle transactional buyers. Any relational shoppers in your show room are there because they wanted what you offer so badly that they\u2019re prepared to endure what they perceive to be your high-pressure sales tactics to get it.<\/p>\n

What would happen if you made it easy for them? What if you wrote ads that targeted the highly-profitable and intensely loyal relational shoppers?<\/p>\n

Your ads would automatically shine like a beacon in the darkness. Your ads would capture the attention of every qualified buyer who doesn\u2019t trust your slick, fast talking, high-pressure competitors.<\/p>\n

You\u2019d get the attention of those shoppers who, frankly, don\u2019t trust you the way you are.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not the weather that\u2019s keeping people from buying, it\u2019s your strategy.<\/p>\n

Who do your ads target?<\/p>\n

Are those the customers you really want?<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/li>\n
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\u201cTwenty years ago this used to be so easy,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen sales were slow we\u2019d put up the big tent, put a bunch of boats in the tent, set up a prize registration box, grill some hotdogs, and invite a radio station. We\u2019d sell half a dozen boats easily. \u201cTen years ago it didn\u2019t […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-97","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/develop-my-site.com\/fishing2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/develop-my-site.com\/fishing2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/develop-my-site.com\/fishing2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/develop-my-site.com\/fishing2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/develop-my-site.com\/fishing2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=97"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/develop-my-site.com\/fishing2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/develop-my-site.com\/fishing2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=97"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/develop-my-site.com\/fishing2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=97"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/develop-my-site.com\/fishing2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=97"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}