Trying to understand what motivates people and why they choose one product or service over another seemingly identical one? This obsesses "Harry Beckwith – best selling author of "What Clients Love."
The following are Harry truisms about the topic of being competitive these days:
• Your biggest competitor is not a competitor; it's your prospect's indifference.
• Your second-biggest competitor is not a competitor; it's your prospect's distrust.
• Prospects decide in the first five seconds.
• Prospects don't try to make the best choice. They try to make the most comfortable choice.
• At heart, every prospect is risk-averse. Risks are always more vivid than rewards.
• Don't create something that everyone likes; create something that many will love.
• Your most valuable salesperson is the person who answers your phones.
• You must improve constantly, because people's expectations rise constantly.
• Whatever you are doing, do it faster. Speed always sells.
• People don't care how good you are. They care how good you can make them.
• The best companies don't make the fewest mistakes; they make the best corrections. • You cannot convince someone you have a superior product at a low price. Make up your mind.
• Despite all the warnings, all people judge books by their covers.
• People hear what they see; you must communicate visually.
• When in doubt -- which is almost always -- people choose what feels familiar.
• If it takes 50 words to make your pitch, I will buy from the person who can do it in 20.
• People don't learn from descriptions. They learn from stories.