Do you know the key to generating more sales for your business?
It’s trust.
Whether you’re a small mom-and-pop business or a large corporation, trust is the biggest obstacle lying between you and your customers. After discovering a new product or service, most customers have the following conversation in their heads:
It may solve my problem, and the price is fair… but what if it doesn’t work? What if it fails or breaks? What if I don’t get the results I was expecting?
What if?
Every customer has a “what if?” moment before buying, so it’s your job to eliminate it. And guess what? That’s pretty easy to do. You just need to reverse the risk.
How to “Reverse the Risk” for Buyers
What does it mean to “reverse the risk,” exactly? Well, it just means that you, the business owner, are going to eliminate any risk the customer takes on when purchasing your product or service. It could be the risk of buying a product that doesn’t work, the risk of buying a product that fails, or the risk of buying a product they don’t need.
The quickest and most effective way to remove all of these different types of risks is to provide a guarantee—a promise that you’ll make things right if your product or service falls short of your customer’s expectations in any way.
Assuming that you’re providing a high-quality product or service and stand behind it, you have nothing to be afraid of by offering a strong guarantee.
L.L. Bean’s policy is a great example of this:
“We stand behind all our products and are confident that they will perform as designed. If you are not 100% satisfied with one of our products purchased directly from L.L.Bean, you may return it within one year of purchase for a refund. After one year, we will consider any items for return that are defective due to materials or craftsmanship.”
That’s a pretty strong guarantee!
Now, I already know what you’re thinking. What if customers take advantage of our guarantee?
And look, I get it—this might be inevitable. However, you need to weigh the risk and reward. If this policy allows your company to boost sales significantly, you can live with the occasional bad return. I’m willing to bet that L.L. Bean’s increase in customers far exceeds the few who might try to take advantage of their policy.
There’s another element to this as well. If a customer came up to you today and said, “This product just doesn’t work for me,” what would you do? Most reasonable business owners would go ahead and issue a refund.
Do you know what that means? It means you’re already giving customers the opportunity for refunds when they aren’t completely satisfied with a purchase. You’re just not getting the enormous sales benefit of advertising that option to customers!
4 Steps for Crafting a Powerful Guarantee
Now that you know the importance of a guarantee, it’s time to create one for your business. Follow these four simple steps and implement your new policy into your company’s sales pitch!
1. Review Any Guarantee You Currently Offer
There’s a chance you already offer a guarantee or some form of return policy. Take some take to review it.
Is it bold enough to persuade someone who might be on the fence about buying from you? If it’s not bold enough, how can you improve it? You can start by getting rid of unnecessary conditions and qualifiers, or by extending the return timeline.
2. Give Your Policy a Unique Name
Don’t be afraid to get creative when naming your policy! The best way to make it memorable and a seamless part of every sales pitch is to choose something catchy or memorable.
A great policy name will only reinforce the fact that you are actively reversing the risk for your customers!
3. Display Your Guarantee on All of Your Marketing Materials
Beyond incorporating your guarantee into your company’s sales pitch, you should also plaster it on your business cards, receipts, store posters, and other materials.
Your guarantee should be communicated as often as possible with the goal that no customer walks away from a sale due to it feeling like a risky purchase.
4. Don’t Fixate on the Few who Abuse Your Guarantee
Finally, once you have rolled out your new guarantee, avoid the temptation to scrutinize every return.
If you sense that someone is abusing your policy, simply give them their refunds and bank the extra sales that your guarantee is going to produce!