Recently I wrote a piece about how to get The First Five Customers, which are so critical for a B2B business.  One of the main issues addressed in that piece was the issue of the perceived risk the customer has in choosing you over their alternatives (including doing nothing!).

This issue of overcoming a customer’s risk aversion to your product or service is not confined to B2B, B2C companies encounter it all the time.  In fact for new offerings of all shapes and sizes, customers generally resist change for a variety of reasons, and most of the time your biggest objection will be “I’m just worried it won’t work out as you say it will.  How can I trust you?”  This hesitation is a sales disaster, even if they are warm to your product or server, they won’t buy because they’ve got this nagging feeling in the back of their mind telling them to wait.  Not to say “no,” but just to postpone the decision.

I hate it when that happens.

Offer them (free) insurance

Whenever possible, you’ll have the most success if you offer to take the risk off their hands.  Your new offering introduces a lot of uncertainty for them – if you can remove it all you’ll have a lot more buyers a lot sooner.  The form of this insurance can take many forms depending on the type of customers you have, the perceived risks, and a few other issues, but here are some examples.

• Satisfaction guarantee – if the customer is worried they might have remorse in 2 weeks, offer to take it back if they don’t love it.
• Revenue sharing instead of fixed pricing – if the customer is worried you can’t really help them sell more, offer to share in the increased sales you’re sure they’re going to receive.
• Fixed pricing instead of revenue sharing – if the customer is concerned that you’re taking too big a chunk of their prospective business away, let them pay a flat fee and feel unencumbered.
• Split cost savings with them – if your service saves them money over what they’re doing today, offer to implement it and split the savings with them.
• Offer a trial period – maybe they just need to play with the product for a few days or weeks before they can feel really comfortable purchasing it.
• Offer to uninstall/remove it for free – paying for return shipping, or removal for free is a sure way to send the message that you really believe they’re making a good decision.

When I make these suggestions people will sometimes comment, “I’m not sure I can afford to take on those risks.”  This is an interesting point.  If you’re not sure you can afford to take on those risks, then you have a bigger problem than you think, your customers really should be worried about buying from you!  After all the marketing spin and sales tactics is that single choice for the customer to choose you.  At that moment you have to ask yourself, if you’re not willing to take the risk, why should they?

About Chris Harris

For 13 years Chris Harris has been successfully developing technology solutions and creating winning business strategies for both start-up and brand-name companies.  Chris co-founded Inventure Global, a San Diego headquartered IT consulting firm with offices and programmers in India offering sophisticated IT and technology planning, design, and implementation services for new and growing businesses looking for experienced talent and intelligent support. Inventure Global also maintains the New Venture Outsourcing Blog.