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Cost of Ownership Part 3

The ability to explain the concept of cost of ownership is a skill that every successful sales consultant needs. It has been often said that people buy with emotion but pay with logic.
Helping a client make a positive buying decision means that we sometimes need to walk them through a logical cost of ownership discussion to:
 
• Resolve a price objection
• Make them comfortable paying more for a better product or
• Help the procrastinator make a decision to buy now
 
Last month we looked at "Make them comfortable paying more for a better product". Now let's look at the third one: Help the procrastinator make a decision to buy now. 
 
Let's be real. We all procrastinate at one time or another even when we know that a decision is the right one. Why do we do it? Well human nature is a big part of it but often in a purchase decision we need some help to "tip us over the edge". We like the car. We see it meets our needs but we still hesitate to say yes. Without a sales professional to maintain leadership and momentum we may allow our fears to take over. What are we afraid of? Paying too much. Making the wrong decision. All the lights can be green and we still procrastinate and come out with an excuse like "I want to think about it".
 
When that happens we reconfirm that the vehicle selected is right for their needs, they are happy (or as happy as they can be!) with the figures, and a few more questions to uncover any hidden objection. You may still may be left with a procrastinator with no real reason to delay. What now? Let's try a cost of ownership approach. If one of the natural fears is paying more than they have to we can use this to our advantage. "I understand how you feel, many of my clients felt uncertain with making a decision. However most found that when we looked at the cost of ownership, the lowest cost is achieved today rather than later. Can I explain what I mean?" 
 
Now pull out a blank sheet of paper and draw that simple graph showing a downward trending line for the trade value and an upward one for the new vehicle. Everyone understands that their used vehicle is worth less every day/week/month that goes by. Each day that goes by the chances of further major repairs or maintenance expense goes up. Everyone also has the experience of prices on new items rising over time. The increasing gap between the two lines shows the increasing cost of changing vehicles in the future. The conclusion is always: the lowest cost time to switch is now.
 
For the procrastinator, with no other hidden objection, the prospect of their delay actually costing them money is often enough to nudge them off the fence.