Overcome customer objections by increasing their certainty and reducing anxiety to close deals using 10 tactics.

Sometimes a deal gets stuck or a customer refuses to say yes for some reason or another. The question is what is holding them back? What are the psychological breaks holding the buyer back?

I believe the answer lies in their 'confidence margin'; the delta between certainty and anxiety. Think of certainty and anxiety on opposite sides of a scale. If there's a low certainty and high anxiety, they're not gonna move. Even, when there's an equal amount of certainty and anxiety, they probably won't decide.

So what we need to do is find ways to LOWER anxiety while simultaneously INCREASING certainty so they can move forward in the deal.

Here are 10 strategies to de-risk a sale by increasing the confidence margin:

1. Guarantee: Offer a warranty or guarantee to reduce the customer's fear of something going wrong.
2. Buyback program: If the customer is worried about losing their job, offer a program that allows them to return the product if they are laid off.
3. Shorter contract: If the customer is hesitant to commit to a long-term contract, offer a shorter contract term.
4. Compatibility, upgradability, and expandability: If the customer is worried about a product's compatibility with their existing systems or their ability to upgrade or expand it in the future, assure them that the product is compatible, upgradable, and expandable.
5. Defined contract term: Clearly specify the start and end date of the contract, and state that it will not automatically renew without the customer's consent.
6. Price drop guarantee: If the customer is worried about the price dropping after they buy, offer a price match guarantee.
7. Price lock-in: If the customer is concerned about future price increases, offer to lock in the current price for a certain period.
8. Limited scope: If the customer is overwhelmed by the size or complexity of a project, break it down into smaller, more manageable steps.
9. Skin in the game: Offer to share some of the risk with the customer, such as by offering a discount or refund if they are not satisfied.
10. Completion guarantee: Do not require the customer to pay until they are satisfied with the completed work.

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