Know Your Customer

According to most sales instructors, customers go through four stages when considering whether to purchase a product such as CTi.  Knowing where your customer is can help you in determining what information to provide to close more sales:

Stage 1: Curiosity - This is the stage where the customer has first found out about the product and is simply curious in finding out whether he has any need for it.  Information here is general and is focused around getting the customer to the passive interest stage.  Most of the time, an effective web site or brochure provides enough information to get the customer to Stage 2.

Stage 2: Passive Interest - Here, the customer is past stage 1, but is still just investigating the product.  They have a better understanding of how the product can help them and they're looking for more specific information on whether the product is right for a particular need.  However, the customer is still just listening for information and is not likely to provide much in the way of "buying signals".  Information provided here should be more along the line of questions and answers so the customer can see how the product can fit their particular need.

Stage 3: Active Interest - The Active Interest stage is where the customer is starting to see how this product will fit their needs so they are considering the value proposition of price vs. benefits of the product.  Here the information provided is very specific and is moving the customer to the commitment stage by providing detailed information about how the product will fit their needs.

Stage 4: Commitment - This final stage is where the customer has all the information, has considered the trade off between price and the value of your proposition and is now ready to move forward.  Many times people leave a customer at this stage which is unfortunate since they've done all the work in creating excitement but have not instructed the customer on how to move forward.  Information here should be how to purchase the product, payment methods accepted and any final details for how the customer can move forward.