Do you find yourself struggling to understand what motivates customers to make a purchase? Have you ever wondered why some sales strategies work brilliantly while others fall flat?
In his book Gap Selling, Keenan reveals the fundamental principles behind consumer buying motives and explains why customers ultimately make purchasing decisions. His insights demonstrate how understanding the gap between a customer’s current problem and their desired solution is crucial for sales success.
Read on to understand customer behavior and revolutionize your sales approach forever.
What Drives a Customer to Buy?
Keenan discusses two main consumer buying motives: to overcome a problem, and because you offer them a solution.
1) To Overcome a Problem
Keenan emphasizes that all sales originate from a customer’s problem: Without a clear issue to address, there’s no reason for them to look for a solution. That is, if a customer is perfectly content with their situation, they have no need to buy anything, and you’re unlikely to make any headway on a sale. On the other hand, he says, if they have some difficulty, challenge, or problem, you can position your product or service as a solution.
(Shortform note: Research in psychology and behavioral economics bolsters the idea that customers are strongly motivated by problems. Studies have found that people place more weight on their losses than their gains in making decisions that involve risk. Furthermore, people remember and think more about bad events than good ones. Because customers are wired to focus on their problems and potential losses, they’ll pay attention to a product positioned as a solution. On the other hand, they won’t be motivated by a product that’s positioned as a mere “improvement” to a situation they’re content with.)
2) Because You Offer Them a Solution
While having a problem kicks off the buying process, it isn’t enough to make a customer buy. According to Keenan, there’s a second part to the equation: Customers will only buy if you offer them a solution. Keenan encourages you to conceptualize the customer’s issue as a gap—the distance between their present condition (that is, their issue) and their ideal future condition. The ideal future condition is one in which their issue is resolved and they’re free to pursue their business goals. Customers will buy if your solution closes their gap by bringing them into their ideal future state.
For example, a small e-commerce startup is losing sales because their website’s load times are so slow that customers are abandoning their carts before completing purchases. Their present condition is one of frustrated customers and lost sales. Their ideal future condition is one of frictionless transactions and increased sales. A product that would bridge the gap is a faster website that effortlessly handles high volumes of customer traffic.
(Shortform note: In The Challenger Sale, Mathew Dixon and Brent Abramson argue that, since the rise of solution-oriented sales techniques like Keenan’s, many B2B customers now expect sales representatives to be problem-solvers offering customized solutions, not just product vendors. While this bolsters the viability of Keenan’s gap selling approach, it can also lead to a much longer sales cycle. As companies expect more value from their purchases, they require more consensus in their organizations and sometimes even rely on third party consultants to help them think through sales decisions, all of which increases the number of stakeholders you need to convince before making a sale.)
