Sell with the APES
APES are more than just jungle dwellers! APES is an acronym for the four main reasons people buy things. To sell and close deals, you need to understand what motivates people to buy. You need to pay close attention to what people are saying, ask the right questions to fully understand the problem they’re trying to solve, why they’re drawn to one product or service over another, and how you can best help them.
This is what each letter of APES stands for.
HAS for appearance (This makes me look good, could be status or appearance).
P for performance (This makes me feel good or perform better).
me for Economic (This saves me money, worries me, or will make me money).
yes for security (This makes my environment more secure or reduces the chance of loss).
Take any product or service that people buy and you will see that they were motivated by one of these four driving forces. I don’t care if it’s a car, house, home improvement, gym membership, jewelry, dinner, phone, TV, paint, or a life insurance policy. Appearance, performance, economy or safety or some combination will influence the sale.
For example, I have had 25 or 30 phones in my life. I bought the last one because the new style had come out and I thought it was hot (looks). I liked it because it was smaller, slimmer, and moved easily in and out of my pocket. I upgraded from a perfectly performing phone not because the new phone was faster (performance) but because it was sexy. Then I upgraded my plan (another purchase) because the texts were free (cheap) and I got a discount on the price of the phone for buying 2 years of service from the operator. Then I bought a case to protect the phone for $30 to keep it safe when I dropped it.
At each point the EPAS they were driving my decisions like all buyers do. Know your APES and close more deals. Find out what your customer’s motivation is by asking why they want the product today and what problem they want to solve. You will immediately get a reason that fits into one or more of the APES. Once you get that understanding, you can suggest the right product and walk them through the deal. You will have a happy customer who is excited about their new purchase and will be more likely to refer businesses in their direction.