I think we all can agree that times have been a little more than rough for a lot of us.  With the economic slow-down and small to medium-sized business owners frantically looking for their next buck, the last thing they want to think about is replacing their phone system.  One thing to keep in mind, is that fear of moving on to a better system is absolutely directly tied to their fear of not pulling in enough revenue.  It’s not always just about dollars and cents.

For example, XYZ Widget Company may have (using conservative figures) $100,000 cash on hand after expenses.  This doesn’t mean they want to put $20,000 of that into a new phone system.  From a financial standpoint, that is 20% of their liquid assets that they are holding on to in case the next month is slow.  The other side to this is that their current phone system is failing or out of date, and desperately needs replacement.

Decisions.  Decisions.  Money.  Decisions.

Luckily, helping your prospective client make that decision can be extremely painless.  I’m going to share with you some strategies for overcoming what I like to call the “what-if” barriers that your prospect is likely to have.

What if I can’t learn how to use this system fast enough?

Gently explain to your prospect that Rome wasn’t built in a day and so we don’t expect you to learn this system quickly.  However, with PBXact learning to use the basic functions of the system is easy!  If you’ve been reading our sales literature (which I’m sure you have, dedicated reseller), you will know that our system doesn’t require fancy feature codes to simply transfer a call or to park a call in the parking lot.  With the magic of your voice or simply pressing a button, all of the most basic phone features can be accomplished.

What if I need support after hours?  Who will help me?

We make it really easy to get support after normal business hours.  Simply by subscribing to our 24/7 Peace of Mind Package (which by the way, is very inexpensive), you can guarantee that no matter what your business hours may be, someone is available to assist you.

What if the system breaks or there’s some kind of emergency?

If you subscribed to our basic Peace of Mind Package, you are entitled to our comprehensive disaster recovery suite.  With your base Peace of Mind Package subscription, you also receive nightly remote backups of all of your phone system settings and voicemail messages.  So, if in the unfortunate event your system is destroyed by a massive fire or inclement weather, you can restore your system with our backup images.

What if my current vendor promises me the same features?

Promises are only valid if backed up with factual evidence or actions.  We can demonstrate the features we are promising, can your legacy system do that?

What if I can’t afford your phone system?

We understand that money sometimes gets in the way of what we really need.  Schmooze has partnered with several lease providers to not only offer competitive lease rates for businesses, but to also lower the start-up costs of a system.  In some scenarios, a business can start using their system with no upfront investment, and in other scenarios a business will only need to make one or two advance payments.

What if my salespersons should find a new profession?

Well, not all ducks can swim and not all dogs can bark.

In conclusion, you will always have “what-if” barriers.  How you overcome these barriers will be the difference between making a sale and counting pennies.

If you want me to address your “what-if” barrier in my next posting on this topic, feel free to contact me directly and I’ll be sure to include it.  The more knowledge we all have, the better we become at our craft.

Happy selling!