Ive had the same barber for the last 10 years and the same deodorant for the five. How about you?

Ill bet that you have a trusted barber/stylist, and if youre like me, once you find a deodorant you like, you stick with it. Okay, enough about barbers and antiperspirants, the question is, Why are people so unwilling to try new products and services? Even though when you ask people if they think there might be a better alternative out there, why dont they make a switch? Risk - the risk is too great.

Hair and sweat probably have nothing to do with your business, but no matter what business youre in, there are customers good customers that want to buy from you but their perceived risk is too high. If you own your own business, ask yourself, Am I losing customers because its too risky to work with me?

The more risk there is in working with your business, the more prospects will elect to stay with their current choice, or perhaps look into another solution thats not quite so risky. What risks are associated with doing business with you? If you dont know you need to find out now! Ask your prospects what risks they feel are associated with working with you, and ask your customers what risks they overcame in deciding to work with you. Smart business owners dont speculate or use a magic 8-ball in identifying consumer risk, they get right to the source asking their prospects and customers.|

Take a Look Around:

Once youve talked to your prospects and customers, take a close look at what the rest of the industry is doing. Does your competition attempt to reduce the risk for prospects? Do they make it easier for prospects to work with them? Ask yourself, Is it easier for prospects and customers to work with XYZ Company than me? If the answer is Yes, you might be losing a lot of business.

Whats the Risk?

Smart business owners identify what are the main risks in doing business with their company, and then try to minimize them. Here are some common consumer apprehensions that can keep prospects from buying from you:

• How do I know I am getting the best value?

• What if I find a better price two weeks after I buy from you?

• How do I know your service will be good three months down the line?

• What if you dont make our deadlines?

• What if I dont like your product, can I get a refund?

So What Can You Do to Minimize Risk?

• Offer a guarantee (price, delivery, service, quality)

• Offer a trial period

• Offer a discount to new customers

Taking risk away from prospects makes it easier to them to business with you. You might have seen Right Guard do this several years ago with wonderful success. They proposed that if you didnt like their deodorant you could, send it back and theyll buy you a stick of yours. This gives you tremendous credibility and lets prospects know that you stand behind your product/service. Prospects think, Hey, if they are willing to stand behind their product/service, it has to be good.

The Bottom Line for Sharp Business Owners:

• Theres a risk to working with you

• Find out what those risks are, do it today

• Analyze how your competition is reducing customer risk

• Conceptualize and test your strategy to minimize customer risk

• Make sure that your marketing and advertising confidently expresses how youve minimized the major risks that prospects have, after all, what good is minimizing risk if no one knows about it? If youre not an expert in marketing and advertising, hire someone who is.