To be successful in selling to senior clients you must understand
the way they make buying decisions. I call it "Selling SIS".
I came
up with this sales acronym formula during my numerous interviews
with senior prospects while selling retirement community housing.
"SIS" is the Top 3 Factors/Criteria seniors apply when deciding to
buy any product, especially big ticket items like real estate. The
three factors involved are as follows:
- Safety (Low Risk to Me and My Money)
- Independence (Keeps Me Free in my Life Choices)
- Security (Maintains My Peace of Mind and Lifestyle)
You see the absolute last thing seniors want to have happen to them
is to become dependent on others for anything. The reason for this is
that being "cared for" means frailty and could lead to "the nursing home".
Not a place they ever want to go...
Seniors want to maintain their independence and freedom more than
anything else in life so they use "SIS" to make all of their decisions.
You must use "SIS" if you want to successfully market to seniors.
The "SIS" secret is to tailor your marketing efforts towards helping
seniors maintain their freedom and independence. This tells them
that you care about and respect them, which opens a bonding door.
Then you can show them your desire to improve their quality of life,
by making things easier and more convenient for them with your
product and service offerings.
To be successful in selling your products and services to seniors
these critical "decision triggers" must be fully satisfied or else it's
no sale. All other elements of the buying process are just small
window dressings, these are the "big picture" buying factors.
Bottom Line: Sell "SIS" and you sell the senior.
Published: June 10, 2002
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