How to Create a Bestselling Product By Overcoming the 5 Obstacles to Sales

As entrepreneurs, our goal is to build the greatest product ever. However, very few products are ever created with the customers priorities in mind.

Once you build a great product, you need customers who are willing to pay you money for what you are selling. The biggest hiccup entrepreneurs face is finding a great way to sell their product to customers.

However, it takes more than a sales pitch to convince a LOT of your market that your product is great. There are 5 basic obstacles to sales. If you want to create a product that sells millions or even billions, you need to overcome all 5 of the obstacles to sales.

Here is how you can overcome the 5 obstacles to sales and create a bestselling product:

Obstacle 1: No Need

How big of a need is there for what you’re selling? The best types of products are things that people need, but cannot find. Great products also solve problems that people face and hate to live with.

I had a regular iPhone case. Suddenly, I found out that you can buy a case that stores a few of your credit cards in the back of the phone. This meant that I didn’t have to carry my wallet and phone everywhere I went.

I often made errands to the store, spent evenings hanging out with friends, or went to the gym, this product solved a HUGE problem for me. I had a need for it and I was even willing to buy another case just so that I could have this problem solved.

Great products have needs. If your product has a need and you can fulfill it, people will go out of their way (just like I did) to purchase it. Talk to your customers, ask them what problems they currently face, and see how you can pivot your product to cater to their needs.

Obstacle #2: No Money

What is the cost of your product? With the way our economy is today, the general consumer is very price conscious. They want to spend as little money as possible to get what they want/need.

Are your prices competitive with the competitors? Are your prices cheaper than the competitors? With any product, you generally have some competition. See how much they’re charging, how much money your customers usually spend on a product like this, and see if you can price yours better.

The more cost-effective your product is, the easier the sales process is. The difference between $49 and $99 may only be $50, but it has a huge impact on a customers decision to purchase.

With the wallet phone case I bought, it was priced at $16. I had paid $15 for my other iPhone case and cases usually ranged between $15-$20. It was priced very well, so I decided to buy it.

If it would have been over $20, I probably would have dealt with the pain of carrying my wallet everywhere I went. Price your product well because it has a huge impact on whether your customer purchases it or not.

Obstacle #3: No Hurry

As a customer, why should I purchase your product now? How about I go home, think about it for a few days, and then possibly make the purchase?

Great products always create a sense of urgency among your consumers. Why should your consumer buy this product NOW? The best selling products in the world are products that can create a sense of urgency and generate a purchase on the spot.

You do NOT want your customer going home or thinking about the purchase. Your conversion rates will go through the toilet as people usually become a lot more sensible when they have time to think.

Along with the startups I run, I also run a consulting business on the side. I consult startups, small businesses, and even big businesses on a variety of different topics. However, it is well known to everyone that my startups come first.

With that fact known, I have also made it clear to people that I can only work with a FEW different business owners every 3-4 months. Thus, my consulting business creates a sense of urgency among my potential customers.

They may possibly want to work with me, but they see that I don’t have many open spots left. They definitely don’t want to lose out on the opportunity to work with me, so they end up making a decision quicker than they usually would.

While this isn’t intentionally done, it’s just the way it is given my schedule. Similarly, find an honest way to create an urgency to purchase from your customers. Some good ways of doing this is showing the scarcity of your product, offering deals/discounts for immediate purchases, or throwing in free gifts for quick purchases.

Obstacle #4: No Desire

No desire and no need often get confused with one another. However, there is a big difference between the two. Products may have a need, but do they make the customer WANT the product?

Generally, great products create a desire to purchase. The greatest example of this is any product created by Apple. They are the masters of creating hype and selling out products on launch day.

The desire for apple products is tremendous! People want it even though they don’t really need it. I had an iPhone 4S but I waited at 6 AM to buy the iPhone 5. I didn’t really need an iPhone 5 because my iPhone 4S worked fine, but they created an uncanny desire to get it.

Is your product unique from everything else? Does your product have sex appeal? Is your packaging better than all other products? What makes your product so good that people want it really really bad!

Obstacle #5: No Trust

Trust is extremely important. The higher the price, the more trust is required between the customer and the business. Why should the customer believe that your product will do what it actually says?

There are a few different ways to build trust with your customer. If you sell online products, getting featured on big websites like Yahoo, Mashable, TechCrunch, Washington Post, NY Times, and others is a great way to boost your credibility.

It’s assumed that you must be a trustworthy and credible business if you have been featured on all the major publications. If people trust you, they will believe in whatever you sell them.

Creating trust for offline products takes a lot more work. One of the best ways to build trust for offline products is to find distributors or retailers featuring your items. Walmart, CVS, Walgreens, and other major chains typically don’t feature “shitty” products in their store.

Building trust can be very difficult, but it is one of the easiest ways to sell your products. Find different ways to build credibility for your product and leverage that during the sales process.

Conclusion

Sales is always easier if you’re selling a product that sells itself. Before building your next product, think about what you can do to make it a bestselling product. By overcoming the 5 obstacles above, your product will be ready to sell millions and billions of copies.

photo credit: StarrGazr via photopin cc

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