Choice, choice, choice.  We are surrounded by it.  In fact, Western consumer society in the past 100 years has been built around the idea of choice.  We expect to have tons of options when we shop – 45 brands of coffee, an entire wall of TVs, a slew of different features available on our new car.  The modern customer has become inured to being overwhelmed with choice when making purchasing decisions.  Finding the right way to present options is one of the most important parts in the sales process.

Salespeople have long used the idea of choice in one of the most basic “closing” tools – the alternate choice close.  Instead of asking a customer if they’d like to purchase, the salesperson asks which of two alternates they would like to choose.  The question moves from a “yes/no?” to a “which one?”.  It doesn’t necessarily make prospects purchase when they don’t want to, but often moves wavering prospects into the yes decision because it gives them ownership of the decision.

An even more powerful way to use the idea of choice in the sales process is the “Good Better Best” presentation technique.  This can be used during the close when you ask for an order, and it can also be used earlier in the sales interview when you are presenting possible solutions.

The process is quite simple.  When offering the prospect options, give them three (and only 3) different choices.  The first should be the basic product or service (good).  The second should be mid-range (better) while the final should be your top of the line package (best).  The choices should increase in value as well as in price, and if you are in a business or profession that doesn’t have natural packages – create them.  For example, if you are a massage therapist, you could develop three packages with varying numbers of sessions or session duration.  You can even create names for the packages that create this natural progression, for example:

Good option – economy, basic, starter, beginner,silver

Better option – standard, upgraded, expert, gold

Best option – complete, elite, exclusive, pro(fessional), platinum

You’ll usually find that the most popular option is not the low-end choice, but rather the option in the middle.  People will often rationalize (sometimes out loud) that they don’t want the cheapest, but they don’t need to splurge for the top choice.  The goal isn’t to have them pick a particular option, though, it’s simply to have them pick one of the options.  The question is once again moving from “yes/no?” to “which one”.

It works well, because even though consumers like having choices, if they have too many choices, they become paralyzed in the decision making process.  Malcolm Gladwell outlined this phenomena in his book, Blink.  When the customer was overwhelmed with too many choices, they froze; and instead of making a purchasing decisions – they didn’t buy at all.  If too many choices are paralyzing and no choices aren’t acceptable, the “Good Better Best” process finds the middle ground.  It  creates an easy process for the customer to use when deciding which option is best for them.

In the end, the “Good Better Best” technique work because it focuses the customer’s decision making process.  It channels their thinking into a few either/or decisions which allows for easy comparisons.  This process also reduces the stress for the salesperson, because they don’t have to spend an undue amount of time trying to explain options to a customer.  Try it on your next sales call.  When you present your solutions to a prospect, create a three-tiered option for them, and get ready to bring in more business.