Justify the Purchase

note for me: do we offer the proof of value here? You want them to feel like they are getting value. Is that different than justifying the purchase?

Justify the Purchase#

There’s this watch I wear. It cost me less than $20 and I love it. I’ve been wearing the watch for years and talk about it all the time.

I didn’t need a watch. My phone tells time. When I go to the gym, there are clocks on the walls. I just wanted one and found a model that I thought looked cool. I guess I thought owning one might say something about me.

Knowing I didn’t need the watch, I needed to justify the purchase to myself. Granted, it was easy to do. At such a low price point, thinking the watch was cool was reason enough. And in terms of being able to tell time, I could now do that away from my phone. I could time my workouts without needing a clock. And I could look like a guy that appreciates high-quality, lasting, affordable items.

The thing is, I wanted the watch before I knew any of that. I just saw it and wanted it. And while we often go to the market looking to solve an external problem—which, admittedly, might not even need solved in the first place—we end up wanting our preferred solution for emotional reasons. Then, we kind of rationalize the choice to ourselves.

Nobody needs a BMW. Nobody needs a Tesla. Nobody needs and Apple Watch or second pair of jeans or Puff Daddy’s latest headphones… But we are very, very good at coming up with reasons these products are worth the cost—even at exorbitantly high prices.

But you can’t leave these justifications up to the buyer. You must help them along. Explain why the product is worth every penny. What justifies the expense? Why is your product worth every penny? What might it cost them not to use your product?

Here are a few examples:

• You deserve it
• You only have one set—protect your eyes
• The men in your life will love the way you look
• You’ll love the way you look
• Stress features, technical advantages, money savings, effectiveness…

Start with Objections#

Coming up with effective justifications starts with understanding your prospect’s objections.

Once you know the reasons they won’t buy, you can resolve those hesitations directly. The watch I like comes in all sorts of colorways, and there’s one in particular—a black one with green trim around the face plate—that I like. The thing is, I already have a watch. Why on Earth would I want two?

Something tells me you can come up with a few good reasons.