Practical Sales Training™ > How To Convert > Return on Investment
Return On Investment
What Is It
Return on investment is what your buyer actually gets from buying your offering. It’s not always financial, though it can often be expressed in money.
Think of it as the honest answer to one question. What do they walk away with?
Why Does It Work
It works because it helps buyers make the decision. If I know the ROI is a set figure, I can decide with confidence.
Uncertainty works the other way completely. Guessing at the ROI myself makes me cautious instead.
Give me the number, and I move faster. Make me guess, and I stall.
How Can You Use It
There are at least 13 ways your offering can represent a return. Group them, and they become easier to use.
Time And Money
Time and money cover the most obvious returns. So your offering might save time. Or it might deliver a quicker result. It could produce a longer lasting one too.
Saving money outright counts too, and so does helping the buyer make more of it. Either way, the number matters most.
Growth And Capacity
Growth and capacity cover scale instead. Your offering might attract clients, staff, or visitors. It might help retain the ones already there.
Or it could simply let someone do more, in volume or in ability. Sometimes it just improves conversion. All of these count.
Access And Feeling
Access and feeling cover the less obvious returns. Some offerings grant exclusive access. Others teach something new, or evoke a feeling worth paying for on its own.
Not every return needs a price tag. But naming it clearly still counts as ROI.
You can go one step further too. Offer a calculator, or explain how to work the number out. Either approach makes the decision easier.
When It Works Best
This works best whenever the purchase carries real cost or risk for the buyer. The bigger the spend, the more they need the number spelled out.
When It Becomes Dangerous
It becomes dangerous when you inflate the return to make a sale. Buyers check numbers against reality eventually, and inflated claims get remembered.
It’s also risky to assume one return matters to everyone. A saving of time means nothing to a buyer who only cares about money.
Common Mistakes
Making The Buyer Do The Maths
Making the buyer do the maths themselves is the most common mistake. Most won’t bother, and they’ll walk away undecided instead.
Only Naming Financial Returns
Picking only financial returns is another trap. Some of your strongest ROI arguments might be emotional or reputational instead.
Using Vague Language
Using vague language instead of a real figure is the final one. “Great value” convinces nobody the way an actual number does.
Return On Investment – An Example
Vague Versus Specific
Picture two sellers offering similar training courses. One promises to boost team performance. The other promises something specific instead. It says the course will save each rep 4 hours a week. That’s worth roughly £2,000 a year per person. The second seller usually wins the deal.
