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The Psychology of Selling Backup Like a Pro

Ever feel like your backup solution pitches are falling on deaf ears? Ignite instant attention and urgency with these 5 psychological triggers. 

Our minds are like intricate mazes, relying on personal experiences, preferences, and mental shortcuts to navigate decisions. These mental shortcuts, known as cognitive biases, can be your secret weapon in closing the deal. 

Want to sell backup like a pro?
Dive into these 5 ways to break through the status quo with a bit of psychology. 

1. Loss Aversion

Highlight the pain of losing data. 

A study by renowned psychologists, Amos Tversky and Daniel Kahneman, once found that losing $100 is twice as painful for people as the pleasure of earning $100.

You would expect that both outcomes would cause the same reaction, right? In reality, people prefer avoiding losses over gaining equivalent benefits.  

Ask your customer:

"How would your business be affected if important files, data, or emails got deleted?"

By posing this question, you emphasize the severe consequences of data loss, making clients acutely aware of what they could lose. This awareness drives them to at least consider the need for a robust backup system.

2. Availability Heuristic

Use recent examples to show risks.

The availability heuristic makes people overestimate the likelihood of events based on how easily they recall similar incidents. 

Ask your customer:

"What does an hour of downtime cost you in terms of lost revenue?"

Naturally, this question punches harder if your customer has experienced downtime in recent memory. In such cases, the threat of downtime feels immediate and urgent, nudging your customer towards a backup solution to prevent similar scenarios.

3. Anchoring Effect

Set high expectations for quick data recovery. 

The anchoring effect occurs when people rely heavily on the first piece of information they receive (the "anchor") when making decisions. 

Ask your customer:

"How quickly can you retrieve data from a backup if someone deletes important files?"

This question sets an expectation for quick recovery times. Customers will then anchor their expectations to this prompt, recognizing the value of an efficient backup system compared to an inefficient or non-existent one.

4. Status Quo Bias

Challenge existing systems.

Change is hard. Status quo bias is the preference to keep things the same rather than introducing something new. Therefore, you will have to challenge current systems to bypass the status quo bias. 

Ask your customer:

"Do you have an overview of how you can lose data and files?"

This is an effective way to ask because people don't wake up in the morning and expect to lose their data. By asking this question, you challenge the complacency of your customer's current backup solution and introduces the idea that their data management might not be sufficient.

5. Confirmation Bias

Confirm the need for reliable backups. 

Confirmation bias is the tendency for people to search for, interpret, and remember information that confirms one's assumptions. 

Ask your customer:

"Have you recently tested your backup and recovery processes?"

This prompts customers to reflect on their backup practices. Either way, it validates the necessity of a dependable backup system: 

• If your customer recently performed a backup test and found gaps, it confirms their need for improvement.
• If they haven’t tested recently, it highlights a potential oversight. 

Conclusion

Selling backup as a service can be challenging, especially if your customers have never experienced downtime. It's akin to selling an alarm system to someone who has never had a burglary.

To make backup solutions compelling, relevant, and urgent, leverage the 5 cognitive biases from this article in your sales conversations.

By doing so, you can help clients better understand the necessity of investing in a reliable backup solution.