I'm sure you know that feeling: you're considering taking a step that will make a huge difference in your life or business. You're right there. You want it. You know you need it. What goes through your head?

For many of us, that's the point where fear kicks in.

• fear of making the wrong decision
• fear of spending money
• fear of wasting money
• fear of what your husband/wife/partner will say
• fear that you'll be disappointed once you buy the product or service
• fear that the service provider will judge you for your lack of knowledge or expertise
• fear you won't understand the service provider
• fear that the service provider won't understand you

And I'm sure you can come up with many others specific to your situation.

What can you do to allay their fears?

Right at the beginning of your relationship, build the "know, like and trust" factor. Building a solid connection goes a long way towards making the customer comfortable with you and what you're offering.

When you have a sense that fear is holding someone back, and you already have an established relationship, it's easier to ask probing questions and dig a bit deeper to find out what's really going on with them. Often the client will not have thought deeply about this and you can help them uncover the obstacles. Often, once the fear is verbalized, it melts away.

Their fear might be totally unjustified and you can help them realize this. Or it may be a obstacle based in reality in which case you have to respect what's going on with the customer and how far they are willing to go.

It's never OK to push the customer into something that's not right for them. Honor them now but keep in touch and at a later date they may be ready to buy.

Either way, your relationship with the client will take on a depth it didn't have before.