Article by: Linda Brakeall

There are four common types of buyers out there in buyer-land:

1. The Impulse Buyer - sees it & buys it.
2. The Investigator - researches, studies, thinks and buys.
3. The Fooler - researches ( for maybe a year ) and then one day walks in and buys. Looks like The Impulse Buyer.
4. The Never Buyer -investigates, agitates, & procrastinates. (Every salesperson's nightmare!)

How do you identify who buys how? Ask questions. You might ask the prospect directly or you might ask an assistant if the opportunity arises. "I noticed you just got a new phone system. How did that happen?" OR . . . " How did you buy your last car (or computer)? "

With just a little prompting, people will tell you how they decided they need new phones:

A. They got out the yellow pages, made three calls, listened to three presentations the next day and had the system in place the following Friday. (Style #1)

B. They subscribed to Consumer Reports, called every company that made phones, poured over the literature that was sent, listened to 73 presentations, did more research, created a task force, mulled it over, presented 3 options to the president and a year from day one got the phones installed. ( Style #2)

C. Did some of the B activities, then one day called and had the phones installed the following week. (style #3)

D. Decided 4 years ago they needed new phones and are still having weekly meetings about it. (Style #4)

Once you know the buying pattern you can tailor your presentation and your expectations to that buying style. The reason so many salespeople - in mortgages, real estate or widgets - get frustrated is because they expect faster decisions. Many people cannot make fast decisions.

Morgan Carter, the Chicago PR guru, says: "Frustration is a function of expectations." If your expectations are appropriate, your frustration is diminished. Lower frustration means more energy and that equals more sales. Investigate those buying patterns!

Read more articles by Linda Brakeall
Read marketing articles by Other Authors
Search for New Subjects

 

Linda Brakeall is the author of Unlocking The Secrets of Successful Women in Business, and has trained 36,000 people in 27 states in sales, marketing, presentations, and communications since 1992. She has authored 99 magazine articles on sales, marketing, selecting salespeople, managing sales teams and communications. You can find out more about Linda and what she can do for you at http://www.lindabrakeall.com Ph: 800-662-7249

Want to use this article? You may freely reproduce this article for use on the internet or for your training materials as long as credit is given to the author and the above author description and contact information (including links or web addresses) are included.