In the following chapters, we will look at sales skills in practice – in specific circumstances. The main idea you should learn from this section is that first you need to reproduce in your head the model of a successful salesperson, to understand what his strengths are and what exactly makes him successful. These are the things you should pay attention to when working on yourself.
Chapter 2. The buyer – who is he? How to understand what he really wants?
Let’s start with the fact that first and foremost, a customer is a human being. Just like you. With certain fears, worries, beliefs, needs and, of course, financial means.
Accordingly, in order to understand whether it will be possible to sell a particular person a product or not, it is necessary to learn more about his needs and financial capabilities. It is also necessary to take into account his individuality: to identify the distinctive features of his beliefs and views on the world, to understand how he identifies himself in society, whether he attributes himself to a particular nation, culture, class. After all, his model of behavior will be based on these factors.
So, to be a successful salesman and sell a lot, you need to understand who is in front of you. After all, it is obvious that for a person from an average family the main factor in the choice is «price-quality», and for a person with more financial resources – external beauty, uniqueness, and often the history of origin of the goods.
Some people buy things just to emphasize their VIP status. Some people buy things because of their religious beliefs. Someone – solely on recommendations. And someone – to be like everyone else. Therefore, the expression «For every product there is a buyer» is one hundred percent true.
To understand what kind of person is standing in front of you, you can, of course, look at how he looks. But I would not recommend relying on this factor, because appearances are often deceiving. I have met many times with the inconsistency of a person’s image with typical templates. So the main thing is to listen, ask leading questions and, based on the answers, draw conclusions about the person.
In his time, the famous American psychologist Abraham Maslow drew up the well-known pyramid of needs, on which he showed that each person, based on his position in society, has certain needs. It is very easy to understand the drawing. Its meaning goes back to our distant past and is based on simple instincts.
The point is that man has had needs since antiquity, but they were primitive. He needed to survive, and for this he needed food and protection from predators, enemy tribes, weather, etc. He also had and need for continuation of the species. And when the basic needs were satisfied, the following needs appeared – love, family, friendship, social relations. And after that the need for self-expression, manifestation of one’s «I», self-improvement and learning came to the forefront.
THE PYRAMID OF NEEDS (Abraham Maslow)
You can read more about his theory if you wish, but I have given you the basic gist of it.
The fact is that nothing has changed in the many centuries of humanity’s existence. Just like in the past, we still need food, protection, communication, etc. In my opinion, the only changes have occurred in the social and personal aspects – they have become a bit more complex.
Based on all this, it becomes clear: in order to sell a sausage or a loaf of bread, you do not need to be a super-salesman and use complex sales techniques. Hunger itself will make people buy food. That’s why this field is so vast, and grocery stores are becoming more and more numerous every year.
But to sell a fur coat, a car, a boat, a house, building and finishing materials, etc. – this requires a special approach. After all, for example, when choosing a fur coat, a person is not based on basic needs. He makes a choice based on aesthetic appearance, fashion, social belonging, wants to emphasize his individuality and indicate the presence of taste.
So in such cases, you have to take everything into account and try to understand what is paramount for a person: what he or she relies on when choosing a product, what really drives him or her – what feeling, desire, need. Maybe it’s a childhood dream? If you understand this, you will definitely offer something that he will not be able to refuse. In such cases, the buyer usually says, «Yes, that’s exactly what I wanted!» and then thanks you for helping him understand his desires.
I’m sure someone can and does intuitively understand how and what to say and show. Many salespeople don’t even think about their actions, but they often use this very technique. The only problem is that when it happens spontaneously and unconsciously, you have no control over it and it depends on your mood, inner feelings, external factors, etc.
So I suggest you make a rule. It doesn’t matter what mood you’re in or what you’ve got going on. If you’re out at work and you’re going to sell people products, you just have to leave all the bad stuff at the door. Nothing should distract you. The moment you talk to a person, you should be open, friendly and able to hear to understand their needs and capabilities. And in time you will begin to understand people, as psychologists do. If you stay with a person for five minutes, you will be able to make him feel at ease, find out about his needs and possibilities, find out the reason why he came to you, etc. All this will happen, don’t worry! Everything will happen if you work on yourself and analyze your actions.
So, I propose to deal with the main questions of this chapter. What are buyers like? How do you understand what a buyer wants? How to recognize what class he belongs to? And what do you need to do to sell him a product?
First, to get clear, let’s understand the classes of buyers. I wonder if you recognize yourself in any of them? Once I tried to define myself to a certain class, but I could not make a clear choice. Then I decided that I am a mixture of everything in me, but I still liked the economy class the most from the list.
The point is that when we analyze ourselves, we have a lot more information at our disposal. And given that I have spent my life selling people products and studying their behavior, it was not so easy for me to evaluate myself as a customer. It’s like solving an equation: the fewer variables, the simpler the equation, and the more variables, the more complex. So when I asked an acquaintance to define me to a particular class, he did it in five seconds. It’s not for nothing that they say it’s easier to judge from the outside.
Why do I sympathize with the economy class? Because it is the people who belong to it who analyze the necessity of the purchase before buying. They are more rational in their choice. They need a good product for which they will not overpay. It is also important for them that it should be reliable, fashionable and modern. But this is personally my subjective view. And I do not urge you to judge by the categories of «good» or «bad». After all, all people have different angles of vision. And the main difference between them is the amount of money.
This resource affects the thought process and people think in different categories. There will always be rich and poor. But to treat them based on their material status I think is absolutely wrong and ignorant. Every person is defined by his deeds. But that’s not the point now – we can talk about it for a long time.
But before we get to the class breakdown, I want you to remember the main point. Never evaluate a person solely on the basis of his appearance. And you should not be prejudiced against the economy class or, on the contrary, kiss the elite’s ass, prostrating yourself in front of them. You should be a specialist, equally friendly and sincere with any person. This position will protect you from unwanted mistakes. Stick to it!
So, let’s talk about classes:
1) Economy class. You need to be inexpensive