Make a Fortune Selling to Women. Connie Podesta

Чтение книги онлайн.

      Women, on the other hand, usually take far longer to make a purchase. They ask more questions and spend more time weighing their options than men. Salespeople often misinterpret this to mean that a woman is “just shopping around,” has all the time in the world, or is simply indecisive. As a result, the salesperson will often tune out the woman who appears to be just looking, and perhaps even wander off and move on to someone else.

      Be very careful making any of those assumptions, because you could be way off base. She probably is taking longer because she sees the purchase as part of a bigger picture, and she wants to make sure it is going to fit in with whatever else is going on in her life. The sound system she’s buying needs to offer great performance, portability for her daughter’s college move next year, and adaptability for new technology two years from now, and it has to match the living room decor. Thinking through all those things at once just takes a little time!

      Even though a female customer may take longer to close or commit, she still doesn’t want to waste any of the time she has allotted for the purchase—she has just allotted more time to begin with than a man would. But that doesn’t mean she wants to be ignored, get passed from salesperson to salesperson, or repeat herself to a salesperson who wasn’t paying attention the first time.

       Never underestimate how precious a commodity time is for a woman. KNOW THIS: anything you can do to help her find the right solution to fit her needs will be appreciated. Anything you do to derail the process will be noted and chalked up against you.

      This is true even though at first she may appear more social than productive and decisive. She is trying to assess whether she likes you, trusts you, and wants to do business with you. This is part of her personal and professional examination of you and the situation at hand. Once she has decided that you are the right person to do the job, she will probably do an about-face and get down to business. Let her take the lead. She’ll let you know when she is ready to start buying. You just concentrate on being personable, professional, and productive.

       #4: SHE WANTS TO BE PART OF THE PROCESS

      For most women, a purchase isn’t just a transaction in which she pays money for goods or services. It’s an ENTRY into a relationship—with you, your store, your product or service, and with your company. Because business is PERSONAL with women, if they choose your service, it’s often because they are comfortable supporting your business, representing your brand, or becoming part of the circle of your customers.

      Women are aware that their purchasing decisions reflect back on them and affect the world they live in; this is just part of the multifaceted approach women take to buying.

      Maybe it’s because of this awareness that women feel the need to take responsibility for their buying decisions—they don’t want to just walk in and buy something (“In and out,” a man might say). They want to weigh the options, learn the differences between them, and decide what’s best.

      They want the information that will help them make good decisions. Women hate to waste time making purchases they will regret, not use, or have to return later. They want to know what makes one brand or product better than another, or why you think one will be better, and whether it really is or not.

       In short, women want to be a part of the process and have a good interaction with the salesperson.

      Now don’t get me wrong—men want to be PART OF THE PROCESS too, but most salespeople wouldn’t dream of excluding a man from a conversation about his purchase. Again there is irony here. Men talk less in the average buying situation, ask fewer questions, and are more anxious to just leave and get on with it than women, yet men are generally included in each step of the process whether they want to be or not.