Prospect buying habits

Weekly Sales Tips

Words of wisdom for this week.

“Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.”
~ Einstein

People buy when they are ready to buy, not when you need to sell! Many salespeople push, prod and manipulate in an attempt to convince the buyer that their agenda should be as important as the salesperson’s agenda. Having said this, it doesn’t mean to imply that you should not use every professional and ethical sales technique and approach at your disposal to persuade the buyer that your product/service is a good decision for them to make at this time.

Buyers often buy what they want (desire) and sometimes need not only because of your sales methods but because they have convinced themselves that your product/service makes sense to them or solves a pressing problem now. Often they will share this want/need without any prodding from the salesperson but many times they will need some guidance, increased knowledge or rationale before they can justify the purchase now.

There are a number of factors that contribute to the prospect’s buying agendas or motives. Here are a few for you to consider.

  1. Ego need. Someone else they know recently purchased something similar, so they feel they need it now.
  2. Pain level. Some people put off purchasing until the pain level of not having the product or service is so great that they can wait no longer.
  3. Disposable cash. Many people (organizations) buy what they don’t need because they feel they have extra discretionary resources available (Tax return, best sales month the company has had in a year etc.)
  4. Instant gratification. Some people buy what they don’t need or want simply because it is available.

The thing to remember when prospecting and probing is to understand that you can not always change the personal issues, concerns or needs confronting the buyer. Just because you manager or company wants you to sell more this month or this year does not necessarily mean that your prospect is going to honor or even care about your personal or corporate needs or concerns.

This does not mean however that you should not:

  • continue to prospect
  • improve your persuasive skills
  • probe deeper for the real motivation of the buyer now or in the future
  • determine their real buying motives
  • give professional and persuasive sales presentations
  • ask for the business

Every prospect and their circumstances, issues and challenges are unique and it’s vital that you discover these prior to launching into your sales message.