Business Development Tip: Understanding buying behaviours

Another sales call from someone using the "buy now or miss out forever" tactic! 

- Should I be flattered that when the advertising space came free, he thought of me?

- Should I be grateful for his concern that I could be about to lose out on the advertising opportunity of the decade?

Unfortunately, I'm not flattered or grateful, and salespeople who pressure me to buy now always get the same result - NO DEAL - because when it comes to buying, whatever it is, I'm a skeptic.

So what?

My skeptical nature means that as good as your product/service is, if you're going to sell to me, I want to consider it from every possible angle. I also want to review your organisation and be clear in my mind that in investing in you, my risk is minimised. If you try to rush this process, I'm out … regardless of how much I may have initially wanted what you had to offer.

But if you show due care and are prepared to work with my skeptical nature, I am likely to buy from you and look to create a long-term business relationship.

If I was a visionary buyer, I would be more likely to buy impulsively when wowed by a brilliant idea and once wowed, the need to check out all the variables is not such a pressing concern. In fact if you took the time to go through the variables with me, it might put me off and risk the deal.

Learning point? 

If your role involves business development, develop your awareness of the typical buying behaviours. Some thinkers argue that there are 8, others that there are 5 (controller, follower, visionary, skeptic, thinker), but it's worth taking the time to read-up on a few of the theories because people's buying behaviour may well differ from their 'every-day' personality.

You do not need to become a psychological genius and in many sales transactions, there isn't time to analyse your prospect in such detail. That said, when you are aware of the tell-tale signs of each buying behaviour, you can then use this knowledge to adapt your process and presentation skills to meet the individual needs of your buyer, something which will improve the return on your activity.

Thanks for reading

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