Helping Sales Understand Customer Buying Decisions, Part II
"Shorten your sales cycle & increase your win rate through competitive excellence"
Editor’s note: Stu Schlackman is a frequent contributor to this blog.
In Part I of a four part series, Stu reveals the Obective reasons that customers buy. In Part II, he addresses Subjective reasons for customer purchases, while Part III and Part IV detail the personality styles that drive buying decisions.
It’s not what people buy, but why they buy. Your customer’s personality style is a key to understanding the buying decision. A customer has business reasons and personal reasons to seek a new product or service. Additionally, both objective and subjective factors are assessed as the customer decides whether to buy and frpm which seller. By understanding how the different personality color types influence these decision criteria, you can influence the decision to buy.
Subjective reasons to buy
There are always significant subjective, personal factors affecting the decision to buy or not, to wait or buy now. The following situations such examples:
- Will it ease the pressure on my position and my team?
- Will I get a promotion or a bonus if it turns out well?
- Will it help employee moral?
- How will I be viewed by ‘xxx’ in making this decision?
- How will our position change in regards to our competition?
- Will it improve the quality of the work environment?
Stu's Four People You Should Know
Subjective buying-decision criteria
Cost, service, quality, capability and risk can be analyzed and assessed. In themselves they are objective factors which can be quantified, at least to some extent. But how a customer responds to these can be subjective. Subjective factors that affect a decision to buy, and when to buy, also include:
- The customer’s relationship with the sales person. Whether or not trust and respect are established. Were these effectively built through the sales process?
- How comfortable is the customer with the proposed product solution, as contrasted with how comfortable they were before the need arose?
- How authoritative is the salesperson? Have they understood the business and personal needs of the customer?
- The customer is buying from not only the sales person but the company they represent. What is the reputation of the company? In popular culture is it considered one of “the good guys?”
Personality
- Blue = Quality & Service
- Orange = Cost & Service
- Green = Capability & Quality
- Gold = Cost & Risk
Let’s explore more specific responses in Part III of the four personality styles to the business reasons and decision criteria we have identified thus far.