←back to Blog

4 Reasons Why People Buy – Part 2

Yesterday, I started a post about selling and sales, and why people buy. Today, I am going to list the 4 reasons why people buy and talk a little bit about the selling process. Ready?

People buy for all kinds of reasons, and despite numerous studies on the subject, no one has actually nailed down what selling skills or tactics work the best. But, the following reasons have been documented in many studies:

1. Expertise – The achieved level of skills and knowledge possessed by an individual. In other words, people buy from people they believe to be experts.
2. Empathy – The ability to identify and understand some one else’s perceptions and feelings. Translation – people tend to buy from people they perceive to be like them.
3. Enthusiasm – The passionate interest in a subject or eagerness to do something. The more pumped you are, the more people tend to buy from you.
4. Ego – The appropriate level of a person’s idea of their importance or worth. Ego really is a critical factor that can either help or hinder your sales progress.
Now, the degree to which any of these factors plays a role in your client’s perceptions can vary throughout the sales process. For instance, at the beginning of the sale, when first meeting the client, too much enthusiasm and/or ego can be a turn-off. It is important to gauge the client’s reactions and adjust.

So focus on the Client

In order for your client to come to a mutual understanding of needs and possible solutions, you have to first determine their needs. From the initial contact, keep your client involved through questioning techniques and active listening skills. You do this through the entire sales process, or the stages of selling.

Now onto the stages of selling

Each step of the sales process goes hand-in-hand with the stages of the process that a client goes through when they are making a buying decision.

  • Need – The client has a need you can solve.
  • Proof – You have to prove to the client that you can solve their needs; build credibility in your company, in your product or service, and in you as the person performing the task.
  • Risk – The client feels a perceived risk; will the cost be worth the benefit? Will it be what they wanted?

You add value by how you sell

You aren’t simply selling a new bathroom or lawn service; you are establishing and building a lasting relationship. That relationship is based on matching the benefits you the contractor provide to your client’s needs, and by adding value through the way you sell. Your relationship with your clients depends to a large degree on how they perceive you, as well as how they view your proposed program. So brush up on your selling skills, learn how to read your prospect and always treat each sit as if it were the most important to your business…because it is!

These 2 posts are from my ebook on selling for contractors. If you liked these posts and think you might benefit from the rest of the guide and other training materials, you can check it out here.

 

4 responses to “4 Reasons Why People Buy – Part 2”

  1. Don Ogden Avatar
    Don Ogden

    Very interesting. It seems to me that price has become the driving force (at least in business to business sales). Don’t get me wrong, I have several relationship based customers. The balance of the customers are viewing building materials as a commodity.

    I appreciate you blog because I share it with my customers. I want them to see me as more than a truss salesman. How do I achieve that-? When I can pass along sales advice, technology advice, etc…

    1. Darren Avatar
      Darren

      Hi Don,

      Thanks for stopping by and commenting! I agree…price has been and always will be a driver for some. But take for example the simple act of financing. 5 years ago, home owners treated their homes like ATM’s and contractors thrived because the HO was flush with cash and ready to buy. Today, people are more guarded because money is tight and the bank (their home) has dried up. Simply by offering to arrange (or put them in contact) with a financing source could be used as a value add that helps you close deals. As you stack features and value adds onto the program, it becomes harder and harder for the HO to say no.

  2. Sam Bradley Avatar
    Sam Bradley

    Darren,
    From an overall view, by the time you make your first face to face ‘sales call’ the customer is already on touchpoint number four or five, (they have seen your ad, talked to a friend, checked out your website, and made the initial phone call). Your ‘expertise’ has met their minimum threshold or they wouldn’t have called you.

    The sales call is where you show your ’empathy’ by understanding that the problem they bring you is NOT the real problem. It’s your job to figure out what that problem is by letting them talk at least 70% of the time. Once you determine the solution to their real problem, price becomes less of an issue, because you will be offering something different than all the other people are.

    1. Darren Avatar
      Darren

      Hey Sam,

      Yeah, I don’t disagree, but that list isn’t a sliding scale or process that people move through, it just shows that people buy for those reasons most of the time, and more often than not, independently of each of the other reasons.