Understanding how buyers behave will give you greater knowledge in the sales process and therefore make you better equipped to convert the sale.
People generally buy for two reasons: Objective reasons Subjective reasons.
You will need to satisfy both.
What influences someone to buy? Individuals will buy some products or services to satisfy the basic physiological needs e.g. to satisfy hunger and thirst, to be free from pain, injury, for security, safety reasons etc. or because they have to comply with the law. These are the objective reasons why people buy.
However, it is not always simply a question of needing or wanting a product or service to serve a specific purpose or to satisfy that basic physiological need that stimulates an individual to buy. The buyer will also be asking other questions about that product and service. They will buy for subjective reasons.
These subjective reasons are personal based and are referred to as the psychological reasons involved in buying.
For example, if you are buying a car you need the car to get you from A to B; you may also need it to be a certain size to carry a certain number of individuals. These are the objective reasons for buying. However, your decision to buy a particular model or make, or to buy from a particular garage, will also be based on subjective reasons.
The subjective reasons or psychological reasons could be:
- Will this car suit my lifestyle?
- Will it make me look good in the eyes of my peers or superiors?
- By buying this car what statement am I making and is that the right one for me?
- Does this car fit with my role as a director, father, mother, husband, wife etc..
Let me give you another example. I was working with a theatre whose box office staff had to sell tickets to group buyers. The group buyers want good discounts - the objective reason for buying. But the group buyer also wants to book a show that is popular and one that everyone in his party will enjoy. If he does, he will come away basking in the warm glow of being credited with that success--this is the subjective reason for buying. So the box office staff have to satisfy the prospective buyer on both fronts: that he is getting a good deal and that his party will enjoy the show.
Whether it is a product or a service you are selling, you need to understand why people buy - both the objective and subjective reasons.
The subjective or psychological reasons for buying a product or a service can be summed up as follows: - to give pleasure - to give a sense of satisfaction
- to feed and raise self esteem
- to satisfy and feed an ego
- to reinforce group identity - to give a sense of belonging
- to satisfy the need for power
- to satisfy the need for recognition
- to satisfy the need for approval
- to satisfy the need for respect
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