When a salesman meets a customer for the first time, he doesn’t have much information about his attitude and perception. However, knowing things about customers is really important as this helps you to devise a perfect way to talk to the customer and influence him effectively to buy the product. You don’t have these insights into the customer’s behaviour while meeting for the first time, which may prove to be a weak point for you in winning the customer. But there are some generalised concepts that can help us quickly make judgements about the nature and behaviour of the customer. Read on to know them as having the right knowledge that can prove to be a game changer for you.
Table of Contents
- Observing The Customer
- Judging from age and occupational characteristics
- Judging from the line of sight, speech, and behaviour
- Judging from the relationship between consumers
- Clothing
- Gender distinction
- Final Words
Observing The Customer
The speciality of the salesperson’s profession requires them to have keen observation ability. They should be good at inferring the psychology of various consumers from the appearance, speech and behaviour of consumers, correctly judge the consumers’ intention and hobbies, and provide targeted reception.
Pay attention to let the customer say something every now and then. Pay attention to their psychological expectations, personality characteristics, qualities, and experience. Stay at the same speed as the other party. After 2, 3 minutes, find the customer’s interest area and guide the conversation accordingly. Strive to make customers remember their unique characteristics, not the company, not the product. Let them feel that you are showing them the product that is best suited to them based on their own unique characteristics.
Judging from age and occupational characteristics
Different consumers have different needs for goods. Generally speaking, the elderly pay attention to convenience and practicality. Middle-aged people pay attention to practicality and beauty; young people pay attention to fashion and beauty; workers like affordable products; farmers like durable products; intellectuals like elegant and generous products; and literary and artistic people like unique Products. When consumers approach the counter, the salesperson can infer their age from how they look and can ask them what they do to know their occupation. This will help them to recommend products in a targeted manner.
Also read: Sales Promotion Strategies For Modern Times
Judging from the line of sight, speech, and behaviour
The eyes are the windows of the soul, the language is the expression of the mind, and the behaviour is the reflection of thinking. From the consumer’s speech, behaviour, and facial expressions, we can further understand consumers’ needs and purchase motivation, attitude, and personality. Consumers who are quick-acting and quick-spoken are generally bold and open-minded. For such consumers, salespersons should promptly recommend products for them and quickly conclude transactions. When choosing products, consumers who are slow to move, pick and compare, and hesitate generally have a submissive personality and have poor independence. For such consumers, salespersons should be patient and thoughtful, help them choose, and explain appropriately to prompt them to make a purchase decision.
Judging from the relationship between consumers
When consumers go to the store to buy things, especially when they buy many high-priced goods, most of them come together. When shopping, they often have different opinions due to their personal characteristics and different interests and hobbies. To receive such consumers, the salesperson must understand the following:
- Who is the payer? Sometimes it is more important to meet the wishes of the payer.
- Who is the user of the product? Sometimes the user has a decisive effect on the selected product.
- Who is the expert among them? Since the “expert” is familiar with commodities, although he is neither a user nor a payer, he plays a major role in selecting commodities.
- Who is dominant among them? Every family has a person who is more dominant and all other members listen to him. Sometimes the dominant person may be the payee, but at other times he may also be the user or the expert.
Based on the above observations the salesman can decide whose opinion will matter the most and therefore the salesman should focus his efforts on that person.
Clothing
Be familiar with the goods in your store and clearly know which clothes are suitable for what kind of customers, so that each piece of clothing can be remembered in mind. It is the most difficult to grasp the customer’s psychology. We can determine what clothes the customer wants through the customer’s wear when entering the store and browsing after entering the store. Increase your knowledge related to your work and about customers and learn to make professional suggestions so that customers can choose clothes that can make them feel satisfied with themselves and with friends around them.
Gender distinction
Due to the differences in the physical and psychological development of men and women and the different responsibilities and obligations they bear in the family, there are great differences in purchasing and consumer psychology.
Male consumers: Male consumers generally have clear goals before purchasing goods, so their motivations are formed quickly during the purchase process, and they have strong confidence in their choices. When several purchase motives conflict, they can also deal with it decisively and make decisions quickly. In particular, many male consumers are unwilling to “care about everything” and do not like to spend a lot of time choosing and comparing. They generally emphasize the utility and physical attributes of the goods, rarely buy impulsively, and rarely return goods. Because of these characteristics of male consumers, salespersons should actively and enthusiastically recommend products, and introduce in detail the performance, characteristics, methods of use and effects of the products to facilitate the rapid completion of transactions and meet the psychological requirements of male consumers for speed.
Female consumers: In the purchase process, female consumers are easily affected by emotional factors and the environmental atmosphere. An advertisement or a scene of a group of people rushing to buy may trigger an impulsive purchase by female consumers, especially young female consumers. The phenomenon of regret and return after purchase is more common. Simultaneously, female consumers pay more attention to the appearance and beauty of products and pay attention to the practicality and specific benefits of products. When buying goods, it is required that the goods are perfect, conform to the social trend, and value the goods, and their own interests must be satisfied from the goods’ practicality. This is why female consumers go from east to west stores, constantly picking and picking and unable to make a purchase decision. Therefore, salespersons need more enthusiasm and patience when receiving female customers and provide more thoughtful and meticulous service; don’t rush to make a deal, give them enough time for selection and comparison to satisfy their truth-seeking psychology.
Final Words
All the above mentioned strategies for observing customers are based on psychological understanding of general customer behaviour. These are generalised theories and may not apply exactly in each and every situation. Salesmen should use these guidelines to improve their general understanding of customer behaviour. This understanding would definitely help them to improve their performance and win more customers.