Sunday 31 August 2008

PEOPLE BUY WHAT THEY WANT, NOT WHAT THEY NEED!

A notably successful ad from the past shows a hung over man who takes an ‘Alka-Seltzer’ and walks away looking refreshed and invigorated. For salespeople the question should be what did the man buy. An ALKA-Seltzer many will reply. Those with a little better understanding may realize he bought the product of the product, relief from discomfort. This product of the product or PRINCIPLE BUYING MOTIVE is often referred to as the buying NEED. There is however a more powerful buying motive, even deeper than the need, that is the all-important... SECRET BUYING MOTIVE. This ‘secret’ is what the customer REALLY wants. The man in the ALKA-Seltzer needed relief but wanted to be able to feel good and get on with what he wanted to do or achieve.

Many will still argue that people only buy what they need… a question, how many TV’s do you have in your house… or how many pairs of shoes do you own? If shoes were invented for foot protection and we can only wear one pair at a time why do we all have so many pairs? Because we WANT... cool feet, fashionable feet, sporty feet, smart feet, corporate feet, golfing feet, formal feet, outfit coordinated feet, or in other words we are really buying social acceptance. In the case of TV’s, we may need to occupy the children or get away from the ‘what we watch argument’ with our spouse and still many will still say… I need a second TV, however, what they really want is the ability to take control of what they watch.

When salespeople understand that customer’s inner wants are far more powerful motivators than their perceived needs its…

“YES SIR, PRESS HARD, THE THIRD COPY”S YOURS”

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