Slide 1

Addressing Needs of
Individual Personalities

Selling LAP 112


Slide 2

Objectives
Identify types of customer personalities.

Address different types of customer
personalities.


Slide 3

Objective
Identify types of customer
personalities.


Slide 4

• Everyone
We adjust has
to personality
a unique
differences
personality. and treat
• people
How is accordingly.
yours different from
• Successful
salespeople:
your best friend’s?
 Identify customer
• Personality
differences
personality
typesday.
surround
us every

appropriate sales
 Use
At home
techniques
 At school
 At work


Slide 5

Importance of Customers
• Customers are important to
salespeople’s success
because of:
 Current purchases
 Future purchases

 “Word-of-mouth”
communication

• They expect quality and
service at a fair price.


Slide 6

Customer Personalities
• Personality—specific combination
of distinctive traits and qualities
• Influences buying decisions
• Contains both good and bad traits
• Contains motivations from needs
and wants
• Includes influences from
customer’s lifestyle
• May change over time


Slide 7

Six Customer Personality Types
• Decisive customers
 Know exactly what they want
 Make purchase decisions
quickly
 Don’t take a lot of time
to browse
 Are direct and businesslike
 Will often straightforwardly
ask for what they want
“I’ll take the prime rib, medium rare, a baked
potato with sour cream, and bleu cheese
dressing on my salad.”


Slide 8

Six Customer Personality Types
• Impulsive customers
 Make decisions quickly
 Shop leisurely
 Like to browse
 Ask few questions

 Like purchases to be
noticed


Slide 9

Six Customer Personality Types
• Fact finders
 Look for information
 Like to see variety
 Often comparison shop


Slide 10

Six Customer Personality Types
• Practical or frugal customers
 Are very cautious with
their money
 Want the best possible
value for every dollar they
spend
 Like the simple,
uncluttered life
“Are you sure this muffler is
guaranteed for the life of my car?”

 Dislike experimenting with
new products


Slide 11

Six Customer Personality Types
• Informed customers
 Do their research on
products beforehand
 Are confident about their
choices before even
coming in contact with
salespeople
 Spend for quality
because they want the
best

 Are often trendsetters


Slide 12

Six Customer Personality Types
• Difficult customers
 Can appear in many shapes
and forms:
 Disagreeable
 Dishonest
 Domineering/Superior
 Slow/Methodical
 Suspicious


Slide 13

Identifying Customer
Personality Types
• Find clues in:
 Actions
 Body language
 Conversation
 Appearance
• Remember that appearances can
sometimes be deceiving!


Slide 14

Objective
Address different types of
customer personalities.


Slide 15

Successful Selling
• Every customer deserves
special attention and care.
 Empathize with their
problems.
 Give a personalized
touch.
• The better you serve your
customers, the better you
serve your business.


Slide 16

General Guidelines
for Handling All Customers
• Show a sincere interest in
meeting customers’ needs.
 See the buying situation from
their points of view.
 Give them as much time as
they need.


Slide 17

General Guidelines
for Handling All Customers
• Develop a sales vocabulary.
 Tailor
Use clear,
meaningful
language
to individual
phrases.
customer.
Use positive-sounding
 Avoid
technical terms.
such as:terms,
 words,
Avoid negative
 Theas:
customer’s name
such








You
Cheap
Value
Failure
Save
Risk
Love
Deal
New
Difficult
Safe
Liable
Truth
Flimsy


Slide 18

General Guidelines
for Handling All Customers
• Build two-way communication
with the customer.





Listen.
Observe actions.
Ask questions.
Maintain positive attitude.

• Personalize product to satisfy
customer needs.


Slide 19

Guidelines for Handling Specific
Customer Personality Types
• For decisive customers:
 Listen patiently.
 Suggest substitutes with
caution.
 Serve quickly.
 Be tactful.

“Your order will be ready soon, Mr. Young.
May I bring you coffee or tea while you are
waiting?”


Slide 20

Guidelines for Handling Specific
Customer Personality Types
• For impulsive customers:
 Serve quickly.
 Give brief answers.
 Close sale rapidly.

 Treat courteously.


Slide 21

Guidelines for Handling Specific
Customer Personality Types
• For fact finders:
 Provide information.
 Show a variety of products.
 Emphasize manufacturer’s
claims.
 Exhibit confidence with tact.
 Suggest care techniques.
 Be specific.


Slide 22

Guidelines for Handling Specific
Customer Personality Types
• For practical or frugal
customers:
 Stress the value of
the product.
 Demonstrate the
product if possible.
 Support your
statements with
hard proof.
 Don’t exaggerate.


Slide 23

Guidelines for Handling Specific
Customer Personality Types
• For informed customers:
 Serve quickly and
efficiently.
 Reassure of value.
 Know what facts they still
need to learn.

These are by far the
best value we have in
speaker systems.


Slide 24

Guidelines for Handling Specific
Customer Personality Types
• For difficult customers:
 Remain calm and courteous.
 Do not become defensive.
 Consider it a challenge to help
them.
 Accept minor points of
disagreement.
 Try to find a way to compliment
them.
 Get your manager for further
assistance if necessary.


Slide 25

• Impulsive customers
may make bad
purchase decisions.
• Are salespeople
obligated to stop them?


Slide 26

MarkED
Acknowledgments
Original Developers
Christopher C. Burke,
Sarah Bartlett Borich, MarkED
Version 1.0
Copyright © 2008
MarkED Resource Center


Slide 27

Copyright:
All photographic digital images on this CD are owned by
the aforementioned photographic resources or their
licensors and are protected by the United States copyright
laws, international treaty provisions, and applicable laws.
No title to or intellectual property rights to the images on
this CD are transferred to you. These sources retain all
rights and are not to be used, digitally copied, transferred,
or manipulated in any way. To do so is a violation of
federal copyright laws.


Slide 28