Doug Robinson – Robinson Training Solutions, LLC
If you sell person-to-person in the residential marketplace, you need to really pay close attention to this post. I read in USA Today where the PewResearchCenter did a survey of 1,260 couples (married and living together) on the question of “Who Makes More Decisions at Home?” Pew surveyed four decision-making areas; major home purchases, household finances, planning weekend activities, and TV watching. With a margin of error of + or – 3%, the answers were as follows:
43% – The Female
26% – The Male
31% – Jointly
These responses run counter to a lot of our societal beliefs. Women tend to be the real managers of the home. Although men want to be in charge in the workplace, they seem content to follow their female partner’s lead at home.
Age seems to play a factor, too. The older the couple, the more decision-sharing takes place between the spouses, according to the internals of the survey numbers.
Additionally when selling, it’s important to remember that every couple is different. You have to take into account factors like partner work status, age range, length of relationship, family culture, etc. to customize and tailor the correct approach.
Because of these factors, since most salespeople are not very good mind readers, it’s always important to ask questions when initially approaching prospects that will reveal something about their buying temperament in relation to who holds the purse strings.
As I read through this article, I paid special attention considering how much importance should always be put on presenting products and services to all the decision makers. These numbers reveal that 74% of the time (43 + 31), the female MUST be physically involved for you to close a sale. Whether she makes the decision herself or jointly confers with hubby, when she is not present and participating, you can’t get a final decision and won’t have a good outcome.
———————————————————————————————————————————————–
As a sidebar, you must remember that decision makers appear in different forms, depending on circumstances and situations. For example:
As a father to an early 30’s married daughter, I am often asked to weigh in on major purchases under consideration by her and my son in law. Because of my life experience, they ask for my input when they consider big ticket purchases and approach life-changing decisions.
If you, as a residential seller, don’t pick up on that while presenting your service to couples like them, you won’t realize that buying influences like me are a wild card that could make or break you and your efforts.
On the other hand, if you are an “adviser” to an elderly parent, any salesperson would be foolish to overlook or ignore that connection. The only way to close the deal is to be aware of and involve the additional party in the process.
———————————————————————————————————————————————–
So, how do you ask a prospect who should be involved with your presentation, considering this can be an awkward moment for you? It’s really very simple. Speak in a consultative and conversational manner and just ask a question something like this: “When my wife and I are faced with decisions concerning our home, we always decide jointly what we should do. Do you guys work together like that, or is just one of you in charge of making home-related decisions?”
The answer tells you what to do. If the response is “jointly”, and only one spouse is present, how much sense will it make for you to make a presentation at that time? With very, very few exceptions: husband overseas on active duty for the next year, wife in hospice with terminal disease, etc., the answer has to be, not much.
I realize that people are busier than ever and it can be very difficult to get them together for a presentation and decision. But the bottom line is that you’ve got to find a way to accomplish this. Here’s a suggestion:
“Since you folks say you make joint decisions, let me suggest that while I’m here today I’ll complete a thorough assessment and then I’ll then go back and put a plan together for your home along with the investment it will require to get that done. I’ll then return at a time when you both can sit down with me together for xx minutes, and lay it out for you and answer all your questions. At that point you can make up your own mind, fair enough?”
NOBODY WANTS TO BE PUSHED BUT EVERYBODY WANTS TO BE LED! An approach like this provides a game plan for the homeowner to follow that provides a gentle leading.
About the only negative you might receive would be when the spouse replies by saying that her husband asked her to call three companies to come and give their proposals and estimates that he can view later. You and I both know that all he will ask is the price, and your’s will never be the least expensive, so try this:
“You might not realize it at this point, but a professional assessment for ________ is pretty complex and involved. I feel really bad for you to have to listen to all this and then be responsible to convey it to your husband. So here’s a suggestion…” (go back to the above suggestion).
Regardless what you say to determine exactly who the decision maker(s) is/are, three out of four times the female will either drive the bus or work the pedals from the shotgun side of the vehicle.
If your sales reps need a confidence boost to help close more business, contact me here and let’s talk about how I can help by conducting sales meetings using Google+ video calls.
Doug
©2013 Robinson Training Solutions, LLC
