Not all buyers are the same.
That may sound like an obvious statement but it’s an important one.
Why?
Because all too often, when people sell, they treat buyers as if they are.
They take a one dimensional approach.
We talk to them in the same way. We share information in the same way.
And yet each buyer is different.
Some are Red types. Some are Blue. Others are Green whilst many are Yellow.
What are you talking about James I can hear you say.
Let me explain briefly what this means and why it is so vital for selling.
Thomas Erikson is a Swedish behavioural expert who wrote a brilliant best selling book called ‘Surrounded by Idiots’ which I encourage everyone to read.
The concept behind it is simple.
Within our lives we meet different types of people who display different characteristics and ways of operating.
- Reds are ambitious, boisterous, and commanding.
- Blues are quiet, analytical, and precise.
- Yellows are social, creative, and optimistic
- Greens are calm, reliable, and considerate
Based on these traits, each one will respond differently to a sales approach.
Red buyer’s will want less detail and less chit chat. They can be somewhat macho in their approach and so trying to baffle them with details will more likely hack them off than warm them to you.
Yet if you are dealing with a Blue buyer and you are light on sharing facts on how a solution may work then be very wary. Their trust of you and your ‘boisterous and blustery’ sales approach will just not work.
When you are dealing with buyers, it’s critical that you try and assess the people you are engaging with and then match your approach based on their style.
The video below shares more details but if you don’t spare the few moments to watch this, then the essence is simple.
Do not treat every buyer in the same way.
They are different and the skill of selling is being adaptable.
Brilliant salespeople will use a different approach to each person they engage with.
They are able to spot the different styles when they meet different buyers and adjust in order to get the right result.
They match the right person with the right action.
And in return, they get better results.
So when you are considering recent losses or conversations that didn’t go the way you wanted them to, have a think about this.
Did you take into account what type of person they were?
What style they might have been and how you engaged with them?
If you heed Erikson’s advice and adjust the way you approach different buyers then your chances of success will improve.
