Why do people buy?

Two things come together, a need and an opportunity.

People need what you have, and you provide the opportunity. This is the basic mix. The sales cycle can be speed up by offering enticing stimuli.

Cost savings over the competition, free product…

Skip, to your school yard comments, I never called the dialogue "a tiresome diatribe" ... it's your input which is off-putting.

Over a week ago, I sent you a PM suggesting that you and I should not "duke it out in front of the rookies". You've chosen a public vehicle to continue. I made my points ... you called me "wrong" ... I took offense because your background excludes B2B sales experience. Now you attempt to attangonize me in the forum.

If your unsubstantiated comments about B2B sales are left on-the-table, the forum risks losing the confidence of the participants.

I'd rather resign my position with the forum then have this continue. If you'd like to send me an email to close this without animosity, you know how to get in touch.

As before, I apologize to the participants for what is truly getting out of hand (I sent another PM today on the topic).

Good luck and Good selling!
Pat

Originally Posted by OUTSource Sales Skip, to your school yard comments, I never called the dialogue "a tiresome diatribe" ... it's your input which is off-putting. Over a week ago, I sent you a PM suggesting that you and I should not "duke it out in front of the rookies". You've chosen a public vehicle to continue. I made my points ... you called me "wrong" ... I took offense because your background excludes B2B sales experience. Now you attempt to attangonize me in the forum. If your unsubstantiated comments about B2B sales are left on-the-table, the forum risks losing the confidence of the participants. I'd rather resign my position with the forum then have this continue. If you'd like to send me an email to close this without animosity, you know how to get in touch. As before, I apologize to the participants for what is truly getting out of hand (I sent another PM today on the topic). Good luck and Good selling! Pat

Look, Pat, we disagree, okay? You're trying to support your position and I'm trying to support mine.

I have b2b sales experience in my background, as well as being the owner of my current company which sells b2b. For you to assume otherwise isn't appropriate.

The title to your post was "Tiresome Diatribe." Yet you continued to post a lengthy post in support of your position. Wasn't your post possibly a "tiresome diatribe"? What is the benefit of that kind of name-calling when all of us here at SP are trying to further sales knowledge in the community?

I have no animosity toward you. I respect you and I like you. You didn't agree with my early post in this thread about the overarching need that all customers have. That's okay, but I'd like to be able to defend my position, just as I think you and others should be able to speak to your position. I welcome that. You think I'm wrong. I think you're wrong. You accuse me of "schoolyard comments", I accuse you of wanting peace on this topic, yet wanting the last word.

By participating here at SP, we've ALL chosen a public vehicle in discussing these issues. You sent a pm to me last week suggesting we cool it, but you did so just moments after you posted one more defense of your position. That's a little disingenuous, I think.

I think we can have a healthy debate without getting personal, and I believe and hope that my posts haven't been personal in nature, but have indeed spoken to my point-of-view.

I forgot one thing in my last post: That will conclude my involvement in the discussion of this issue in this thread. Pat, (or others) you may have the last word. (I hope I remember I said that months from now!).

Skip

Originally Posted by Houston Why do you think people buy or why do you think your customers bought?

My belief is that every behavior, at a core level, is an attempt to avoid pain or gain pleasure.

People buy for one reason and one reason alone; they have a problem.

Problem- you're hungry Solution- you buy food

Problem- your car is a joke Solution- you buy another one

Problem- you hate the way you look in your clothes Solution- you buy a gym membership

People buy because they have a problem. Find the solution and sell the solution.

Simple and effective.


salespro

Originally Posted by Liberty My belief is that every behavior, at a core level, is an attempt to avoid pain or gain pleasure.

How would you explain facial tics and forms of compusive behavour such as continous stirring of a drink, repeatly using .."like.." or "..you know.." in conversation, or stuttering, etc, etc,?

People only make decisions for one reason:


To change the way they feel.

There is not one other reason that we make decisions. We dont change the way we sit on a coach except to change the way we feel.

Thats not my wisdome, I stole it of course

girlclozer, there is NO single motivator to buy. Anyone who portrays such broad sentiments is leaving the rookies out there with a misleading direction.

It might be accetable if you qualified the statement with, "in my experience" or "in B2C sales". But, even then, it would NOT apply in every instance.

It is my experience, that when a SR initiates the call with a pre-conceived notion (based on simplistic fundamentals), the call typically doesn't go well.

In B2B sales, the complexity of the sale frequently precludes any single person being motivated by emotion.

Interestingly, Salespro, people don't always make purchasing decisions based on having a problem. Again, to set out with the belief that "all I have to do is find their problem", will leave you seeking an alternate source of income. It's my personal experience that customers buy because they have needs vs problems.

For example, I sold a fairly large Xerox copier to FoodCorp because of a newspaper article which I'd read that morning detailing their profitability. We structured the sale around a lease with the intention of driving up productivity while hiding some profit from the taxman. If he'd had a problem ... it had nothing to do with what I'd sold him! If I'd been seeking problems, I'd still be at reception tyring to meet him.

It works MUCH better if you go into every call with a open mind (ie. not fixating on finding "problems"), probe to understand the business, listen, probe for needs, listen ...

Good luck & Good selling!
Pat

Ah but you just proved my point. Your client did make a decision to change the way he felt. Your client wanted the feeling that he gained by driving up productivity. The relief he felt from hiding some profit from the tax man.

Some things really can be that simplistic. If your client drives up productivity he then might look like a winner in front of his superiors or peers within his industry. Thats a DRIVING FORCE that makes people take action.

I stand by what I said as it is backed up by some of the great minds in the study of influence.

I worked with a man that once sold huge computers to major corporations. Once he broke past the limiting belief that his sales were all based on logic he doubled his income.