Customer Purchasing

Behavior/the Buying
Process

Major Faux Pas Results in

Lost
SellingSale
overseas (or to foreigners visiting the U.S.)

demands a high degree of cultural sensitivity. Steve

Waterhouse, affiliated with Waterhouse Group of
Scarborough, Maine, learned this lesson the hard
way. He had been courting a Tokyo-based meeting
planning company for six months. Finally, he
arranged a meeting with the companys
representative who was attending a national
convention in the U.S. What breach of etiquette by
Mr. Waterhouse resulted in the loss of a $100,000
sale?
Source: Selling Today, by Manning and Reece (10th ed., p. 40)

Im Looking for a New

Computer

John is a salesperson for Micro Solutions, a

retail business, that sells personal computers
and related products and services. John is
about to meet and greet Alex who is in the
market for a new computer. What should
John know about Alex and how he is likely to
make a computer purchase decision?

Your Price Is Too High!

Martha is a sales rep for Central Hibreds.

The seed varieties she sells typically sell at
prices that are in the upper quartile for the
market. What can Martha do to deal with the
high price objection from a customer?

What You Gonna Sell?

Susie calls on buyers for distributors who

resell her companys products to their
customers who are the end users. Should
she emphasize end user benefits to her
buyers?

Trivia Q
Recent surveys of prospective ISU students reveal
which of the following is reported as the most
important factor to them in selecting a college?

a)
b)
c)
d)

e)

Reputation, respect of the school

Use of progressive technology and career opportunities
Diversity of experiences and choices for majors
Extent to which the school seems to provide a fun,
welcoming, supportive environment
Extent to which the school offers challenging courses

Buyer Decisions

Salesperson Implications

Why buy?

How to present?

What to buy?

What to offer?

How to buy?

When to sell?

(=> often difficult)

(=> need to be a buying

facilitator)

Types of Buyers and

Purchaser
Aspect

Organizational Buyer

End User Buyer

Purpose of purchase

Organizational use/benefit or
resale (by distributor)

Personal use/benefit

Buyer

Often a group

Individual

Purchase factors

Product specifications
Technical factors
Rational criteria

Brand reputation
Personal recommendations
Emotional criteria

Decision time

Often lengthy

Usually quick

Alternative situations

1)
2)
3)

First-time
Straight rebuy
Modified rebuy

1)

2)
3)

Habitual, low cost,

experiential
Variety seeking
Complex, high cost

Source: Reece & Manning

Every customer is a highly unique and

complex human, yet there are many things
customers have in common when it comes to
buying:

Buy from people they like

Buy from people they trust
Want to feel secure and important
Naturally suspicious of salespeople
Want proper chemistry or human relationship
Respect and acceptance must be earned
Propensity for loyalty if treated well
Expect technical competence and professionalism from
salesperson
Many factors involved in their buying decision, any one of which
can become the deciding factor
Buy to satisfy a need (for a reason)

Specific Reasons People Buy:

Economic
Psychological
Sociological
Practical (impractical)
Rational (irrational)
Factual (emotional)
Attitudes, opinions, feelings, beliefs

More Reasons Why People

Buy
To Increase
To Make
To Reduce

Sales
Profit
Satisfaction
Confidence
Convenience
Pleasure
Production

To Protect

Investment
Self
Employees
Property
Money
Family

Money
Satisfied
customers
Good
impressions

To Improve

Customer
relations
Employee
relations
Image
Status
Earnings
Performance

Risk
Investment
Expenses
Competition
Worry
Trouble

To Save

Time
Money
Energy
Space

Maslows Hierarchy of Human

Needs & Sales Implications
Need

+s Gained

-s Avoided

Physiological

Health, comfort,
ease, pleasure

Sickness, displeasure,
discomfort, inconvenience

Security

Safety, protection,
stability, confidence

Worry, loss, danger, fear

Social

Acceptance, popularity,
attention, compliments

Rejection, dislike,
criticism, embarassment

Esteem

Pride, prestige, recognition

worthiness, success

Failure, inadequacy,
guilt

Self actualization

Creativity, growth,
Accomplishments, potential
Contributions, independence

Boredom, dependence,
unfilled potential,
restraints

Some Non Traditional Buying

Motives
Conspicuous consumption or status effects:

Snob effect:

Lavish spending for the purpose of displaying wealth or

social status; preference for buying increases with price.
Desire to buy something nobody else has; preference for
buying increases with rarity or scarcity.

Bandwagon effect:

Desire to buy something everybody else is buying;

preference for buying increases with perceived popularity.
Note: These effects are anomalies within D theory that
normally assumes individual preferences are independent
of price or other consumers decisions.

Sell Value

Buyers want product solutions that add value

which means a salesperson needs to:

Sell benefits (and solutions)

Be product experts
Be able to develop product packages tailored to
individual customer needs

Motivational Selling
=

Discovering what the dominant

buying urge is (often hidden) and
tailoring the sales presentation to
address that drive.

The Buying Process

1.

Problem/need recognition
Real or imagined
Customers often unaware there is a better way . . .

2.

Information search
Extent depends on
- Cost and risk
-

Sources

Frequency of purchase
Style of customer
Level of trust w/salesperson

- media (print, broadcast)

- public agencies
- friends/neighbors
- salespeople

The Buying Process

3. Evaluate alternatives
like info search, extent varies
salespersons role
clarify info
correct misconceptions
explain nuances, details, benefits
4. Purchase & evaluation

Multiattribute Evaluation Model

of Alternatives

A buyer views a product as a collection of

characteristics, attributes or benefits. A
buyers overall assessment of a products
performance rating x the buyers importance
rating for each benefit associated with the
product.

Alpha Computer Multiattribute

Evaluation Example
WANT

IMPORTANCE
WEIGHT

PERFORMANCE
RATING

BENEFIT
POINTS

Reliability

20

Weight

16

Size

24

Speed

21

Internal Memory

18

Monitor Display

10

Keyboard

Service

21

TOTAL

135

Computer
Brand

Tot. Benefit
Pts.

Cost

Value (Benefit
pts.
Per $ Cost)

Alpha

135

1,050

0.13

Beta

150

1,100

0.14

Delta

120

1,150

0.10

Multiattribute Implications for

Salespeople

Brands the customer is considering

Attributes or benefits being considered as

well as their relative importance to the
customer

The customers performance rating of each

product on each dimension

Alternatives for influencing a

customers perceived value of

your
product:
performance
rating of your product

performance rating of competitors product

or importance rating

Add an attribute previously not considered

price

Purchase & Post-Purchase

Observations
Let the buyer make the uncoerced purchase decision

The purchase decision is rational to the buyer (i.e. expect to gain

more than they give up)
Post purchase dissonance often sets in:
Doubts/wonders:

Right thing to do?

Smart buy?

Need justification, reinforcement (e.g. ads, others)

Post purchase dissonance often caused by:

Misunderstanding
Miscommunication
Misuse
Unrealistic expectations
Positive post purchase evaluation
Enhanced by salespersons presence
Is the 1st step in the next sale

Product Adoption/Diffusion
Customers vary by how quick they adopt a
new product or new idea
Categories

Innovators (first 2-3%)

2.
Early adopters (next 13-14%)*
3.
Early majority (next 33-34%)
4.
Late majority (next 33-34%)
5.
Laggards (last 15-16%)
*often opinion leaders (i.e. good farmers, community
leaders, influential, etc.)
1.

Sales Quotes: Buying

Process/Purchasing Behavior

When dealing with people, remember you are

NOT dealing with creatures of logic, but with
creatures of emotion. (Dale Carnegie)
People dont buy services, products or ideas.
They buy because they have imagined how
using them will make them FEEL. (The One
Minute Sales Person)
Sell the sizzle, not the steak. (Elmer
Wheeler)

Sales Quotes: Buying

Process/Purchasing Behavior

A chain is only as strong as its weakest link.

Likewise, a salespersons performance will
only be as strong as his or her weakest step
in the selling process.
It takes confidence to make a buying
decision. But how can a prospect have
confidence in you, your product, and your
company unless you first have that
confidence? (Sales Upbeat, Feb. 2, 1995)

Sales Quotes: Buying

Process/Purchasing Behavior

Selling is information. Selling is finding out

what the customer needs. (Wililam Devaney,
Pres., Stanley-Vidmar)
One job of a salesperson is to help people
buy.
Most people readily agree that they love to
buy things, but hate to feel sold. (Mike
Bosworth, Solution Selling, Inc.)

Sales Quotes: Buying

Process/Purchasing Behavior

We would like the business card of sellers we

train to read Buying Facilitator. (Mike
Bosworth, Solution Selling, Inc.)
I am the worlds worst salesperson; therefore,
I must make it easy for people to buy. (F.W.
Woolworth)
We dont SELL you tires. We help you BUY
tires. (In-store ad, Tires Plus)