1. Addressing Needs of Individual Personalities
Typecasting
Addressing Needs of Individual Personalities
Selling LAP 112

2. Objectives Identify types of customer personalities.
Address different types of customer personalities.

3. Identify types of customer personalities.
Objective
Identify types of customer personalities.

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

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.

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

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.”

8. Six Customer Personality Types
Impulsive customers
Make decisions quickly
Shop leisurely
Like to browse
Ask few questions
Like purchases to be noticed

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

10. “Are you sure this muffler is guaranteed for the life of my car?”
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
Dislike experimenting with new products
“Are you sure this muffler is guaranteed for the life of my car?”

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

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

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

14. Address different types of customer personalities.
Objective
Address different types of customer personalities.

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.

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.

17. General Guidelines for Handling All Customers
Develop a sales vocabulary.
Use clear, meaningful phrases.
Tailor language to individual customer.
Use positive-sounding words, such as:
The customer’s name
You
Value
Save
Love
New
Safe
Truth
Avoid technical terms.
Avoid negative terms, such as:
Cheap
Failure
Risk
Deal
Difficult
Liable
Flimsy

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.

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?”

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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.