Men Are on a Mission, Women Are on a Journey

As a general rule, men want facts and to make a quick decision; women want to explore the options for their soon-to-be décor

BY JASON ZULLO

When it comes right down to it, men and women often have completely different ways of shopping and purchasing. That means in order to make a sale today, you must react and respond accordingly.

Everyone is different, of course, and one of the most important things you must do as a salesperson is get a quick read on what the person wants and how you can give it to them. But if you make a conscious effort to complement the typical buying styles of men and women, you will sell more and have more repeat business.

Men Are on a Mission

Men are price and data driven. They want facts and they want them quickly. That means you need to be prepared with pricing information and facts as soon as you walk in the door. Don’t be caught off guard. Time is important to men. They have a starting point and an ending point, and their goal is to complete their mission as fast as possible and as reasonably as possible.

However, men have a weakness, and your best chance to make a sale is to work that weakness. In our business, we don’t deal with men as much as we deal with women. In fact, we deal directly with men only 10 percent of the time. Remember that the weakness of men is that they are almost always willing to do whatever it takes to make their wife happy. That means your target is the wife. Make her happy and the husband will thank you profusely.

Women Are on a Journey

Men might be on a mission, but women are on a journey. They want to take their time and smell the roses. Woman want to experience the entire process and live through it. Considering that 90 percent of the people we sell to daily are women, we really need to make sure we get this right. This means that color and style and texture are exactly what she wants to see, touch and feel. A woman needs to know that you’re OK taking this journey with her. She also needs to know that you’re offering a journey. This is not the in-and-out situation that men want and appreciate. This is all about her.

You may find yourself sitting on the carpet for an hour looking through different fabrics. Embrace that anytime you can because this is what she wants: a true journey that allows her to visualize her soon-to-be décor. If you give her the journey she deserves, she will most likely buy from you. Take the time to offer that and you’re more likely to make that sale. z

Jason Zullo is the sales coach for Window Covering World, an online training service. windowcoveringworld.com Facebook: WindowCoveringWorld Instagram: Window_Covering_World