Why People Don't Buy Things: Five Five Proven Steps To Connect With Your Customers And Dramatically Improve Your Sales

As any experienced salesman knows, if an individual or group prospect has substantial objections to buying from you that are not smoked out and resolved in your favor, you will lose the sale.... Why people don't buy things is as important a factor in individual and group purchasing decisions as why they do buy things.

"As any salesperson knows, if you handle a prospect's objections to buying, you often close the sale. Of course, it's not that easy, thanks to hidden objections and other obstacles. Harry Washburn and Kim Wallace ease the job here by offering new insights into objections prospects tend to raise, as well as how to address them." -Mark Henricks, American Way

Based on twenty-five years of research and practice, and featuring dozens of case examples, Why People Don't Buy Things offers a systematic approach to understanding customers' motivations and tailoring the entire sales strategy to fit the customer's buying profile.

"Why People Don't Buy Things picks up where positioning leaves off. Washburn and Wallace take the mystery out of the selling process and offer an innovative method for converting skeptical consumers into loyal customers." -John C. Ferries, former President-International, D'Arcy Masius Benton & Bowles

It is grounded in excellent theory, yet it presents the information in a simple manner that is easy to understand AND easy to implement.

The book focuses on two areas:

1) Know where your customer is in the buying cycle. a)Is he committed to do something yet, or not. b)Is this a repeat of a prior purchase or not? c)Is he evaluating alternatives? d)From whom will he buy the product or service selected? e)Is the price right?

2) Different personality types buy in different manners. The book describes three types. a)Commander (take-charge, action-oriented leaders) b)Thinker (logical, analyze details, and like knowing the answers), and c) Visualizer (practical, intuitive, see things as they are).

A buyer is interested in certain information at each STAGE in the buying cycle. Additionally, each personality prefers to receive their information in a different manner. By recognizing the buying stage and the personality of the buyer you are trying to persuade, you can choose the most compelling arguments to make every time. This will avoid 90% of the turn-downs other salespeople get when trying to close a sale.

I have read other books classifying personalities into 9 or 16 types. Other authors define 8 or 11 stages of a sale. By using 5 stages in their DREAM sales cycle, and 3 personality types, I think Washburn and Wallace have done salespeople a GREAT service. These categories are well defined, easy to identify, and easily utilized to increase sales with their strategies.

Readers looking for more advanced strategies in these areas can try Kerry Johnson's "Sales Magic" and "Selling the Way Your Customer Buys" by Marvin Sadovsky and Jon Caswell. However, I feel Washburn & Wallace's "Why People Don't Buy Things" has the ideal mix of quality content which works, is easily digested, and implementable. I recommend it wholeheartedly.