During the sales process, women have a longer list of wants and are voracious information seekers. So no matter how trivial or irrelevant her question may seem to you, answer it.
Some salespeople think they are helping women customers by keeping conversations focused on what matters– trying to be efficient and maybe even considerate of her time. But if your response to her question is, “Well, that’s really not what’s important here,” you’ve lost the sale and offended the customer.
If she says it’s important– and if she’s talking about it, that’s what she’s saying– it’s important.
Selling to Women Requires You to Understand Your Competition
One area I’ve heard several women comment on it salesmen’s unwillingness or inability to answer questions on how the product compares to the competition.
When my friend Pam was shopping, she asked one salesman, “Why should I buy this car instead of that competitive make and model?” She took it as a given that anyone doing due diligence on such an expensive purchase would compare several options. In her mind, she was giving the salesperson an opportunity to showcase his product’s advantages. His answer?
“You just can’t compare the two.”
“Why not?” she pressed.
Again, he said, “You just can’t.”
This salesperson lost the sale because he didn’t know his competition as well as she did– and he tried to make her feel dumb for asking a perfectly reasonable question. Interesting sales strategy.
Contrast that experience with the next dealership where they were prepared to answer the same question with details on their product’s advantages compared to the competition– newer engine design, more headroom, slightly better gas mileage, and so on.
To women, research and data are key elements to finding the Perfect Answer. So, please, make sure to answer her questions thoroughly.