How To Sell To Women
Restored from the Empower Network archive (2011–2017), lightly edited to meet our current advertising standards. Views are the original author’s.
I recently watched a training by a major automotive manufacturer on “How To Sell To Women.”
In the training, they referred to “The 7 Cs of Selling To Women.”
(I only counted 6)
Here they are:
1. Create a Culture of Caring.
2. Care for the Community. (Women love social causes.)
3. Comfort. (Make sure it’s a comfortable environment for her.)
4. Collaboration. (Don’t “close” women…collaborate!)
5. Commitment. (Make sure you go above & beyond.)
6. Consistency. (Do what you say by when you say you’ll do it.)
And the bonus tip: It’s really important to look a woman in the eyes.
My take?
Absolutely look me in the eyes. If you don’t, I won’t trust you. If I don’t trust you, I won’t buy from you.
Hold on, though – doesn’t it go without saying that you should look EVERYONE in the eyes?
People buy from those they know, like, and trust. Is there anyone out there that really trusts another human being who won’t look them in the eyes?
“Create a Culture of Caring” – What, exactly, does this mean. That I believe that you care about me, about earning my business? Yes, absolutely. If you don’t care about earning my business – if you treat me disrespectfully – I’ll take my business someplace else.
Ahh, excuse me – I’m pretty sure that men like to be treated as though their business matters, too. And doesn’t it go without saying that you should treat EVERYONE respectfully?
“Care for the Community.” – I’m neither more nor less likely to buy from you just because I know you support the local humane society or because you wear a LiveStrong bracelet. Men, chime in – does the support of a cause make you more likely to buy or is it a moot point?
“Collaborate – Don’t Close.” I hate a hard close. (It’s sort of like wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am) I love a soft close. (Maybe we call that “collaboration” now.) As far as I’m concerned, if you want my business, get me excited about your product – educate me, help me to see why I can’t live without it, paint me a picture, get me involved – once I take mental and emotional ownership of it, I’ll “close” myself. But, by all means, ask for the damn sale.
“Commitment.” I don’t need you to go above and beyond for me to buy from you. I’m not even sure what that is, really? Could just be common courtesy (which isn’t so common sometimes). If you do go “above and beyond,” that’s great. But if you do your job and engage me, I don’t need you to do anything fancy. You’ve done enough already.
“Consistency.” This is defined as “do what you say you’re going to do by when you say you’re going to do it.” I call that integrity. But either way, I’m an immediate gratification kind of girl, so – if it’s taken long enough for you to be “consistent” with me, I’ve gone somewhere else.
Here’s THE best advice on how to sell to ANYONE!
It’s one part “Golden Rule” (Treat others as you want to be treated) and one part Will Rogers:
“If you want to be successful, it’s just this simple. Know what you are doing. Love what you are doing. And believe in what you are doing.”
For more on how to sell anything to anyone from anywhere in the world, click here.