The four-trillion-dollar market you cannot ignore

The four-trillion-dollar market you cannot ignore

Posted By Troy White On December 31, 2009

In this issue:

• How to immediately double your sales to women entrepreneurs …
• Increasing your odds of a sale by 700% …
• The #1 thing women buyers look for in your business that most men completely ignore …
• And Much More!

Fellow Business Builder,

In celebration of International Women’s Day coming again in March, let’s talk about women.

More specifically … selling to women.

I love women! I am surrounded by them – between my wife and my twin daughters – I am seriously overrun. I love every minute of it, though.

Some of the best entrepreneurs I have ever worked with are women. And a significant percentage of my clients are women. Right from day one in my business, I knew that I was determined to become a better salesperson, and I specifically wanted to sell more to women than I had in my past career. (I sold million-dollar computer systems – and they were mainly sold to men.)

Selling to women is an entirely different ballpark than men. Women think, act, and buy based on different criteria than men.

And they are also the biggest buyers out there. If you are not selling directly to women, the odds are high that a woman is influencing the final purchase decision the man is being asked to make.

You must sell to your customers in a way that they want to be sold to. Trying to force them to buy from you “your way” will not work, and you will very quickly develop a very bad reputation for your sales techniques.

How challenging is this?

Well, a little story will help clear this up …

A man is walking along the beach in California when God speaks to him from the heavens. God says, “You’ve been a good, hardworking man all your life, so I’m going to grant you one wish.” The man immediately replies back, “I have always dreamed of traveling to Hawaii or reaching a beautiful paradise like that – filled with all the lush rewards it has to offer. But,” he adds, “I really don’t like to fly. I would like you to build me a bridge so that I can drive from here to Hawaii. Would you build me that bridge?”

God replies back, “Even for myself, that’s a monumental task. All the architecture, design and building of a bridge that large … the concrete … the structure … the planning. It has to extend miles and miles across the Pacific … isn’t there something else, maybe a little easier, I could grant you?”

The man thinks about this for a minute, “Well, I’ve always wanted to have a much better understanding of women and how they think. Could you help me with that?

“OK,” God says, “How many lanes do you want on that bridge?”

As silly as this story is, us mere mortal men out there have a tough time understanding the females we live and work with.

Many men, no matter what level of success
in their businesses or career, will agree
that selling to women is not something
that comes natural to us.

Even successful sales professionals that are women will agree that it is completely different (and more difficult) selling to women than it is men.

Men like to just get to it. Decisions are made quickly … and are done in a fairly methodical way. We like to solve the problem, close the deal and move on. Women are not so cut and dry in their decision making process.

Take the shopping mall, for example …

Many men, like myself, love to have one thing in mind that we know we are buying (we already know the exact color, and approximate price). We will park right next to the store we are shopping at. We walk in; go straight to the row with the goods we want. We look for about three nanoseconds, make sure it is the exact make and model, and we take it to the till to buy (maybe try and negotiate the price along the way).

Don’t get me wrong, we love to buy things … just HOW we buy things is different than our female counterparts.

Women have a little different way of shopping.

First, they can make an entire day-long adventure out of shopping. They love to browse and wander from store to store looking for that “perfect” thing to buy. They may have their friends involved in the trip and the purchase decision. They demand more input, expect more attentive service people, want more selection, require more thorough follow-up, and expect a very pleasurable experience when making their decision.

When you can sell successfully to women,
you will over-deliver to men.

The #1 problem that women notice much more than men … the sales experience does NOT match the marketing experience. It is not about making nice, pretty, softer, marketing materials focused at women … then waiting until they enter your sales system to hit them with your aggressive sales strategies.

Adding pink to your marketing is not the way to win …

Here’s how to double your sales to women business owners …

Impress them and they will buy twice as much from you. 86% of all women business owners surveyed by Working Woman say they will use the exact same products in their office as they do in their home.

So, if you give them the experience they want and deliver high-quality products and services to back up your claims, they will not only stay loyal to you for years to come, they will also double the amount they buy from you.

Men typically buy based on an educated decision.

Women typically buy based on an educated consensus (not meaning they won’t make a decision by themselves, but that they need to feel much more comfortable with all the information they have on you and your products than men do). They are not big on the hard close, the one so common in traditional sales training.

Think about their feelings.

Women buyers make decisions much more based on the intuitive feelings they have about you and your business. This is tougher to do through long copy sales letters.

So, I highly recommend you use video and audio on your websites and sales campaigns.

You can include videos and audio CDs with sales packages that go out – and the multiple media approach will drastically help your odds of a sale.

Men buy based on a very logical progression through the sales presentation – women do not. This is not the time or place to say “buy it my way, or else …” They will gladly take the “or else” option.

Think about the relationships.

What I mean here is not only the business relationship you will be forming with her, but also the relationships in her life that this purchase will impact.

If you are selling products or services that impact her business – talk about the people in the business and how they will be positively impacted with the use of your product or service.

If you are selling products or services that are put in the home – talk about how it will impact and change her home life for the better, and how her spouse, kids, and friends will enjoy the benefits as well.

The LAST thing you want to be doing is spouting off “feeds and speeds” of your products – that is how MEN buy, not women. It is important – but not nearly as important in the buying cycle as it is for men.

Think about what they have to say,
not what you want to say.

This is a real challenge for sales letters and reports – UNLESS you have done your research and have already found out the common problems, complaints, needs and desires.

Your ability to listen is critical here.

Put together questionnaires and surveys. Have open Q&A teleseminars. Find ways to touch base with your potential buyers and listen to what they have to say – and uncover the real reasons they buy or don’t buy.

I remember a few years ago, Kari and I went to a car dealership to look at a new vehicle for Kari. This was her decision on the car – and we made sure we told the sales guy this fact.

He was too stupid to listen to this fact and kept talking to ME, completely ignoring HER. I told him again, “This is her decision, talk to her,” and he couldn’t wrap it around his thick skull.

So we walked out and took her business to someone who actually had a brain and could listen to what Kari wanted. He made money on the deal – sales guy #1 is probably still out there completely ignoring the person who has the real buying power, the woman of the house.

Think about the factors that impact their life
outside of this buying decision.

The context you choose to present your offer in is critical. My wife, Kari, helps run my business, runs her own business, makes sure our house is kept in order, and looks after our twin daughters. If it was up to me, it would all be in complete disarray!

Women are incredible multi-taskers, and you have to recognize this in your sales process. Talk to their life, and the challenges they face in their life, and then you are talking their language.

Find ways to help them come to an agreement

You don’t close a deal with a woman buyer. You can, and it does happen. But, if you do it improperly, they will soon regret what you did and will immediately get a refund, and/or tell every single person they know that your business is NOT women friendly.

NOTE: Women immediately recognize, by a 3:1 ratio, those companies who market specifically to women. And … this is key … by a 7:1 ratio they will go far out of their way to buy from businesses who DO market specifically to women (in the right way).*

You need to BE that one company who gets this, and caters to women the way they want to be catered to. This can immediately boost your sales by 700%!!

(* Working Woman research study)

Some of the ways you can help their decision making process:

1. Give them space. They are not impulse buyers as much as men. So don’t push the close as hard. Give them the proper follow-up they will want – again, not pushing as much as you are used to.
2. Share with them testimonials of other women buyers. NOTE: a sales letter for a product of mine instantly DOUBLED conversions to women as soon as I put a video testimonial right at the top of a women client who sang my praises. It took two minutes to do – and resulted in 200% more sales. Simple, but effective.
3. Make sure that everything you have presented to her IS in her best interest. We all get caught up in our sales pitch, and, at times, may promise things that are not all that important. This can cost you significantly in selling to women. Promise to deliver what they want – then make sure you DO deliver what was promised.
4. Use multiple media to stay in touch if they decide not to buy right away. Birthday cards. Handwritten thank you cards (a rarity these days). Special event invitations. Audio CDs. Video DVDs. Teleseminars. Customer appreciation events. Do everything in your power to give them lots of opportunity to meet your other clients and alleviate any concerns they may have.

When you get this right, you have a
fantastic viral marketing machine in place.

Women love to talk to their friends and family about pleasant buying experiences. Be the one that delivers it to them, and you will quickly see a landslide of new, highly-qualified buyers at your door.

This article could turn into a book as this is so important for all of us to understand. I do not claim that this is everything you need to know about marketing to women, but should be considered a good starting point to a new sales process.

The opportunity for you is incredible here, but you must make sure you do it properly.

If a woman buyer visits your store or website and you are noticeably pretending to be women friendly, they will run as fast as they can. But, if they happen upon your business and you obviously know how to sell to women, they will buy again and again from you.

Do your homework and give them what they want.

Please let me know your thoughts, and if you have any further topics on this you would like to see discussed.

To your success,

Troy White
Editor, Small Business Mastery
Supplement to THE TOTAL PACKAGE

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A Final Note:

If you have specific subjects you would like addressed, or have any comments on what you have seen here, please submit a comment below and I will see how I can help.

“Don’t wait. The time will never be just right.”

–Napoleon Hill

Attribution Statement: This article was first published in The Total Package

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