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Types of purchases depending on the type of customers. Main types of buyers

It can be seen that the same phrase, spoken in a similar situation, is completely ambiguous perceived by different people. The same manner of speaking can win the trust of one client and irritate another. The same style of work has a persuasive effect on one business partner and is completely unimpressive on another.

Each client has his own individual "handwriting" of the transaction. Some make decisions on the fly, others need to hear the same thing a hundred times in order to accept best solution. Some are best affected by logical arguments and concrete numbers. Others are more attracted to emotionality, and the logical presentation of facts is perceived as "of little interest."

One of the difficulties in the work of the seller is that he constantly has to communicate with people belonging to different psychological types. A professional manager simply cannot have a single "correct" communication option. The seller must have various tricks for different psychological types of the client.

When meeting with a potential client, be mindful of cues and physical features that provide insight into the person. Listen with your eyes and ears and be prepared to correct your opinion if necessary. Concentrate on highlighting the type of personality, and pay attention to "big strokes" without getting bogged down in small details. Remember that at least sometimes a potential client tries not to show their true nature, so don't be fooled.

Clients can be divided into four main types:

pragmatic

Friendly

Sincere

Competent

Pragmatic. They have strong characters, and their favorite slogan is "Closer to the point!". You deal with them first because they are impatient. The best words to describe such clients are bold, confident, competitive, and direct. This people results oriented.

Friendly. They assume that every meeting is a party, or at least that's how it should be. The words best describe them are friendly, helpful, emotional and outgoing. They are people oriented.

sincere. With this duet, you will not have complexes at your expense. They become a stabilizing force in any group they join. The words best describe them are steady, loyal, good listener, cooperative. Such people are called team oriented.

Competent. They are perfectionists by nature. They should have everything without a hitch. Words best describe them: circumspect, analytical, following instructions, and meticulous. They are quality oriented.


Keep in mind that every person has some of the qualities of all four categories. The best sales presentations are pragmatic, friendly, sincere and competent.

Before analyzing the nature of a potential client, you need to look at yourself. Which of the following words best describes you?

Table. Personality types

For a person working in the field of sales, service or consulting, when you encounter different people on a daily basis, it is fundamentally important to understand how to find an approach to each specific client. It's no secret that most managers oblige subordinates (managers, salespeople, promoters, consultants) to offer (read - impose) a product or service, regardless of whether the client asked for help or not. In most cases, such interaction with the client ends before it starts after the pattern exchange of stamped phrases “I can suggest something to you” - “No, thanks, I’m just watching for now.” Why is this happening?

It's simple - different people behave differently and want different things, so each client needs an individual approach. This article lists five main psychotypes of clients, I’ll say right away that there are many classifications of psychotypes of individuals and clients, in particular, but it is this classification that allows you to quickly, even without knowledge of psychology, determine which psychotype a particular client belongs to and gives an accessible algorithm of actions, how to work with this client and what to tell him.

5 main psychotypes of clients

1 psychotype. hypertim client

  • External characteristics: solid posture, raised chin, fashionable clothes and accessories. Loud, loves to show off himself and his retinue. It is immediately clear that this is a big boss with money.
  • Manners: immediately makes it clear that he is the boss here! Self-assured. In a good mood he jokes, in a bad mood he is capable of rudeness.
  • How to work: offer the most quality goods. Emphasize that such purchases are not affordable for everyone, and only very reputable clients, such as him, can afford them. Give compliments, ignore irritation and rudeness.

2 psychotype. Epileptoid Client

  • restrained, accurate, very captious and distrustful. Asks a lot of questions.
  • Psychotype Manners: chooses for a long time and very carefully, looks for hidden flaws and defects, communicates with the seller with pleasure and asks many questions.
  • How to work with this client psychotype A: Be patient and answer all questions. Show the product in full, give professional advice, show the advantages of the selected model. Be sure to convince him that such a quality product can only be purchased from you!

3 psychotype. Hysteroid client

  • External characteristics of the psychotype: fashionable super extravagant clothes, pretentiousness of behavior, increased emotionality.
  • Psychotype Manners: she enjoys going to shops to talk with sellers or to demonstrate her taste or financial capabilities to her friends. He talks a lot, rushes from one model to another. He tries to please everyone at once, including sellers.
  • It is this type of buyer who acquires insanely expensive and original models. Such people easily and willingly spend money. The more they see, the more they buy. Create comfort in communication, offer bright and expensive models. The phrase "Only such a connoisseur can buy this model" - for him.

4 psychotype. Schizoid client

  • External characteristics of the psychotype: discreet clothes, but original in color and style. Cold, aloof. He tries not to draw attention to himself.
  • Psychotype Manners: does not like to communicate with the seller. Only in case of difficulty seeks advice. He believes that he can impose a product. Ideally feels only in self-service salons.
  • How to work with this client psychotype: don't interfere! Unobtrusively bring to the desired showcase, use the comparison technique. Convincing him to buy is easier than the previous ones, but keep your distance from him. He should want to buy the goods from you. He needs to relax and go to normal human contact. A warm emotional wave guarantees a purchase!

5 psychotype. Asthenic client

  • External characteristics of the psychotype: modest clothing. He speaks as if apologizing. He is picky, does not know how and will not mind, even if he acquires an obvious marriage.
  • Psychotype Manners: shy to communicate with the seller and ask questions. Wants to buy as soon as possible, delivering as little hassle as possible. Not very sure of myself. Often dislikes himself.
  • How to work with this client psychotype: don't scare! Offer the product very carefully and unobtrusively. Show all the advantages of choice. He is afraid to take responsibility. Convince him that success is guaranteed. His purchase will not only bring joy to him, but also like his friends. If the buyer did not come alone, seek support from the accompanying person.

If your client is a company, it is very important to know who makes decisions in it. This could be a manager, a procurement agent, or a department head. The easiest way is to ask the secretary who is responsible for a particular area of ​​activity. Secretaries must know absolutely everything about their company.

After finding out the name and position of the right person, try to find out about his character, habits, hobbies, etc. The faster you determine the personality type of the person responsible for making decisions, the more fruitful your work with him will be. Your working methods should be flexible enough so that you can easily adapt to any type of personality. Never follow a pattern: by doing so, you will severely limit the number of customers you can serve. Even if you don't like the person responsible for making decisions, this is not a reason to miss the opportunities that cooperation opens up for you.

The classification is taken from the book "Difficult Clients - Dealing with Objections" by Svetlana Efimova and Arkady Plotnikov. By clicking on the link you can read the book online, or download it for free.

To work successfully in the field of sales, the manager has to solve many complex tasks: from recruitment and management organizational processes to pricing and promoting the product on the market. However, it is not enough to simply form a company that offers quality goods at attractive prices. Ceteris paribus, the advantage is the company that was able to find an approach to the buyer. When working with a client, it is important to understand what kind of person is in front of you, what are his needs, individual characteristics, character, fears and expectations. To simplify the work, the main types of clients are highlighted. There are different classifications, below we will talk about them in a little more detail.

Varieties of clients

Traditionally, there are several categories of clients. Each of them has its own recommendations.

Impulsive

Such a client is quick-tempered, tyrannical, easily irritated and prone to aggression. Often enters into disputes, and is so sure of his own rightness that he does not tolerate any objections. When working with an impulsive type, the main thing is not to break into the tone set by him, adhere to service standards, be calm and polite, maintain goodwill and a positive attitude.

You need to let him talk, to show that his opinion is really important to you. This will help establish a dialogue. During the conversation, try to focus on those aspects in which agreement can be reached, to operate with facts, not points of view. If contact cannot be established, optimal solution will not go into conflict, but correctly redirect the client to another employee.

Indecisive

In the conditions of a wide assortment, it is extremely difficult for such a person to determine his preferences. Having made a choice, he immediately begins to doubt it. He either likes the same thing or doesn't like it. It can hesitate indefinitely and leave with nothing. Timid and suspicious, he tends to look for flaws in the product.

When contacting such a client, one should show an unobtrusive initiative, guided by the principle of “do not frighten away”. his doubts should show confidence and certainty, show patience and firmness in his position. It is necessary to point out the benefits that the client may lose if he does not make a decision right now, demonstrate the merits of the product, backing up his words with an authoritative opinion, as well as reviews from other buyers, and reasonably respond to all objections.

Omniscient

Such a client believes that he knows more about the product than the manager, does not hesitate to demonstrate his knowledge, while trying to convict you of incompetence. When working with him, you should take the position of the escort, listen to the client's opinion, allowing him to play the role of an expert, ask questions, admiring his knowledge. Give facts about the product, using phrases like “as you know”, “you know”.

Talkative

This is an open person with a good sense of humor, a lover to talk on any topic, trusting and good-natured. It is disposed to contact with the manager, however, his words can remain only words. Be friendly, maintain a dialogue, but do not let it “spread”: when distracted by extraneous topics, return to the point by asking clarifying questions, more often of a closed type, seize the initiative, setting the client in a businesslike way.

Uncommunicative

In contrast to the talkative, this type is silent, gloomy and withdrawn. Completely absorbed in his thoughts, answers questions with restraint or ignores them. You should stir up such a client, starting with a detailed presentation of the product. Show friendliness and disposition, tell in detail about all the characteristics and advantages. Try to ask open-ended questions and wait for a pause for the client to respond.

Dissatisfied

This type sees everything in a negative light, gives the impression of a grump, is prone to criticism and, as a result, shows indecision. First of all, such a client needs to show that you are on the same side. Enlist his trust: support in his discontent, agree that everything around is a mess, difficult times and it is not clear where the world is heading, and then direct the conversation in a positive direction.

Conservative

He believes that everything is already good, does not trust changes, is afraid of everything new. The task of the manager in this case is to describe picturesquely all the benefits that the client will receive if he takes a step back from his position. Effective reception there will also be a reference to famous personalities and authorities.

positive attitude

The characteristic of this type boils down to the fact that this is someone with whom it is simply pleasant to deal with. In the manager, he first of all sees an assistant, shows interest, is set up for a productive dialogue, and is focused on purchasing goods. When working with such a client, it is important to be competent, to clearly answer questions asked, show competitive advantages goods and the company as a whole. This type is already involved, the main thing is to keep him.

Of course, this is not the only classification of customers in sales. Buyers are also divided into groups according to types of temperament, degree of loyalty to the company, mindset. However, this description includes the main behavioral aspects, which allows it to be actively applied in practice.

This description includes the main behavioral aspects, which allows it to be actively applied in practice.

Meanwhile, in order to successfully promote wholesale sales one should also consider what drives people in their choice. After establishing a positive dialogue, it is important to be able to offer a potential buyer exactly what he wants. After all, the desire of the client is the law.

Buying Behavior Motives

French J.F. Krolar proposed a model called SABONE, which includes 6 main motives that influence the behavior of buyers:

  1. Anxiety. An anxious client seeks to protect himself first of all. This motive corresponds to the need for security. Guarantees, company reputation, quality certificates, recommendations are important for such a buyer. Offering him a product or service, you should focus on its reliability. The product should create psychological comfort, inspire him with a sense of calm and confidence that the choice was made correctly.
  2. Greed. Such a client seeks to save money and will enthusiastically respond to discounts and various bonuses offered by your company.
  3. Novelty. There is a category of customers for whom novelty is perhaps the key purchase criterion. Even in the absence of a clear need, such customers make a purchase out of a desire to try something new. Novelty reflects the need for change, new experiences and experiments, which can be played on when forming a proposal. At the same time, the product must be really new, have original options, non-standard design and stand out among other analogues.
  4. Comfort. In relation to sales, comfort refers to those conveniences that are acquired along with the purchase of goods. This motive, as a rule, is guided by logicians, people with rational thinking. The goods or services offered by him should be easy to use, simple and have purely practical advantages: long shelf life (exploitation), size, delivery, additional service.
  5. Pride. For customers driven by this motive, the prestige of the brand, the uniqueness of the product, the ability to attract attention, arouse admiration are important. The purchased product acts as a ticket to the VIP zone for them, and therefore is evaluated only in terms of its impact on social status buyer. If you want to play on a sense of pride, then when promoting, it is these characteristics of the product that should be emphasized.
  6. Attachment. Such a client perceives only those arguments that are associated with his usual way of life. This is a commitment to a certain style, trademark or manufacturer. The proposed product should evoke an emotional response.

Novelty reflects the need for change, new experiences and experiments.

Eventually

Summing up, we can say with confidence that knowledge of the possible motives of behavior opens the door to understanding the true needs of a person. Consumer-oriented marketing is now becoming the choice of most companies. The manager should be not just a salesperson, but also a psychologist. After network organizations more and more employers arrange for their employees corporate trainings on which personality types and ways of interacting with each of them are studied. This is one of the most significant areas of building success.

Every salesperson dreams of an ideal customer - one who wants to buy a product, who has the financial ability to do so, and who is emotionally attuned to the conversation. However, in reality, it turns out that people are different and require a different approach. Someone is only interested in a proposal for the future, while someone is categorically not ready to spend money. Let's figure out what types of customers are in sales and how the seller should behave towards them.

From a business point of view

The transaction between the seller and the client involves the exchange of money for goods. From this side, 4 types of clients stand out:

  1. Has the desire and ability to buy goods. The seller must support the good mood of the client to buy, try to find new buyers through him.
  2. Has a desire to buy goods, but is unable to. In this case, the seller's task is to identify the cause of financial difficulties and offer an acceptable solution to the problem (installment plan, credit, discount).
  3. Has no desire to buy goods, but has the opportunity. The seller must do his best to convince the client, give a recommendation to the proposed product, and indicate the beneficial aspects of the purchase. You can motivate a potential buyer with an offer to temporarily use a product or service and later make a choice or promise a gift for the purchase.
  4. Has neither desire nor ability. For the seller in this case, the task is to change the mind of the client and provide additional privileges when buying.

Identifying a particular business type of a client is a complex process that should be taught to your staff at special trainings. understand by outward signs whether a person has money and a desire to make a purchase without asking a direct question is very important so as not to frighten off a potential customer.

It is very important to understand by external signs whether a person has money and a desire to make a purchase without asking a direct question.

From a psychological point of view

Each person is a person with his own set of qualities, emotions, feelings and desires. All these features largely influence the behavior of customers in relation to goods, managers or voiced. It is important to capture the psychological notes inherent in certain types clients and put them into practice. Emotional types of customers are divided into:

  1. Analyst. Such a person asks a lot of questions, evaluates, likes to check the facts, clarify, criticize. It can be identified by a quiet voice, a firm handshake, a remote location, restrained gestures. The seller needs to show his competence, speak to the point, argue arguments, and reason logically.
  2. Purposeful client. He does not tolerate mistakes and advice, listens carefully. It is determined by a loud voice, an interested look, sometimes unrestrained behavior. The seller needs to be concise in the presentation of the offer, confident in himself and his knowledge of the product or service, persistent. Offer such a client several options - he will appreciate it.
  3. harmonic client. Patiently listens, avoids conflicts, is not prone to officialdom. He has little interest in the features of the product offered, is very subjective, so the seller should always try to be friendly and open. To win over such a client, it is better to ask personal questions along the way, offer your support.
  4. Emotional client. He talks a lot, is positive, persuasive. Such a client is usually brightly dressed, has a loud voice and straightforwardness. He may not keep his promise to appear on or instantly make a decision without discussing the details. A salesperson needs a motivational speech, the ability to listen to the end and be confident.

From a behavioral point of view

The typology of customers in sales can also be formed on the basis of the behavioral characteristics of people. The Swiss scientist K.G. Jung in the first half of the 20th century developed a special scale that characterizes the decisions made by clients. According to her, people are divided into 4 types:

  1. Thinking. Focuses solely on objective facts when making a decision. Logic and impartiality are its main characteristics. When meeting with such a client, the seller should choose neutral tones in clothes and look neat. It is worth presenting factual information, statistics, figures first, and only then talk about benefits, merits and other emotional components.
  2. Feeling. Man-mood, listen carefully to the seller, subjective. For this type of client, on the contrary, it is preferable to first state positive emotional moments. commercial offer and only then be guided by numbers and indicators. A soft tone, bright interesting details in clothes and speech are welcome.
  3. Decisive. For him, the most important thing is the result, so he asks a lot of questions, clarifies. The seller in working with such a client is strongly recommended to be obligatory, punctual, and clearly formulate his thoughts. Describe the result that the client will achieve with your participation.
  4. Receptive. Every little thing is important to him, he can easily switch from one issue to another. He can take a long time to make a decision, stretching the “pleasure” of the process and exhausting the seller. The latter requires a lot of patience and care to please the client. Use in the context of the words: business, landmark, flexibility, question.

It will not be difficult for a professional seller who has complete information about the typology of clients to find an individual approach to each of them. Convincing a person of the expediency of a purchase is a multi-stage process in which there is a place for facts, emotions, special gestures and facial expressions. By increasing the knowledge of managers about customers and their types, the company is able to reach a very high level income.

In sales, there are two approaches to potential customers. I called one "Soviet", the second "capitalist". These are my own definitions and may not be the same as others.

Soviet - this is when you need to sell to everyone who came to your store or office, called or wrote. To do this, you are given 50-80 types of customers that exist in sales, you learn how to identify them and how to work with them.

This method is taught by most sales coaches.

But there is another way

I called it capitalist. At the initial stage, even before the sale, you select those customers with whom it is interesting and pleasant for you to work. You attract them and ... sell, in this case there are already much less than 4 types, a maximum of 10. And, accordingly, it is already much easier to work with them and sales only grow from this.

Here I will tell you about these 4 types and features of working with them in this article.

Why you need to know about customer types in sales

To begin with, let's try to figure out why you need to divide customers by type at all, maybe you can do without it.

Let's imagine a situation where your customers are all people around. This is what most entrepreneurs think when you ask them this question.

Let me give you an example from the life of networkers.

They are told so - your customers are everything: your relatives, friends, neighbors, in general, everyone who surrounds you and even those whom you see for the first time in your life. All these people need our product, they just don't know about it. And when you tell them about the opportunities, they will drop all their business and ... become your partners and clients.

If you have ever met people from this industry, then you might also notice - they always make an appointment without saying what it will be about. Or rather, not even like that, they never say what we will talk about at the meeting. And when you try to ask leading questions, they try to get away from the specifics and by any means try to set the time and place and your presence.

Sometimes they don't even need it, they come to you on their own.

What happens at the meeting?

Right from the first words, they start their script to sell their idea and product.

They explain how cool they are, how they earn money without doing anything, and so on. And how well you will also live if you ... register, buy, make a contribution.

And they are very offended when you refuse. Well, they spent their time making a presentation. They gave you opportunities that no one else in the world gives. This is what they think, although every network company provides all this.

Then they begin to take offense when relatives, friends and acquaintances stop greeting them and go to the other side of the street, just not to meet. Otherwise, they immediately start selling to you.

Unfortunately, most entrepreneurs behave like these unfortunate networkers. The difference is small.

A buyer enters an office or a store and they immediately start selling him. Oh, yes, sometimes they may ask what he wants? And without listening, they continue to sell - whether he needs it or not, the third thing.

It is quite a different story when an entrepreneur has been trained in sales training or has trained his salespeople.

After training

A potential buyer enters the office or store

  • the first step is a greeting and the beginning of a dialogue;
  • the second step is to determine the type of client, remember you were given 40-80 different types;
  • step three - adjustment to the so-called "wave" of the client. Communicate in the same manner, repeat gestures, use the same or similar words. Even your clothes should be in harmony with appearance client;
  • the fourth step is making a sale or closing a deal.

Yes, it turns out, as if it were easier, if not for one thing, but - you need a super professional salesman who will remember all types of clients and the features of working with them, and you won’t find such people in the afternoon. And when you find them, they have such requirements ... that you will swing

"capitalist" version

first step- before recruiting potential clients you study your target audience. Article "" to help you. (will open in a new tab)

second step– determine the type of clients that suits you best and

Take the third step– invite exactly this type of customers who have shown interest in your product. Read the article "". (Opens in a new tab)

Fourth step– work with interested clients, maximum 4 types. They already want to buy your product, you just need to give them the opportunity to pay and ... that's it.

It is this option that gives the maximum increase in sales.

But before selecting clients, I will tell you about important evaluation criteria.

5 evaluation criteria

John Mendocha (John Mendocha) found a way to select from the general mass of possible customers the most promising. Keep 5 criteria for identifying interested customers, you can use them and add your own.

They have enough money to buy

I will give an example from my practice. At a construction exhibition, a director approached me construction company with the question: “Why do we have imperfect mortgage lending instruments in Crimea?”

“Why are you doing this?” I asked in response.

  • well, 90% of the clients who come to us are without money. And if they could get a mortgage, then...
  • I understand you, but explain to me one thing - why do you invite clients without money?

The director could not find what to answer and sent me to his head of the marketing department to resolve this issue.

One more example

Shop for sale mobile phones and laptops attracts potential customers by distributing leaflets by promoters. The leaflet lists the most minimum prices. Leaflets are distributed to everyone in crowded places: transitions, stops.

People seeing, say, headphones for 49 rubles or a flash drive for 160 come to the store for them. The director requires sellers to "lift" the purchase to a smartphone or laptop. Arguing the possibility of obtaining a loan right on the spot.

But the percentage of purchases is negligible, it’s hard to sell a smartphone to someone who comes for the cheapest headphones.

This problem was solved very in a simple way– Placed advertisements for medium-sized smartphones and laptops in flyers. That is, they began to attract targeted buyers with money, for whom it was easier to increase the purchase price.

It's really hard to sell to someone who can't buy.

They have a problem that needs to be solved urgently

People shop on two occasions

  • when they experience pain, this is a comparative concept, for example: when a person breaks his leg and he urgently needs a doctor, he will go to the nearest one. He won’t sort it out - it doesn’t suit me; his office doors are of the wrong color, but he doesn’t like this one. He needs to eliminate the pain.
  • when they want to have fun - a great example is the gaming business.

If your prospects don't have either, the deal won't go through.

By the way, in order to eliminate pain, a person will make a purchase faster and more willingly than enjoy it.

They love your unique selling proposition

When your business first enters the market, ask yourself the question: why would people want to buy this particular product from us and not from our competitors?

Develop Unique Trade Offer that will answer questions

  • What features do we have that our competitor's products don't?
  • what benefits will the client get by buying from us and not from others?
  • can we give such guarantees, which were not there before?

They have the right to decide

Example from practice:

In the furniture industry, construction, as for interior decoration and design, women often make the choice, and men pay. This must be taken into account.

There was a case when a woman ordered a kitchen to her taste, and her husband refused to pay, he said we don’t need this. As a result, almost a week of time, which required the preparation and development of the layout, went into oblivion.

Often the same problem occurs in the b2b sector. If you're selling to someone who isn't authorized to say "yes" without the involvement of a senior executive, then the deal is in jeopardy.

Your offer is acceptable to them

If a patient is offered a brain or heart operation, then, as a rule, he will agree only if it is impossible to continue living without it. That is, the operation - one can say - last chance. Your product should not require additional sacrifices or uncomfortable conditions from the client.

Select clients using these criteria and work with them, the rest ... set aside in the work base for later.

4 types of customers in sales and how to work with them

Nick Reese divided clients into 4 types.

The main types of customers in B2B sales (sales between organizations)

And here is a similar scheme for the B2C sphere.

Freeloaders

You will recognize them by their characteristics.

  • demanding;
  • insolent;
  • trying to get a product or service at the cheapest rate;
  • and even better for free.

Discount Lovers

Not far from the freeloaders, constantly looking for various promotions in order to purchase a product at the lowest penny price.

  • greyhounds behave, trying to knock out the maximum concessions from the seller;
  • willingly take advantage of extortion and threats, including hidden ones, if this helps to achieve a price reduction;
  • Will go, almost everything, just to get a discount.

Almost every entrepreneur stumbles upon such clients at the start of a business, and tries to get rid of them in the future.

Seekers

The golden mean - customers who are in constant search for the ideal - "price - quality".

  • the proverb “time is money” is not an empty phrase for them.
  • they are respectful of your time and theirs;
  • have an idea of ​​what and how much it costs;
  • think about how to get a first-class result by spending a minimum amount of time on the search.

An idol among all types of clients for business, for almost any

Result Focused

They appear when you are the best in ... your city, region, industry

  • have money;
  • promising;
  • demanding, I would even say too much;
  • but, the money received from this type of clients with a handicap compensates for all the inconveniences that they bring during the work with them.

This type of client is easier to maintain. You won't see trouble from this type. Seekers appreciate and love you as their supplier.