SOLUTION 5
UNDERSTAND THE DECISION-MAKING PROCESS
When customers make a decision to purchase a product or service, they generally follow the same process: need, choice and commitment. your job is to help your buyers to define their need, consider the best choices, and make a commitment.
a decision is the process that leads to a selection from among variables
DECISIONS, DECISIONS, DECISIONS
Each day is filled with hundreds or thousands of decisions, most of them small and inconsequential with the odd life changing one thrown in:
• ‘Should I go to work today?’
• ‘Which way should I drive to work today?’
• ‘Should I buy snack before going into the office?’
• ‘Where will I have lunch?’
• ‘Should I ask for a raise?’
• ‘Should I leave a little early?’
• ‘Should I apply for that new job?’
BREAKING IT DOWN
Let’s take as an example the decision to stop for a snack before going to the office.
Identification of a need You decide that a cake is just what you need.
Criteria You want a pastry rather than a sponge cake, but you don’t want to travel out of your way.
Research You consider the cake shops on your route.
Analysis The Co-operative supermarket has a range of French pastries.
Choice You arrive at the Co-op. More decisions!
BE READY TO HELP WHEN HELP IS REQUIRED
While buying a boat or a car is a much more complex decision than buying a pastry, the actual process is similar. Identify the need, develop the decision criteria, do the research, analyze the research, and make choices. With complex decisions, such as buying a boat, there will be dozens of choices involving a variety of criteria – finances, dock location, number of passengers, typical use, speed requirements, and so on – and that’s when the guidance that a salesperson can offer is invaluable.
How often have you visited a home superstore, only to find that you are on your own when making a selection or finding a product? Is it really possible that all the shop assistants can be on their break at the same time leaving customers to fend for themselves? It is for this very reason that many customers often prefer to shop in independent retail stores, where help is so much easier to get when it is needed.
some customers are more comfortable making decisions on their own, while others will be looking for help