In order to effectively sell a product or service, 
you must connect with your potential customer and present the product or service in a way they appreciate. The best way of doing this depends on how the customer makes decisions. Here’s how to adapt your selling strategy for five different types of decision makers.
- The Easily Excited: Undersell to Build Trust
Easily excited decision makers quickly become enthusiastic about new ideas that grab their attention. They may be said to be attracted to “bright and shiny objects,” or almost anything new and novel.
Getting passionate decision makers to actually commit to a purchase may be challenging. Along with acknowledging their enthusiasm of products and services, try to slightly downplay the items by including risks as well. This will show customers that you’re grounded in reality and help for them to trust in your opinion that much more.
- The Thinker: Let Them Draw Connections
Thinker decision makers like to think about their purchases -- and they like to think a lot. They usually don’t make emotional decisions, instead focusing on data and facts.
When selling to a thinker, emphasize information over emotions. Let them draw their own conclusions but make sure they have enough knowledge to make an informed decision.
- The Skepitic: Highlight Your Similarities
Skeptics question almost everything and they’re especially suspicious of anything that differs from their own opinion, knowledge and experience. They also are not afraid to share their objections.
You can instill trust with a skeptic by not directly contradicting them, because they believe they’re right. Showing as many similarities as possible will also suggest you’re alike and they, therefore, can trust what you say.
- The Cautious: Show Previous Success
The cautious decision maker wants to be sure their decision will be the right one. They’ll delay making a choice until they see strong evidence.
Help the cautious come to a conclusion by sharing past success stories. These may be in the form of references, testimonials, case studies or similar methods.
- The Investigator: Provide Expert Information
The investigator wants to come to their own conclusion. In order to do so, they’re looking for the best information available. They want accurate, comprehensive information presented in an orderly way by an expert.
You don’t need to have every answer for an investigator decision maker. Provide answers when you can, but let them know the limits of your expertise. If they have a question you can’t answer, say so and offer to find out for them. This will ensure they have solid information and they’ll come to respect what you have to say.
Reach Decision Makers with Inbound Marketing
To learn more about reaching all of these types of decision makers with inbound marketing materials, download our free guide: Jumpstart Your Inbound Marketing.
