Why Your Customer Buys

By Brian Tracy

Why does your customer buy?  This is the most important question in selling. What benefits does he seek?  What is he attempting to avoid, achieve or preserve by buying your products or service?  Amongst the various benefits available to him or her, what are the tangible benefits and what are the intangible benefits?  A tangible benefit is something the customer can touch and feel.  It is something the customer can hold up and show to someone else.  A tangible benefit has very much to do with how the purchase is viewed by others, and is very important.  Describing the components and features of a product or service is how you point out to the customer the tangible benefits of purchasing and using it.

However, as we have seen, the intangible benefits are largely emotional.  They are concerned with pride, status, security, admiration and respect of others, and other factors that make the person feel happy that he or she has purchased what you are selling. 

A person who buys a Rolex watch will explain it to others in terms of its gold case, its jeweled Swiss movement, the fact that it is waterproof to 330 feet and the tremendous accuracy for which it is famous.  But none of these are reasons for buying a Rolex.

The real reasons, the intangible benefits, are the feeling of success, prestige and status that a person gets when he or she wears a Rolex in the presence of people who are wearing less expensive timepieces.  It is the unspoken statement that "I have arrived!" that the customer is making that causes him to buy the watch in the first place.

What are the tangible benefits of buying and using your product or service, and what are the intangible benefits?  What are the tangible and intangible benefits of dealing with you as a salesperson?  What are the obvious payoffs of dealing with you, and what are the not so obvious payoffs?

Now, here are two things you can do immediately to put these ideas into action.

First, identify the specific tangible benefits your customer will enjoy from ownership and use of your produce or service. How could you prove these to your prospect?

Second, identify the intangible, emotional reasons why your customer buys from you. How could you demonstrate and emphasize these benefits in your sales conversation?

Brian Tracy is a legendary in the fields of management, leadership, and sales.  He has produced more than 300 audio/video programs and has written over 40 books, including his just-released book "The Power of Charm." Special offer: To receive your free copy of "Crunch Time!, just visit www.briantracy.com and click on the Crunch Time! icon.  He can be reached at 858-481-2977 or www.briantracy.com.