Different approaches should be taken when selling products or services to a man when compared to a woman. As they say that men are from mars and women from Venus both of them think very differently and hence, their thinking should be influenced by different methods.

For example, when a man decides to buy a car he looks out for the latest model, speed, mileage, etc. But when a woman goes out to buy a car she will choose a car depending on the color. She would like it match it either with her work dress or accessories like watch and will be concerned whether there is enough space to store her necessities. Because their psychologies differ so much, they should be convinced to buy a product using different methods.

Presentation is also very important. The salesperson talking to a male client doesn’t have to concentrate much on looks and cleanliness. It is okay if he doesn’t have the required documents on hand and his sleeves are folded up. But when the same salesperson is referring to a female client, he should be spotless from head to toe. He should comb his hair properly, have manicured nails and even his shoes should be well-polished. The salesperson should be prepared with all the necessary documents before hand and shouldn’t go rushing in front of the customer. Women seek perfectionism.

Words should be spoken with extra care in front of a woman customer. Women are better listeners and they will analyze each spoken word. A lot of emotion should be involved in the talking because women are drawn to emotions immediately. Like when selling clothes to a lady, tell her how you will feel bad for her if she has to sweat badly in the summer due to her nature of job. Pick a nice cotton dress for her and ask her to try it. The customer will be highly touched and will take less time to buy the product. Seventy five percent of the job is done if she is won emotionally.

Next important point is to never stop talking in front of the female customer. The moment the salesperson stops talking, she will start thinking deeply about the product and will start examining every detail of the product and will give a second thought to the product. Women have the capability of multi-tasking. They will be able to listen as well as read the manual at the same time. So keep her involved into many things at a time. A man lacks the talent of multi-tasking. If a male client gets involved with something else, stop speaking immediately because he will be unable to concentrate on both the things and it will lead him into a confusion state.

Another point to be taken care of is, it’s not a good idea to have a woman salesperson when a male client is to be handled. Women talk a lot and men are bad listeners. The woman salesperson will go on and on about the product and the man will just nod his head without getting any meaning out of it. They will not able to express properly whether they are getting the point or not. But on the other hand, a woman client can easily express how much she has followed. Even if they don’t speak it out, her facial expressions will tell it all. So when a salesperson is dealing with a female customer, he or she should watch out for the client’s expressions. If she shows any state of confusion or dislike, try taking a different approach.

Men clients can be made to understand about the product by simply drawing the outlook of the product using a simple pen and paper. Men have a good capability of visualizing the three dimensional images of the product which is being referred to. But women are not so good that. To present a clear picture, the sample or the actual product should be shown to her.

Complimenting a male customer is a very good idea. He will be over whelmed and will take it in a good sense. But a woman is a careful listener, so any compliment should be given with extra care. Any fake compliment will be immediately detected.

Now let’s not fall into the old style car salesman’s trap of believing that men are interested in what goes on under the bonnet and women are only interested in what colours you can get and whether it has a vanity mirror. Believe me, and I speak as an ex mechanical engineer, I couldn’t give a toot what goes on under the bonnet. I’m much more interested in driving a car that matches the rest of my accessories. You know-silver car – silver watch – silver hair. Mind you, I draw the line at one of those little four-wheel drive jobs with the yellow wheels and pink upholstery. I’ve seen a lot of men driving these fluffy little things and don’t tell me they all belong to the wife or girlfriend. “Four-wheel drive off roaders”-they probably couldn’t pull you out of bed.
Anyway we all have male and female customers and clients and they do need different handling. If you want to be successful at selling or negotiating with someone of the opposite sex then please be aware of the differences. Firstly, be you male or female, you’ve got to look the part. Women will look you all over, men won’t. Women will notice whether you have shiny shoes and clean fingernails, men won’t notice if you have on one brown shoe and one black or if your fingernails are bitten up to the elbow.
I once interviewed a lady for a job and I didn’t notice she had different shoes on. Turns out that, in her rush to get to the interview she slipped on two black but certainly different shoes. However my female colleague noticed right away and thought the whole thing quite amusing.
If you are a man negotiating with a woman, be very aware of what you say because women listen much better than men, they pick up on emotions. They will pick up much better on whether you really believe what you are saying. Also, make sure you keep talking, don’t stop just because the woman starts examining the product or reading the literature. Women can multi-track, they’ll be listening to you even although they’re taking the product apart or writing something in their diary.
A warning to a woman selling or negotiating with a man, he can’t multi-track. If the man starts doing something else, stop speaking until he’s finished. If you don’t believe any of this then just consider a time when you’ve watched TV with your partner. Men stare at the television giving their whole concentration to the programme while women read a book, paint their toenails and watch the programme. Men haven’t the foggiest idea how women can do this.
It can be difficult for a woman negotiating with a man because men don’t listen well. They listen like statues and it’s difficult to tell whether you’re getting through. They probably are listening; it’s just that they don’t show it. Women on the other hand tend to display their emotions so you have much more chance of understanding whether they are happy with what you’re saying or not.
Salesmen need to be careful when describing something to a woman. Men are more able to visualise something in three dimensions. Women are more likely to visualise in two dimensions. Far better to show a woman the actual product rather than a drawing or a plan.
Women when they see the product are more likely to be influenced by its colour and its smell. The reason for this is simply because women can distinguish colours better; they also have a better sense of smell and taste than a man. Just watch a woman in a supermarket buying wash up liquid. She’ll very likely take the top off the bottle and sniff it. Men see no reason to do that at all; lemon, pine or fruity, what’s the difference when you’re only washing dishes? With their better sense of taste women are much better at tasting wine and food than men.
Can I also suggest that the male sales person compliment their lady customers? And just before the ladies start getting irate, I mean a genuine compliment. As I mentioned earlier, women will pick up on your emotions much quicker, so no false compliments guys and don’t patronise the ladies or you’re dead. On the other hand, a woman can give all sorts of compliments to a man and he’ll just love it. It doesn’t matter whether you mean it or not ’cause he can’t tell the difference. Selling and negotiating to men and women isn’t the same – ignore this at your peril.