Thursday 20 September 2007

Women = Men?


I attended a seminar today on selling! I am still learning...

In the wrap-up Q&A session to all the speakers, a question was posed:

"How are female salespeople different from men?" followed by "Do you sell differently when you are in front of a woman rather than a man?"

In true non-sexist, non-racist, politically correct style, all the speakers pronounced that there should be no difference in how men and women sell ("the same basics apply") and that men and women buy in the same way.

Well, "yes!" and "no!". I am not sure I agree.

Yes, the same basics appply (rapport, qualification/understanding, demonstration, close etc) but...

I believe that men and women do behave differently from each other (a sweeping generalisation!) and I believe that they do buy differently.

The situation is as follows:

  • Men and women are very different…;
  • Men are (still) in control… and are ‘totally, hopelessly, clueless about women’;
  • Women are not a niche market or a minority – they have wallets, and for many businesses, women as decision-makers and consumers hold the key to future success.


READ THE ORIGINAL BLOG:



READ THE FULL ARTICLES:
Marketing To Women: What Women Really Want! - Are women different from men? Do they behave differently when they are buying? And if they are different, should we be marketing to them in a different way? (CriticalEye, Aug 2006).
Targeting Number One - Women make the majority of buying decisions today. Why reaching this segment is possibly the number one opportunity for businesses (London Business School Business Strategy Review)

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Women = Men? How absurd! Women and men are as different as... girls and boys. Now, do you market the same way to girls as you do to boys? NOT! Do you market to Moms the same way you market to Dads? Not! Women are entirely different in their buying decisions and habits. The key here is that... women often influence more sales than you know. Business may be business, and products may be products, but... just like everything else in life, gender makes a difference.

Unknown said...

see also
http://realbusiness.co.uk/business_woman/how_to_sell_to_women

see also
http://www.fastcompany.com/1689418/moms-most-receptive-to-cause-campaigns-says-new-cone-study

Yvonne DiVita said...

Women = Men? How absurd! Women and men are as different as... girls and boys. Now, do you market the same way to girls as you do to boys? NOT! Do you market to Moms the same way you market to Dads? Not! Women are entirely different in their buying decisions and habits. The key here is that... women often influence more sales than you know. Business may be business, and products may be products, but... just like everything else in life, gender makes a difference.

James said...

Women control more than 80% of U.S. spending. And this is just the start of a sweeping change. http://bit.ly/gkeUCq

Robert Craven said...

Women Dominate The Global Market Place; Here Are 5 Keys To Reaching Them




http://www.fastcodesign.com/1663594/the-whole-her