Ten Steps to Building a Great Relationship with Women Consumers

28th November 2006

What motivates a woman to buy? Top of the list is her relationship with the salesperson. It is the point of connection that will drive the sale. How comfortable will you make her feel? Are you sensitive and caring? Are you a good listener? Can she trust you?

Sound familiar? This is what matters to women in many types of relationships, including the sales relationship. Men are transaction-focused as customers, but for women, it’s all about connection and trust. You’re not alone if you get frustrated when it comes to relating to women customers. The biases against women are 1) she’ll probably ask a million questions, 2) take up your time on tangents, 3) maybe get offended at something, and, 4) ultimately fail to buy, saying “I’ll have to think about it.”

Here’s a simple ten-point program for connecting with woman customers:

1. Welcome her with a handshake and a smile.
2. Give her your card.
3. Create the right environment.
4. Make eye contact.
5. Let her take the lead.
6. Listen attentively.
7. Listen attentively some more.
8. Ask the right questions.
9. Empower her.
10. Go for her comfort zone.

Delia Passi is president of MedeliaCommunications and former Group Publisher of Working Woman and Working Mother magazines. She is a nationally recognized speaker, sales trainer and author of the Winning Strategies for Marketing and Selling to Women, audio book series. For more information visit www.deliapassi.com .

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Source: http://www.financealley.com/article_108675_64.html

Occupation: Selling to Women - CEO

Delia Passi is the nation’s leading authority on Selling to Women. As President and CEO of MedeliaCommunications, Passi supports companies in their efforts to be the very best in their industry at closing the deal with the woman customer and retaining that customer forever. Passi is a prominent speaker and trains thousands of sales representatives each year on how to better sell to women and couples through a series of sales development training programs that she has created. Passi is also the author of Winning the Toughest Customer, The Essential Guide to Selling to Women (Kaplan, 2006) As a consultant to numerous Fortune 500 companies, Passi has had great success in forging strategic partnerships with corporations through sophisticated and unique programs that increased product/brand visibility, strengthened brand/product position, created greater credibility, and delivered a larger audience among women. Client companies include Washington Mutual, UPS, Xerox, Office Depot, HP and UBS. Passi’s knowledge is complimented from a successful career of proven sales, marketing, branding, and entrepreneurial experience. Prior to founding MedeliaCommunications, Passi was the Group Publisher of Working Woman and Working Mother magazines. She began her career with the Xerox Corporation and quickly became one of the company’s top producers. It was when she switched to selling advertising that she recognized how a different approach worked so effectively when selling to women, who dominate the publishing environment. Passi regularly speaks on Selling to Women, Marketing to Women, Target Selling, Target Marketing, Selling to Baby Boomer Women, Selling to Affluent Women, and Selling and Marketing to Women Business Owners across the nation. From 1998-2003, Passi sat on several advisory boards including Women in Communication’s Golf Matrix, Save the Children, NOW, and Boardroom Bound. She recently joined the New World Symphony in Miami as the Branding Committee Co-Chairperson for the Board of Directors. Passi earned her BA degree in Psychology/Business and a certification in education, graduating Magna Cum Laude from the College of New Rochelle, NY. She resides in Aventura, Florida with her husband and three daughters.

http://www.DeliaPassi.com