UNDERSTANDING THE SELLING MARKET

Before gearing up to sell, you have
to understand one essential thing
in selling – and that’s your
potential market. Potential market
is simply defined as the group of
people who could be interested in
the product or services that you
are offering.

These are the people who you will
be selling your products to; and
apparently, their roles are very
important.

Whatever product you are advertising,
there is only one thing to keep in
mind: you have to know who your
target market is. It is not a good
suggestion to sell beauty creams and
makeup in a car-racing magazine,
would it?

Well, not unless you want to utilize
whatever media you can put your
hands on. But still, doing that is
an incredible idea.

Who Are Your Target Market?

 For you to know exactly where
to sell, you have to analyze your
product first. And for you to do that,
answer these 10 simple questions:

1. Who are the direct beneficiaries
of the product or service you are
selling?

2. Are there any indirect beneficiaries?
If so, who are they?

3. Who can afford these products?
What’s the income bracket of the
persons who are willing to buy them?

4. Would these people prefer to buy
them in cash or through other payment
methods, like credit card or check?
Do they have to sign a loan or an
installment plan agreement prior to
purchasing?

5. Where and how exactly are these
products used? At home? In schools?
At work?

6. Who are the people that are most
likely to buy? Male or female?
Married or single? Young or old?
7. Is the product a necessity or is
it just a luxury?

8. Is the demand for the product
seasonal or will it be the same all
year round?
9. Are potential customers already
aware of this product, or is it
something new and innovative?

10. Do these people have to gather
decision-making data or would they
be capable to buy at the spur of
the moment?

These 10 straightforward questions
would effectively take you right
in front of the people where a big
chunk of revenues will be coming
from. After listing all the definite
answers to the questions, you should
have a clear idea where your potential
markets are. You should then be able
to have a good idea as to what method
of attack you should use for your
every target market.

Segregating Your Market

 Still referring to the answers
you have for the questions above, you
may notice that you have a rather
diverse group of buyers. It is
possible that your product caters to
a big group of people, young and old,
male or female.

Segregating your market is very
essential so that you will be able to
cater to their individual needs.
According to several researches, doing
that will take you closer to your
prospective buyers and eventually, to
sales and profit.

To successfully segregate your market,
here are the things that you have to
remember:

1. Determine the distinctive needs of
each group of people. For sure, male
executives buying your product will
have at least one different reason
from single mothers who will be buying
it. Although you are selling the same
goods to these two sets of different
people, the presence of their individual
needs and benefit still remains. This
is something that you have to capitalize
as you plan your sales pitch.

2. Conduct a research. You won’t
effectively know your target market
if you are just guessing what their
needs and wants might be. You have to
know for sure and should not settle
for the but’s, if’s, and maybe’s. Send
out a survey. Consult with the experts.

Read a lot about these people and be
properly informed. Know how your
competitors do it. Alternatively, if
your budget allows it, hire a company
to do all of these for you. Then test
your market. The main idea here is for
you to be reasonably assured that you
are following the right strategy.

3. Say only the “proper” things. You
have to speak the particular group’s
language. If you intend to sell to the
young or the teenagers, you have to
talk like one of them and not like
strict parents asking them to do this
and do that. Speak as if you are a
teenager yourself. Know what their
heart’s desires are. And give those
to them exactly.

You should talk like a member of their
group, and not an outsider wanting to
be a part of it. Your target market
will most likely detect a hoax when
they smell one. And the effects of
that are rather unappealing.

Focusing on Your Market

Now that you know all your possible
markets, you have to cater to each of
their special needs. This is commonly
referred to as niche marketing. A
niche market is simply a specific
portion of a bigger market. It is
nothing but a narrowed group of
probable customers that is often
overlooked by a mainstream provider.

To make things clearer, let’s use
a definite example. If your business
is all about home insurance, divide
that into several niches like mansion
house insurance, bungalow insurance,
and condominium unit insurance.

That way, you will be able to focus
more on your segregated market. By
following the niche concept, you are
sure to bundle the mansion house
insurance package with all the
necessary provisions and even freebies
that a mansion owner will be glad to
own, and which he might not get from
any other general insurance companies.

Going into niches would enable you to
put up the quality of your products.
And more people will certainly go to
you too, thinking that you are the
specialized expert they really need.
 
Always remember that every niche
market has its own needs and
requirements. That is going to be
your focus. In order for you to
successfully meet all their specific
needs, the first thing that you have
to do is to carefully select a
profitable niche.

Choosing the right niche starts it
all. When choosing, consider its
profitability. Keep in mind that a
niche’s group of potential customers
is relatively small, so focus on a
highly lucrative group of people.
Analyze your market. Who are you
competitors? Are they offering
niches as well?

If they are not, then you are lucky.
All you have to do is to choose
one specific area and focus on that.

If unfortunately, they are offering
niches as well, try to determine
the area that is not yet serviced.
Be creative. If your business is
about home decors, a good niche is
an exotic collection of decorative
items from different countries all
over the world, like Egypt or the
Bahamas, for example.

Your main goal is to be the best
provider for that certain group.
Maintain an inventory of the best
products given at the best price.

So you will be properly guided when
serving your respective niche, talk
to real persons with real needs
belonging to your chosen category.

Look for an ideal customer. Ask him
pertinent information as to what he
expects to get about your line of
products. Include in your query the
things that he thinks he should not
be getting as well as his suggestions
as how to make the whole thing better.

Going back to the home décor example,
your ideal customer will be a well-
traveled middle to upper class
homeowner.

This person will have an idea as to
what things you will be asking about
and the things that you should know.
He must have seen, and maybe even
touched, exotic culture. He will be
a reliable source of market
information.

Then couple what you have found out
from him with real market research.
This has to be done to verify the
information you have gathered. Is
your ideal customer’s taste the same
with the rest of the community?

Are his ideas feasible?

Along with answering these questions,
you should also be able to determine
the right strategy on penetrating the
market. Include the production costs
as well as your close competitor’s
product line.

You can do the market research your-
self. First, try to talk to more
potential customers. Still using the
home décor example, you can also
read current home décor magazines
to get market leads as to where your
possible suppliers and buyers are.
Search the Internet for the sites
that are more or less similar with
your idea. Doing so, you will be able
to adjust your market and products
accordingly.

Finally, go deeper to the personal
preferences of your potential
customers. Know what qualities they
look for and feel more about your
line of product. For home decors,
a good feature will be the history
embodied in a particular item. Sell
pieces that are reflective of a
nation’s tradition and culture. More
people will surely come to you. When
that happens you need not go to your
market anymore and everything becomes
simpler.
 
Other related product characteristics
will be quality, price, convenience,
or reliability. Once you have
pinpointed that particular trait,
which they regard highly the most,
you are then assured of selling your
products effortlessly. Selling has
just become one step easier.

Using Analysis To Understand Your
Market

Your success as a salesperson greatly
depends on your market’s current
saturation. Your customers will
definitely be divided amongst your
competitors and other similar factors.
For you to fully identify your market,
try to answer these ten questions.
They will guide you in your selling
goals.

1. How many competitors exist in your
market?

2. Which of them are new and which
are already there for the longest
time?

3. How many of them are bigger than
your business?

4. How much do they affect your sales?
Are you losing big profits because of
them?

5. How do they price their products?

6. Are their products and/or services
similar or different than yours?
In what way?

7. What advertising tools do they use?
To what extent are those used?

8. Are they selling to the same customer
group as yours? Do you have customer
groups that they can’t sell to yet?

9. How do your customers buy?
What motivates them?

10.Do your competitors employ a big
number of salespeople? Do they use
different selling techniques like
door-to-door, retail outlet,
telemarketing, direct mail, or
business-to-business?

Once these questions are answered,
you will not only be successful in
analyzing your customers. You will
know more about your competitors as
well. And with all these knowledge,
you will be able to plan and select
the best possible selling method.

By doing so, you will soon become
a very successful salesperson.

The Ten Buying Drives

Customers buy for a reason. No
matter how complex some of the
reasons they throw at you may seem
to be, most of them root from the
10 basic buying motives listed in
here. Capitalize on one or a
combination of these motives and
you will successfully sell to your
customers.

1. Self-preservation

Self-preservation corresponds to
people’s basic needs. These are
the necessities such as food,
clothing, shelter, and all products
that relates to their health and
safety. Business-wise, it means
products that will help them in their
jobs, making their work faster and
easier to become more successful and
highly effective employees.

The question to answer then, is how
does your product help your customers,
either on a personal or business level?
How does it fill their basic needs?

2. Value

With today’s relatively hard economy,
getting value for one’s money is
everybody’s concern. People don’t feel
like buying something that is not worth
their money. Most people are willing to
pay any price for a good product. You
then have to make sure you sell with
integrity. That means you won’t give
your customers empty promises and false
claims about your product. So, how will
your product honestly accommodate your
possible customer’s needs and
expectations?

3. Sex

Sex means you are appealing to the
customer’s femininity or masculinity.
This corresponds to your product’s
ability to enhance their attractiveness
and appeal to the opposite sex. People
are naturally vain. They are willing to
buy something that would make them a
lot more attractive, more lovable, and
more likeable than they presently are.
What then, is your product’s role in
making your customers look better in
front of other people?

4. Dreams

All people have dreams, aspirations,
or even fantasies. And they all want
to realize it, or to even achieve
something that even mildly resembles
it. Early on in their lives, they have
visions of what they should become,
what they should own, and what their
lifestyle should be. Dreams come in all
shapes and form. It means dreams can be
big and high, but they could also be
small and simple. Whatever dreams your
customer might have, what does your
product propose to fulfill them?

5. Emulation

Quite naturally, customers would like
to be somebody they admire. Be it movie
stars, celebrities, and members of the
higher society, one thing holds true.
They would like to be associated,
compared, or even be reminded of them.
They would like to have their idols’
looks, their wealth, and their elegance.

Some people think that by buying the
products their favorite celebrity
endorses, most of their qualities are
going to rub off on them. So, is a well-
known or reputable person endorsing your
product?
Better yet, how do you associate your
product to somebody prominent?

6. Revenge Motives

Some customers would like to show the
world that they are worth something
good. This type of buying motive has
both a good and a bad side. It is
because while you want to bring out
the best in them, you do it by evoking
their innermost emotions of bitterness,
insecurity, plainness, and mediocrity.

This type of motivation is usually left
unsaid, because of the negative
implications associated with it.
Nevertheless, it is a very powerful
motive to buy. How sensitive are you
to this motive and how can your
product help your customer in their
goal to make even?

7. Style

As times goes by, the trends change.
And to keep up in style is something
customers would like to achieve.
Customers do not want to be left out
from the crowd and be considered
yesterday’s news. What they want is
to fit in and be one with the people
who are considered chic, trendy, and
fashionable. Is your product the “in”
thing today? Will owning it means you
are in conformity with today’s
changing world?

8. Knowledge

Information is power. This is the
reason why self-help books and
materials are making raves in the
market. Owning them makes a person
richer, more skilled, and better
informed. Some people are willing
to go to greater heights just to know
more about their hobbies, the things
that fascinates them, or even the
everyday things that works around
them. Many people are still hungry
for learning. If your product
satisfies their hunger, you might as
well appeal to this buying motive.

Is your product going to be helpful
in a way to your customer through
information dissemination?

9. Elitism

Who would want to feel high and mighty?
People would like to be regarded as
elite or important. If a certain
product can give a sense of elitism
to them, they will buy it. Examples
of such products are jewelry, expensive
apparels, a fast car, or a big house.
Will owing your product give your
customers the satisfaction of being
one of the best?

10. Being Liked

The feeling of being admired or at
least to be accepted is enough to
make a person tingle. Nobody would
like to be embarrassed by not owning
something everybody assumes to be
“the thing”. They don’t want to be
caught dead without something most
of their friends own. There are also
times they would like to start a trend
themselves. And they can do it by
getting a good product that would make
them the subject of admiration or even
envy. So, how will your product make
somebody acceptable? How can it solicit
the admiration of others?

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