The psychology of sales

At the recent Wagyu SA Conference 2023, held at Allee Bleue Wine Estate near Franschhoek in the Western Cape, Johan Strydom, the founder of Prime Wagyu, spoke about the way in which the psyche of different types of consumers affects their purchasing behaviour.

- Glenneis Kriel

"When we do business, we do it with people. Understanding people and knowing how to influence them is a valuable skill, especially if you want to sell something.

We are not talking about ‘twisting someone’s arm’ but rather generating sales by appealing to the needs and demands of customers. For instance, the hospitality and food business is looking for repeat sales. These companies will want your offering if you supply them with a product or experience that makes people come back for more.

On the other hand, many restaurants are scared of Wagyu because they want consistent product. I suggest to them that they treat Wagyu like any other scarce product, like crayfish, and write it on the blackboard when available. The emphasis on Wagyu’s scarcity could spark new interest in the meat and grow demand. I know of one restaurant that has bookings for certain Wagyu cuts months in advance, simply because the meat is treated like a rarity.

The biggest trick, however, is to break the habit of what people are used to, so they will switch to your product. To do this, try to identify people who would come to a shop, restaurant or business and actually thank you for introducing them to Wagyu. In other words, people who may want Wagyu to be part of their lives, but probably do not know it yet.

TYPES OF CUSTOMER

Broadly speaking, I identified three types of customer who might fall into this category: the aspirational buyer, the emotional buyer and the polarity responder. 

The aspirational buyer strives to get more out of life. Basically, they want to expand their own life and their family’s life. Normally, they are hard-working, enjoy pushing themselves to learn new skills, tend to be career-driven, and enjoy taking risks.