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@ David – I disagree. We don’t use hard-sell tactics here and do quite fine indeed But you are right in that referrals and reviews can make or break a business.

@ Maree – That type of sales tactic is actually just that – a tactic. Salespeople know that they can get a few gold sellers and hawk those, or they can suggest them, monitor consumer reaction and then step back a bit to offer another (less expensive) model. They sell more of the less expensive ones and actually end up outperforming themselves.

So beware of false honesty – sometimes it’s just influential strategies to get you to buy

@ Alex – See what I just said to Maree. Very often, people don’t buy the higher priced model. They’ll avoid the cheap model and choose somewhere in the middle.

We also have a HUGE fear of losing opportunity. We fear loss like crazy and hang onto what we have, but we also fear missing out on an opportunity. What if we could have better than we have? Oh nozz… gasp, decisions, decisions… oh noz! BUY! Worst case, we’re exactly where we were and lost nothing at all and best case, we ended up having better.

Fear of loss is *huge*. HUGE.

@ Jonathan – If Chow’s money actually talks to him, I’d suggest a visit to the doctor… Then again, if my money could talk, I imagine it would say something like, “Do you MIND not putting us through the washer? That’s VERY uncomfortable…”

@ Akemi – Heh, if you think I want to cure myself of something, you’d be mistaken. I don’t see the behavior as irrational – there’s a reason for it, and I’m just curious what it is, considering that so many people I know do the same as I. I don’t have a habit I want to correct or a strategy I want to use. I’m just curious.

Sometimes, there’s no deeper meaning and wanting to know is all there is.

@ DWongster – Oh yeah. Knowing why you buy and what triggers your “take out wallet” behavior is so important. Altering that pattern of behavior isn’t so easy, though, but well worth it. For example, I began January 2009 debt free after decades of being a credit cruncher. I had to change my mindset and how I spent and avoid triggers for spending. Now, I have new behavioral habits and I’m glad to have them.

@ Amber – Oooh, good one. We’re all closet spenders, hiding our dirty little addiction to the thrill of buying… and believe me, that can definitely be an addiction for many people.

@ Urban – Holding and being able to see is a good one too. I can’t leaf through an ebook online to see if it’s worth the $20. I can do so in a store and make more informed selections that please me (or leave them behind!) Good point, that.

Hope I caught everyone at least once!

I think this is one of the things I prefer about real life, real sales people are more likely to be honest, its easy to spot the ones who aren’t and then I go somewhere else. Internet I find all hard selling.

In a store we have the product. We can see it we can touch it. Other than what’s on the back of the box, we have nothing actively selling us the product (and if there’s a salesperson there, we often run away from them). How often, however, when you get talking to a knowledgeable salesperson do you end up buying not just the product you were thinking about, but the next model up the price scale and accessories?

On the web we can’t touch the product or look at it. We can’t flip through the pages of the ebook to check out the quality of the content, so being a good marketer the seller gives us a sales pitch. We get lots of words, wearing us down, making us feel that if we don’t get this now before the price doubles – you’d be an idiot to wait! then we’ll miss out.

Basically online we can’t run away from the salesperson – because that’s all we’re offered. And if the webcopy does its job well we buy the higher price model and get the accessories – sight unseen.

Alex Fayle | Someday Syndrome´s last blog post…The Courage to Try: The Jamie Grove Interview

“The only thing money has ever said to me; was goodbye. “

Chow

Jonathan

Jonathan | EnlightenYourDay.com´s last blog post…Yes, I love all things Social Media.

Do you want to use the insight in increasing your business sales? Or do you want to correct your irrational habit?

I think a lot of it has to do with habits we develop over the years. Just think back to your pre-internet, pre-online merchant days. You had to buy stuff in person, or from a catalog, or risk sending money orders to those late-night TV ads (Ginsu knives, anyone?)

Remember when Amazon was the newest thing, and how analysts every post-Christmas season would talk about their sales numbers for the year, comparing them with “brick and mortar” stores that were not online (yet)?

How did you spend your money then?

Okay, go back further and think about those days before you were inundated with unsolicited credit card offers — yes, those days when you paid with cash or go to the post office/Western Union to get a cashier’s check?

I still remember my old comic books, with the Johnson-Smith Co ads on the back. They had something called C.O.D. “cash on delivery”.

As merchants find new ways to sell, we slowly modify our buying habits to suit.

Anyhow, for me, if the item is something I “know”, I may opt to buy it online, such as my Mac desktop. Then again, I bought my iPod Touch from the local Apple Store (because I got to play with it).

For books, I may buy a used copy from Green Apple Books, or check out new ones at Borders, where I may buy it with a 30-40% coupon, or order from Amazon.

In the end, whether we’re buying something we really need, or are just buying something we (think we) want, whether for ourselves or for a family member, it comes down to developed (and ingrained) buying habits — habits that take time to form.

If we’re aware of our spending habit, then that’s a good thing. That means we can take another step back and see if we need to change anything.

Thanks for the thought-provoking post, James!

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