Is gender based selling still a thing?

[SARubin]

I was recently digging through some of my old audio programs when I stumbled upon one from about 15 years ago. This audiobook was on the subject of gender based selling.

When I spotted it on the shelf, I thought to myself… “oh yeah, I kinda remember you. Although I don’t exactly remember what you were about?”

So I blew the dust off… popped the CD into the player… and turned up the volume…


As I listened to this guy, I started wondering if some of the things he was talking about were relevant in today’s society?

I won’t go into details about the book. But basically he was saying how women tend to make buying decisions based on the emotions of how something makes them feel.
And men tend to buy more with regards to material and utility value of the purchase.


Of course one of the first lessons I learned when I started selling was “almost everyone” buys on emotion and justifies the purchase with logic.
But apparently, some people are still preaching that women are the more emotional buyers.


Now personally, I’ve had men buy from me when it was pretty obvious they were buying from an emotional angle. And, I’ve had women ask me a lot of logical, material oriented questions before making a purchase.

So I have to wonder, how wide is the dividing line in reality?

Of course I’m not asking about gender specific purchases. I understand men and women are different. And things that appeal to one gender, may never appeal to the other.

(for example: no matter how compelling the advertising is… It will always be a tough sell to get women to buy a prostate health supplement. And few men will ever see an ad that compels them to get a yearly breast exam)

But in a general sense, when it comes to gender neutral purchases (like electronics, or IM products, or general services – just to name a few) how much does gender based selling come into play these days?


Now just for the record, I have my own thoughts and conclusions about this question, based on my own testing and experiences over the years.

But in all fairness, I was also raised by a mom who was a staunch supporter of the feminist movement (back in the late 1960s and early 1970s). So basically, I was raised to believe that men and women are equal. (and I was also taught to put the toilet seat back down when I was done in the bathroom)

So my own opinion on this question has always been slightly obscured.

That’s why I’m wondering what you guys think.

Do you sell the same product or service differently, based on the gender of the buyer?
And if you do… In what ways is it different?

[Rhonda]

Do you sell the same product or service differently, based on the gender of the buyer?
And if you do… In what ways is it different?

I like to think both genders are equal but I know there are differences. And like you taught me before, if we try to appeal to everyone we end up appealing to no one.

When my target market is mostly male I will try to add more macho action packed words. When my market is female I use softer and more nurturing language.

When I sell to both genders at the same time my copy is more universal.

(and I was also taught to put the toilet seat back down when I was done in the bathroom)

Can you teach my husband this trick

– Rhonda

[MikeyWrites]

My mother always taught me that men are very stupid and need a woman in their lives to keep them from doing stupid things. She believed that women should control the checkbook, the household and the government. Unfortunately, she was a liberal New England Republican who campaigned for the ERA, but married my father, who was a staunch conservative Southern Democrat from Arkansas.

But in the tradition of the Scotch-Irish hill people of the Ozarks, Smokies, Blue Ridge and Southern Appalachia, he kept his mouth shut and let her do and say as she pleased, until those times once in a blue moon when he put his foot down as the head of the household.

Where does that leave me in regards to marketing?

I do believe women are more logical, caring, intelligent, adaptable and capable than men. Men are impulsive, good at breaking things and pretty strong most of the time. They have a lot of “Hold my beer and watch this” moments. So they’re easier to market to, because all you have to do is appeal to dreams, aspirations, challenges and reckless abandonment.

With women, it takes a lot of research, composition, facts, logic, structure and persuasion because they are very suspicious of those “Hold my beer” moments. They buy what they want, when they want it.

All men really care about is if there’s a good story and they have the money. I can sell just about anything to another guy. I only really closed the deal once with a woman, and she’s been making sure I don’t buy anything for 33 years now unless I have it sold before it comes home. Those other girls before her were actually selling me on something without me realizing I was being pitched.

[SARubin]

With women, it takes a lot of research, composition, facts, logic, structure and persuasion because they are very suspicious of those “Hold my beer” moments. They buy what they want, when they want it.

Sometimes the facts, logic and composition can be quick and straight forward (especially when the presumption already exists). One quick example from my own life…

About 2 decades ago I had to sell a used (and slightly damaged) product, at full price.

My target audience was my girlfriend

My offer was “Do You Want To Get Married?”

My sales pitch was “Look around this town honey, you could do a whole lot worse than me.”

My response rate was 100% – And so far it’s been a control piece for nearly 20 years. (and that ain’t bad)



Now granted some of it had to do with my unstoppable charm and charisma but I think a lot of it had to do with the fact that my sales pitch was pretty hard to refute…