4 Tips to Sell Electronics to Women

Tip 5… Ask her where her husband is so that you can get decisions on everything

Tip 6:  Eyes up.

Good advice there, Molly, a lot of which is applicable to men also. Too often, probably because most of us who sell CE are geeks, we sell features rather than benefits. Only geeks care about features; everyone else cares about benefits which are relevent and important to them.

When selling to families or couples, it can be critically important to engage the spouse. They often control the purse strings with yea/naycontrol of the purchase.

Tip 7: Don’t treat her like a brainless Donna Reed stereotype that borders on condescension. “Turn up the speakers, and ask her about the grille and what shade of brown she likes.” Really? Jesus.

Tip X: There’s nothing special about a woman, man, child or their income level regarding sales. Listen to the problems, and solve said problems, framing your pitch in terms of how it solves those problems.

Rule #1 Never pitch the bitch.

No question, you nailed this on the head Molly. Shopping and buying is a very personal experience for women. In our mind we want it to be an enjoyable and fun experience – and when it turns difficult and painful, we leave. Your experience and advice are not only great for CE, but for every retailer. Kudos, from a female comrade.

As a 20 Year Industry Veteran, specializing in Estate and Corporate Boardroom settings in the San Francisco Bay Area, I find this article at the very least inappropriate for this publication if not flat out offensive.

I am sure, the author’s intent was to provide some form of insight as to how to deal with female clients, but none of the 4 “tips” listed are different than the basic sales relationship needed for *any* client, regardless of gender. To once again wallow in the “boys club” cliches and stereotypes about consumer electronics and then promote them as “tips” is inexcusable.

Properly acting as a technology concierge and managing expectations and budgets, revolves around establishing value for *any* client.

Whether an item costs $100.00 or $10,000.00, I would offer that it’s your responsibility to listen from the beginning and guide the end user to solutions that add to the enjoyment or solve problems of the day to day goings on of their specific lifestyle.

If you’re selling bells and whistles in the first place, generally speaking you’re not going to find yourself having any sort of long term success.

I have to say, that from an editorial standpoint, I’m a bit disappointed over the tone of this article and promoting and reinforcing a lot of gender stereotypes that many of us have been battling to overcome for decades in the consumer electronics industry.

All I can say about this one is shame on you…

Richard A. Fregosa
R.A. Fregosa Electronic Interiors

@Rich
Put away your birkenstocks for a moment and put on your thinking cap (don’t worry, it won’t kill your chances at the Politically Correct Wacko Liberal Of The Year Award). 

Acknowledging the difference between genders and offering advice on how to address those differences is not the same stereotyping.  You can choose to agree or disagree with the points made, but the idea that men and women are all the same all want to be treated the same is just simply wrong.

Now get back in your Prius and go sell something.  But, please… wash your dreadlocks and spray something to cover that pungent smell of weed first.

^^ Just for you, an example of actually stereotyping ^^

I do like your capitalization of “20 Year Industry Veteran” though… nice little insight into what’s going on upstairs…

@Details Matter - Thanks for the feedback, I’m sure it’s beneficial in how you establish client rapport with your type of client.

Best,

Rich

@Rich

“...your type of client.”  What does that mean?

Anyone who thinks men and women shop the same should be forced to accompany my girlfriend to the mall.

How do i shop for shoes&apparel;? I know my size. I walk in to a store, spend 2 minutes scanning the wall and i make a choice that i will be perfectly happy to live with until the material begins to disintegrate. How do women shop? They start at one end of the mall and try everything on in every store until they reach the end. At that point you either go back to the first store and get the first thing they tried on or we head to another mall or we head home for a long night of online shopping.

What is the determining factor about whether we go home or not? Very simple! It all depends on what shoes she wore to the mall. If they are comfortable shoes we keep shopping if they are uncomfortable we head home and prepare for more fun the next day.

Obviously all women are not like that but all the ones i know are. IMO women value choice/options in a way that most men don’t (mostly because we dont get it… black shoes are black shoes… why so many pairs of what look to be the same shoe?).

Everyone wants it to be cool. They want it to sound and look good. They want to enjoy it, they want to show it off to friends etc. The difference is that men are more interested in the details of the features so they can stand around the grill telling their buddies how many lumens and watts it has. Women on the other hand… they could care less about lumens and watts. They value the same features but in a slightly different way.

Men think universal remotes are cool but we are perfectly happy with 5 remotes on the coffee table. We are proud that we know what to do with all of them. Same thing with GPS. We know how to read maps but… GPS is just a conveniently cool gadget that we just have to have.

Women could care less about having the ability to read a map. They welcome the new gadget because it enhances their lives without having to learn a new skill like map reading… or getting the system on and switched in the family room with 5 remotes.

Obviously these are all generalizations and we all know that there is no such thing as “all women” or “all men”. But… most men that i know shop like i do and most women i know shop like my girlfriend does. It all depends on what you are shopping for (shoes vs tires) and electronics fall right in the middle where men and women have share an equal amount of want/need. Show the men big screens and beefy speakers and show the women hidden TV’s and elegant keypads.

@39 I understand what you’re saying, but I assure you there are plenty of men who appreciate hidden TVs and elegant keypads and women who want kick-ass theaters. It’s up to you to figure out which type of person you’re talking to and what end result they’re after.

TBH, most of the guys OR gals we sell stuff to don’t even know what brand any of it is, let alone specs. The days of selling products and features (if there ever really was such a day) is long gone.

Also, I would submit that men like choice as much as women. I may only have a few pairs of shoes, but I sure do have a lot of pliers and screwdrivers that look the same to my wife!

Well done, Molly if I were to go into my father’s business I would definitely be able to put these tips to good use.