12 Questions for 6 Basic Buyer Motives

Did you know there are six basic motives that drive buyers to purchase? And, they’ve been around forever. Pretty much all buying-motives fall into one of these buckets: profit gain, fear of loss, pleasure, avoidance of pain, pride, and desire for approval.

Knowing which ones resonate most with each stakeholder will help us fine-tune our win strategy. Let’s quickly review each one of these with a couple of sample questions you can use on your calls. Note: Since buying motives are personal, it’s best not to ask them too early in a call.

Here are the six:

1. Profit Gain – This first buying motive refers to saving or making money.

Sample Questions: Is the emphasis right now more on protecting current profit or creating new? Have you implemented any new initiatives focused solely on preserving profit?

2. Fear of Loss – This motive focuses on safety, security, or protection.

Sample Questions: What’s causing you the most uncertainty in deciding whether to move forward or not? Is there anything you’re worried about losing if you were to make the change?

3. Pleasure – Pleasure refers to enjoyment, comfort, convenience, or luxury.

Sample Questions: Fast forward 6 months after installation and everything is working as you’d hoped, what are you feeling? Where does simplicity and ease of use rank in your list of decision criteria? (After they answer), How come?

4. Avoidance of Pain – This fourth motive focuses on relief, eliminating worry or less work.

Sample Questions: It seems like this issue has been around for a while. What’s been the impact on you having this problem linger? What’s one thing you’d like to take off your plate?

5. Pride – The pride motive has to do with self-improvement, beauty, or prestige.

Sample Questions: Of all the things you’ve accomplishment in this role, which one makes you most proud? What’s most important to you before you put your name on something?

6. Desire for Approval – This sixth motive deals with social acceptance, love & affection, and being appreciated.

Sample Questions: What does your team expect from you representing them in this evaluation? How important to you is having everyone on board with your recommendation?

So, there’s the six. I’m a firm believer in building reusable sales assets and one you’ll want to have is a list of questions that uncover motive. Start with these and continue to add to the list. It’ll save you time in your call prep.

Have a great week!

Bob

P.S. As you build your business plan for the year, don’t forget about your own self-development. Mastering skills that are in high demand is what keeps you recession-proof. Head over to https://www.labarberagroupuniversity.com/ if you’d like some ideas on how to do that.

P.P.S. Once a week, I send out a free email like this to my subscribers. To get your own copy, sign up at www.labarberagroupuniversity.com/free-newsletter.