Diane GardnerFounder, Adept Business Solutions · Profit First Professional

The 3 Customers That Lead To A Sale

18 Jun 2020 · 2 min

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1:38

In this concise sales‑advice monologue, the speaker argues that any purchase decision can be broken down into three distinct customer roles: the Influencer (who generates interest and advocates the purchase), the Financer (who actually pays for the product or service), and the Benefactor (who receives the ultimate benefit). He illustrates the model with everyday fast‑food scenarios—first, a single individual who simultaneously fills all three roles, and second, a parent‑child situation where the child is the influencer, the parent the financer, and the child (and possibly the parent) the benefactor. The speaker stresses that recognizing these separate roles can sharpen a salesperson’s approach, especially during a recession, and directs listeners to recessionresponse.com for further guidance.

Chapters

I heard an interesting question recently. A person I was working with said, "Who do you think my customer is?" And I said, "I think there's actually 3 customers." You see, when you look at the person buying your offering, there's 3 main considerations and it can literally be broken into 3 people. The first is the influencer, the person that's attracted or catch the attention of what you have to offer. Someone that's compelled, that's the influencer, the one saying, "You know, we should consider this or do this." But then you have the financer. The financer is the one who's actually gonna pay for it, the person that's gonna have to depart with money. And then you have the benefactor, the one that derives the actual benefit. You know, it could be all one person. If you're hungry for a fast food hamburger and you're driving by a McDonald's, you may be the influencer saying, "I'm hungry and want this." You see the sign, you pull in, you pay out of your own pocket, and then as you eat the hamburger, you're the benefactor. But you could also be driving with your child and the child's going, "I want a Happy Meal." They're the influencer, you're the financer, and they're the benefactor. In fact, you could also be a benefactor too because they stop crying and screaming. But realize there's 3 roles, sometimes not played all by the same person. Understanding that will improve the way you sell. That will help you through the challenge that we're facing in these recession times. I qualify as a recession, maybe not everyone does yet, but I think we're in a recession. And knowing that will serve you. For more tips like this, go to recessionresponse.com.