4 Gender-Busting Sales Secrets You Need to Know About a Woman

Women make up 50.8% of the US population and I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but women tend to enjoy shopping a little more than men. And I should know because I am one. But, more important than simplistic gender stereotypes, the truth is that women are often the catalyst behind large family purchases.

In fact the Pew Research Center reports that a record 40% of all households with children under the age of 18 include mothers who are either the sole or primary source of income for the family. And 15% percent of women out-earn their husband, a number that continues to grow notably every decade.

So it stands to reason that, as sales professionals, we should take into account our strategies as it relates to selling to women. Here are a few gender-busting sales secrets that probably do not come up in your everyday conversations with a woman…

1) I make decisions. All by myself!

“When can you bring your husband back?” Really Salespeople?! (Yes, both men AND women sales people ask this question!) Why, in 2016, do you still feel the need to ask me this question when I’m purchasing anything over about $500?

While I love and value my husband’s opinion, I am completely willing and able to make my own buying decisions. And, if I do want to consult my husband, I will let you know. But when you ask me “When can you bring your husband back?” it feels irritating at best and condescending at worst.

Please. Stop. Asking. This. Question.

2) Shake my hand – properly!!

Is there something about my feminine nature that you think prevents me from delivering or receiving a proper handshake? I’m talking web to web, people!

I’ve never met a woman who said to me, “You know what I love? A limp, weird, fingers only handshake from a man”. Now don’t go to the other extreme and try to assert your masculinity by squeezing us to death, but us women, we like a proper, firm, one or two pump handshake like anyone else.

It is a sign of respect, I assure you.

3) Leading from behind.

I’ve been training and coaching sales people for years, and whenever I mention this particular secret in a seminar all the women nod their heads and the men look completely baffled. I have named this one the “The Leading from Behind Rule”.

“Proper manners” say that the customer always goes first – especially when the customer is a woman. Right? Wrong! Well, at least sometimes wrong. Many women actually prefer following a male salesperson during a tour, therefore keeping their backside where it belongs – on the backside!

Simply put, many women do not like to walk up a flight of stairs in front of a man they just met. I’m not saying that you’re staring at anyone’s backside, gentlemen. I’m just saying we don’t want to think about whether you are or aren’t. It just flat out feels awkward.

This is probably the single biggest unspoken secret of women shoppers. They’re just too polite to mention it to you. But now I have. You’re welcome!

4) I might surprise you.

Please don’t simply assume (ever!) that you know what I want, like or need based on my gender.

Maybe I don’t care about the cup holders but care very much about what’s under the hood. Maybe I don’t cook or entertain but love doing DIY projects in my garage. Maybe I don’t sip wine on my back porch in the evenings, watch Scandal or enjoy long bubble baths.

One of the biggest dangers when selling to women is holding on to outdated ideas of gender roles and then layering them into your sales presentation.

Want to know what interests me? Just ask.

Want to sell me something? Find out what I think is important.

Want to change my world? Ask me to buy (not my husband).