The Ultimate Guide to Buyer Personalities

When I first began writing copy, I thought all I had to do was create persuasive content, and all would be well.

While that is a big part of copywriting or even creating website content, there is much more to copywriting than just persuasive writing.

As a copywriter, you have to understand a bit of psychology.

Now, if you’re a nerd like I am, then you absorbed so much from your college psychology class-or, you tossed it out of your mind the moment you graduated. (or completed the class).

What I took away from that, and I am sure you don’t need a class to figure this lesson out, is that people respond to different types of “stimuli.”

Meaning they will do anything if the incentive is just right.

To get the audience or buyer to take action, you must understand their buyer personalities.

You can speak their language when you understand this, and your persuasive copy will be powerful.

So, what are the buyer personalities, and again, why are they important? 

Importance of Buyer Personalities

Buyer personalities are significant not only does it demonstrate that you are individualizing the selling process to each person, but you are also demonstrating that you are paying attention to their needs.

Understanding that people want different experiences and to be talked to in a certain way when they are thinking about buying something is incredibly important to your website copy.

Let’s take a look at the different types of buyer personalities.

The Ultimate Guide to Buyer Personalities-with free download and checklist

The Assertive buyer

This type of buyer is motivated by information. They tend to need logic and information before they decide to make a purchase.

These types of buyers are usually goal-oriented and competitive. They want results and care little for personal relationships.

So the bottom line is they want information fast so they can decide and move on.

An example: When an assertive buyer decides to buy something, they won’t ask broad questions like “What kind of books do you sell?”

They will be direct and ask something list, “I’m looking for biographies.”

How to sell to an assertive buyer.

Professionalism is valued with this type of buyer. Ensure you’ve prepared content and have answers for this type of personality.

If you don’t know the answer to a question, inform them that you will follow up instead of giving a half-produced answer.

Assertive buyers also like efficiency. Don’t waste time repeating facts or building up to your point; get to the chase.

Emphasize how your services or product will solve their problems. Features are just fluffed to this type of buyer.

They want to know what the results will be if they buy. They will move on if you can’t demonstrate why your services will be helpful to them.

Use their competitive streak to your advantage. Show them how your product will help them in their industry or how it can help them to beat the competition.

Keep your statements, testimonials, and other content short and to the point.

Amiable buyer

The amiable buyer loves personal relationships and thrives on them. They want to trust with whom they are working, not just a passing ship at night. They like the excitement that comes with new challenges.

They are usually enthusiastic about finding creative or unexpected solutions, but they will only do a little research before purchasing or discovering you. That means you can guide them through the purchasing process.

How to sell to the amiable buyer:

They love a good story! Help them visualize the outcomes that they could achieve with the help of your product or services.

Build a relationship. Amiable love to feel safe in their relationships with a company they trust before they do business with you.

Bring up examples of similar clients. They love to hear about the success stories of others whose similar problems were fixed because of your products or services. Use details because they love details.

Take the time to demonstrate your expertise. There is nothing more an amiable buyer loves than an expert. However, instead of overloading them with tons of information, help them through the process by acting as an advisor.

Give them personal guarantees. For instance, if they are unsatisfied with your product or services, offer them a refund, or allow them to cancel at any time. This will not only calm their anxieties but will likely encourage them to buy.

Expressive buyer

This buyer will purchase using their emotions as a factor and is often concerned about others’ well-being. It could be an employee or customer who wants to know how the decision will affect the people around them.

Expressive buyers are also people-pleasers, but don’t let that give you a false sense of security-they often have potent personalities and use them to convince others of their strong convictions.

Expressive buyers tend to be creative, outgoing, and spontaneous and rely on their gut. They value loyalty and friendship. So be careful about the commitments you make to expressive-it could mean the end of the prospect.

How to sell to the expressive buyer:

Present case studies. Expressive buyers want assurance that you are not only the person they want to work with but also want to see stories of how your business has impacted other people’s lives.

Emphasize that your relationship is never-ending. If your company offers exceptional customer service or maintains personal connections with clients, then be sure to highlight this everywhere!

Summarize along the way, allow them opportunities to continually get their buy-in, and ask questions such as “so we agree that you can use the templates to automate the process?

Analytic buyer

As the name suggests, this buyer loves data, facts, and figures. This type of buyer does not want hype or long, drawn-out pitches; they want to get straight to the point.

With this type of buyer, be ready to be peppered with questions, and make sure you have the answers.

Don’t be surprised if the analytical buyer already knows the answers because they will have researched you and your business before speaking to you.

How to sell to the analytic buyer

Be prepared for a longer selling process. Never rush the process; analytics like to take as much time as possible to absorb and process the facts they feel are needed to decide.

Always assume they have done their research. However, this doesn’t mean that you should skip important information.

You can expect to spend less time discussing features and more time discussing custom, personalized solutions for their specific needs.

Try not to make outrageous claims. Use data to prove that your product or services will help the client. When you overhype your product or service, you will make the analytic feel you are not worth your time or money.

Figuring out which buyer you should appeal to isn’t always easy. However, with clever copywriting, you can appeal to all buyers.

As long as you talk to each personality.