The 4 Types of Professional Buyer

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A professional buyer is responsible for finding goods for his or her company. Every buyer has their own techniques and methods when it comes to the way they work. They are motivated by different motives and goals which affect how they go about their jobs.

In worst-case scenarios, buyers can lose their jobs if they make a bad deal. In a smaller company, buyers may oversee all of the purchasing. For larger businesses, they will likely specialize in a specific industry such as women’s accessories or healthcare or electronics.

An experienced professional buyer knows more about sales than a lot of salespeople. For this reason and more, they will be unlikely to fall for sales tricks or manipulation tactics. Check out this official distributor of Adam Tech parts for an insight into a reliable professional buyer’s marketplace for electronic components.

Here we explore four different types of professional buyers.

The Number-Cruncher

These buyers are driven by facts and figures. They collect information and use it to build a model of the market as it stands. Often, they then use this model to acquire the best possible product at the best possible price. They use facts they collected during the purchasing process as ammunition later on to soften up the salesperson and get a better deal.

Because they live and die by analysis, they usually take a long time to come to a decision. They may require multiple appointments before they commit. Their background will usually be in finance or business studies. Due to this analytical approach, they often extensively compare, keep up-to-date, and track the products they procure. This often results in cheaper spends for them in the long run.

The Intimidator

Buyers who are intimidators use their position to bludgeon a good deal out of a salesperson. They will shut down, threaten, or even show open hostility during a presentation. Their aim is to get the best possible price by any means necessary. A stereotypical salesperson uses manipulation and deceit to make a sale. The intimidator is a mirror image of this. The intimidator will likely have an extensive background in purchasing and will have fallen into this role by accident rather than intention simply because the job was there and somebody had to do it.

However, while it is all well and good having a goal and a purpose in mind, intimidation can easily result in giving the business a bad reputation if it becomes too much. These buyers need to understand that they must control these tactics. They must try to understand their audiences. Moreover, while it is all well and good standing firm, it’s ineffective if sellers are scared away by the communication being overly stern and pushy.

The Engineer

Professional buyers with a background in technical work or research and development are usually more interested in how a product works above anything else. They focus on the technical details and features of a product. They look at how the product works instead of what it does. If these features are good enough then the offered price will become less and less important to them. They will simply assume it is a good price.

Like the number-cruncher, these professional buyers are very fact-oriented. They appreciate a good spec sheet and a tour of the engineering department or factory. The engineer is seeking out quality and understanding. This means they generally end up with the best quality products at the end of the day.

The Talker

These buyers think they know everything about the market. Moreover, they relish any opportunity to share their knowledge.

They usually have a strong commercial background. Therefore, they need a lot of information to nudge them in the right direction. They want products or services that are in line with what they know about the industry. What’s more, they have their own opinion on what is most valuable in a product. It is key that a salesperson picks up on this in order to deliver an effective pitch.

Procurement does, however, need a balanced conversation between the buyer and seller. Therefore, while it is great to have an in-depth conversation to really understand each side, it mustn’t just be one-sided.

“Talkers” must ensure to ask questions and gain more information when working, rather than just dominating all of the chats with their own ideas and opinions. It is good that they go into situations knowing what they want. However, regardless of the fact that they can talk through it at length, the seller will also have their own input that is just as important.

What Type of Buyer Are You?

All in all, each buyer has their own working style that suits them and reflects their personality. However, they must always gauge a situation and make sure that they are in line with their sellers as well as with their customers. Sometimes, these buyer personas can even cross over. What type of buyer are you?