Previously, we talked about your 5 buyer types and how each one responds differently to making repeat purchases from you.  We’ve covered Amy, Bob, and Carol,and now we’re going to talk about Daniel (your fourth buyer type) and cover when he’s most likely to buy – and why.

What is Daniel Like?

Daniel generally has a personality type that borders on depressive. He is Eeyore and he knows it, and though he hates that attitude in himself, being Eeyore, he feels like it’s pretty much out of his control.

Financially, his money is not out of control, but he feels like the power over how much money he has (or will get) is completely out of his control. He is convinced that he has no money, regardless of how much he actually has. His house is very likely a mess, and he is almost definitely overweight.

At any given time, he’s pretty sure things will go badly for him. (He will always have one area of life, maybe two, where this doesn’t apply, but it is unknowable and unpredictable from the outside.) Success terrifies him and he will do anything he can to avoid it.

He will spend a lot to do something right, although it is virtually impossible to predict what “right” means to him or under what circumstances this applies. He is capable of brand loyalty, and is actually primed to be the most loyal type of buyer if he ever gets around to making a purchase, which is unlikely. He is the mopey, initially reluctant Apple fanboy.

Daniel almost never lets himself experience hope – he’s afraid of it – which means whenever he DOES feel hope, it’s a full body experience, a rush of idealism and a near psychotic excitement, loyalty and joy.

Daniel enjoys shopping to a degree – especially if it’s for someone else – but doesn’t feel like money is his to spend on himself (more on that later). He carries a great deal of guilt into the buying process because of his pessimism and fear of the future, and anything that smacks of uncertainty, risk, or surprise tends to send him running.

Daniel doesn’t like surprises. He will buy more at once to avoid coming back later, if the purchase feels right for him, because that saves him from having to spend again later. He harbors so much resistance to purchasing things that he will eventually go on near manic spending sprees after months of denying himself. He will basically snap and binge.

Basically, Daniel feels guilty about spending money, period. He’s somewhat of a martyr when it comes to spending money on himself because he feels guilty that he’s not spending it on other people. He does not buy things for himself as a rule, and he probably blames someone else for that situation. The bulk of his money tends to get diverted to children, a spouse or sometimes a parent.

He often thinks of how much of a relief it would be to have significantly more money, because then he wouldn’t have to justify purchases, worry that he was spending on the wrong things, or see opportunities for a great deal pass him by. (Of course, having more money will not make a blind bit of difference after the initial rush wears off, but that’s pretty much true for everybody.)

Daniel doesn’t love to shop like Carol does, but he still shops, and there are still places where upsells, cross-sells and upgrades can work for him. Let’s discuss.

How Daniel Reacts To An Offer

On any given day, Daniel is about 20% likely to respond to an upgrade or an upsell. (Amy was around 80%, Bob was around 60%, and Carol is around 40%.) So compared to the other archetypes, he’s in the lowest percentage of likelihood.

The key to selling to Daniel lies in understanding what’s going through his mind during a purchase and how that affect his willingness to buy more.

For Daniel, his key spending patterns are related to purchases for others and his personal hobbies.

When it comes to making purchases for other people, he is likely to spend very freely, sparing no expense. He feels guilty about spending money on himself, but at the same time he feels guilty about not spending enough on people he feels a level of responsibility towards.

If he’s buying school pictures for his kids, he will almost always buy at a higher level than the minimum (though he’ll likely choose the lowest price “upgrade” package). If he’s buying gifts for relatives or friends, the final total at checkout will be high. And if there’s any way he can score a great deal, he will be over the moon about it, because he will be tallying up the “ordinary,” non-sale price and feel like he’s doing right by other people.

If you’re personally selling to a Daniel who is buying for others, be gentle. You are almost guaranteed more sales, but don’t be pushy or try to take advantage of him or he’ll abandon the transaction completely. Give him exceptionally good offers he can feel good about, and don’t add any pressure.

Daniel will also spend on hobbies, and tends to be a little obsessed with the hobbies he picks. If Daniel were a woman of child-bearing age, he would almost definitely be a scrapbooker (unless he was convinced he’d only screw it up anyway).

Hobby purchases tend to be either extremely minimal (“This paintbrush set is on sale – the responsible thing would be to pick it up”) or they are substantial and far-between (“This video game console is expensive, but it will last me for years.”). It takes a lot for a Daniel to spend, and he waits for something or someone to make the purchase a “responsible” one before he’s willing to do it.

One other thing to be aware of is that Daniel can’t stand unnecessary offers. He hates it when he’s buying a computer from Dell online and they keep trying to offer him digital cameras or printers, because that’s not the primary thing he set out to purchase. These upsells aren’t relevant enough to fit the purpose of his original purchase. (“A monitor? Fine. But a camera? Come on.”)

Daniel also cannot resist a deal. There’s a lot he wants to buy but can’t talk himself into buying it. A special offer on something he can see himself needing or using can be irresistible. He, like Carol, will deliberately space out purchases. He gets nervous spending a lot of money at once, even if the amount is inconsequential. “I can’t justify spending more money now because …” is a constant litany in Daniel’s head.

Interestingly, he will say “I can’t justify spending more money” – notice the “more” — even when he has not actually spent any money. He’s thinking about his cable bill, or that new drill he bought two months ago.

He will say “I don’t need it” on an upsell to a product he ALREADY doesn’t need but simply wants, such as a DVD, video game, or gadget. He feels he must earn or deserve the right to purchase things for himself that are not necessities.

Because of this, Daniel actually responds very well to offers much later. He thinks, “I’ve said no to the last ten… I deserve this.” Because he’s put off that purchase he’s wanted to make for long enough, all the guilt is gone. “I’ve been good” is something you hear from him every now and again.

If he wants or needs something, he doesn’t say “No,” he says “Not yet.” And he LIKES the offer, even the 15 times he doesn’t take it, because it reminds him that one day he will get it. This is a little piece of hope for him, one he will allow himself to hold on to. The Amazon Wish List was made for Daniel.

What Offers Work For Daniel

Point of purchase:
(This is an offer that takes place before any money changes hands.)

This will almost never work for Daniel. He won’t be mad at the offer, but he will almost never buy. If he does, he will always buy the smallest/least expensive package (unless it’s something that contributes to a higher value or is a purchase for someone else).

Too many choices tends to remind him of all the things he can’t have. Just about the only thing they’ll add at the point of purchase is a gift. If you’re a massage therapist, here’s where you could offer him a discounted session or gift certificate for a friend.

Immediately post-purchase:
(This is an offer made right after the initial purchase takes place, often but not always in the same session.)

Again, this is a good place to offer a deal that rewards someone else and can be given as a gift. It’s not a sure thing by any stretch, but you have a decent shot with Daniel. You could also offer a great deal on a very necessary accessory. If Daniel just bought a digital camera for a vacation trip, a larger memory card could work here.

Play it soft and gentle here with Daniel. It was hard enough for him to pull out his credit card the first time and he knows it’s going to be hard to do it again. Make your deal here especially sweet, and make sure it’s for something of genuine relevance. Any offer that’s unnecessary or trivial will annoy Daniel here.

Between purchase and consumption:
(This is an offer made after buying but before receiving or using.)

This is actually a good place to sell again to Daniel. He has fully justified the first purchase and therefore a second, highly specific and related upsell can be seen as “just and fair” by association with the first. (But it MUST be related. A totally random thing is a guaranteed no-go.)

If Daniel books a 60-minute massage and the day before his session, he receives an upgrade email to extend it to 90 minutes, he’s likely to buy. (He wishes he bought 90 minutes in the first place, but it seemed out of reach until he received a great upsell offer.)

At the point of consumption:
(This is an offer made while your buyer is using or consuming whatever they bought first.)

This is also a good place to sell to Daniel. Like Bob, he’s denied himself so long to justify the original purchase that he can’t help making it “even better.” He has finally let herself do something and damnit, he’s going to enjoy it.

If he’s bought a video game and some in-game add-on is 50% off, he’ll be likely to buy it because it feels connected to the first, “safe” purchase. It’s responsible (“If I bought it later, it would be full price.”). If he’s picking up his car from the oil change shop and when paying is offered a discount for booking his next oil change, he’s likely to take it. Everything gets tied in his mind to that first purchase.

Later:
(As the name implies, this is an offer that is made after the rest of the stages, from a few days to a few years.)

As we said earlier, Daniel denies himself purchases, but is always on the lookout for a deal. Keep him regularly informed of all your special offers and he’ll eventually take some of them. He will wait, and wait, and wait, until he’s denied himself so long he’ll make a purchase simply to break the tension.

Keep your offers to Daniel here time-sensitive but not pressured. If you’re offering him a 50% discount for 3 days only, make it a discount you give periodically, like twice a year, so he knows that if he can’t buy now, his turn will come around again.

Examples by Learning Track

(This content is part of the (free!) Same People, More Money course. The course has custom learning tracks for different types of businesses, so let’s take a look at some examples for each.)

Track 1 – Repeat service providers:

These are businesses that have customers who buy from them fairly frequently, like massage therapists, manicurists, and most coaches.  Here’s specific advice on how to get Daniel to make more (or larger) purchases from you.

You probably don’t have a lot of Daniels because he doesn’t like spending on himself, least of all repeatedly. If you do have him, help him keep his costs down with bundles. Offer more than once – he’ll probably buy one day. He takes comfort knowing the bundles exist, even if it takes him a long time to buy one.

He will buy for his spouse, and if your Daniel is a female, she’ll buy for her kids at pretty much any point in the process.

You’ll be at an advantage if you’re following up with Daniel regularly with things like physical catalogs or brochures reminding him of what you’re selling. He may not buy today, but he’ll buy one day and doesn’t feel negatively towards the reminders. Flipping through catalogs and thinking “Someday …” is a recreational pastime for him.

Track 2 – Infrequent or one-time service providers:

These are businesses that have customers who buy from them infrequently, such as wedding photographers, astrologers, web designers.  Here’s specific advice on how to get Daniel to make more (or larger) purchases from you.

Follow-up is critical with Daniel – remember, the likelihood of point of purchase upsells is low. Contact Daniel every way you can – mail, email, and phone (if appropriate), keeping it all very low-key and low-pressure. You’re not trying to convince, you’re just putting your offers out and waiting for the right time to arrive.

Send Daniel frequent upgrade options and make sure he knows about them at the point of purchase – he won’t buy then, but the seed will be planted in his mind and your future contact with him will make more sense. Daniel needs a lot of exposure.

Because you’re an infrequent service provider your service probably holds a lot of gravitas for them (wedding photos, web design, etc.) – so keep in mind that Daniel wants to “do it right” when he makes a future purchase. You have a good opportunity here to sell him an upgrade that he couldn’t quite bring himself to buy during te original transaction.

Track 3 – Products:

These are businesses that have customers who buy specific items – we’re talking about Etsy crafters, information marketers and catalog sellers for example.  Here’s specific advice on how to get Daniel to make more (or larger) purchases from you.

Here you’ll want to promote gifts or special offers for friends (coupons, gift certificates, gifts, etc.). Always offer these to Daniel because today might be his “binge day” and he’s going to spend a lot of money somewhere, so it may as well be on you.

Pack coupons or references to other products into your existing products. Remember that Daniel needs a lot of exposure to your message before he’s ready to buy. He’s used to wanting things, so he’s used to commerce – you can stay in contact a lot.

Now that you know what makes Daniel buy, let’s talk about Vera.

We’ll be talking about Crazy Auntie Vera next – what she’s like, what she’s thinking and what makes her such a psycho. We’ll also talk about what to do when Crazy Auntie Vera (also known as Your Nightmare Customer From Hell) gets her crazy on in your direction. Stay tuned, and start thinking about how you’re going to sell to Daniel in the meantime.