I'm sure you've noticed that selling to women is very different than selling to men... And it's true! Everyone knows that women are the tougher sex to sell to. Men are go-get-em decision makers and women take more time to browse before they decide. Case in point: I have a friend who visited 39 houses before she bought... her male counterpart only visited 4 of those before he was decided. Guess what? The house they bought was the 38th!

Research has shown that when you meet the expectations of women, you exceed the expectations of men... So all you really have to know is how not to lose your sale when dealing with a woman. Here are some tips:

1. Don't interrupt a woman when she's speaking with you. Right away, you're giving her the impression that what she has to say to you isn't important. Let her speak, listen... really listen to what she's saying. Don't dominate the conversation or think you can read her mind or think you have closed the deal without her saying so and walk away. bagged it and walk away. You're certain to lose the sale if you do. Women want respect from people they deal with. Interrupting is not respect.

2. Remember that even if it's not the woman in the household that earns the money, she is the one who spends it. Don't believe it? Go to your nearest shopping mall and just watch who's walking around and spending the cash. Here are some interesting statistics: Women purchase 83% of all products and services, 80% of all health care, 50% of all business travel, 65% of herbal remedies such as vitamins, etc., 66% of all cars and influence 85% of all automobile purchases, 50% of all computers and a whopping 90% of all jewellry, perfumes and beauty items. Still don't believe it? Well, that's just a taste of what's coming in the future. Why you ask? Think about it: Women outnumber men on college campuses and have done so since 1979. They are 50% of the students studying professions that will earn them high wages, such as medecine, law. Women are becoming entrepreneurs at twice the rate of men.... Take that to the bank!

3. Think about the experience for the women you are trying to sell to. Women are loyal customers and will go out of their way to do business with someone they trust and feel confident with. It's up to you to create the advantage for your product by providing an experience that the woman shopper can't find elsewhere.

4. Women talk. They share. They compare notes. And they tell everyone exactly what they think of a service. Haven't you ever seen a woman walk up to a perfect stranger while having a shopping experience and say something like: I've already tried that product and it was weak or faulty or whatever... They do it because they believe that women should get a fair shake. And they tell men, too. I was coming out of a large surface store's tool department and almost walked right into a woman coming out of the section. She gave me a look and said: "maybe you shouldn't go in there... I've been staning around for more than 20 minutes waiting for someone to help me with a tool purchase but I guess they don't want my business... maybe it's because I'm a woman trying to buy tools without a man... too bad for them... I'm a construction worker! I'll take my business elsewhere where they respect women". So, give women something good to talk about... and they'll tell EVERYONE! You see, it's simple really... women are better at communicating than men...and a woman's negative referrals will slow traffic. You can bet on it!

5. Women tend to use the same products at home that they do at work. Men don't. Keep in mind that the woman needs to feel the product is performing first and the sales service is up to par. That means that just one sale to a woman can turn into 2... or 3... or 4.... the sky's the limit. So keep in mind when you sell to a woman once, you've already got your foot in the door for future sales.

The bottom line is this: Women may be harder to sell to, but the benefits are more than worth it. And you can definitely take that to the bank... besides, it's probably run by a woman!