The X and Y of Buy: Sell More and Market Better by Knowing How the Sexes Shop (NelsonFree) (Hardcover)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Men and women are different. The plumbing is different; the wiring is different. Not better or worse, just different. To say this in the post-feminist corporate arena has been political suicide. But the science has confirmed that men and women use different parts of their brains and thus behave differently in a host of situations, including the way we shop, buy and consume products and services. 

As a sales, advertising or marketing professional understanding these differences is the key to your success.  As a child, you were taught The Golden Rule: treat others as you would like to be treated.  But as you grew up, it became evident (often on the school playground) that half of the others-those of the opposite sex-don't respond well to being treated the way that you want to be treated.  If you still are treating the other half of your customers the way you want to be treated you are likely missing half (or more) of your market and leaving half (or more) of your sales on the table.

To increase sales, you must understand what uniquely drives your customers, male and female, and maximize your options for communicating with them.  Whether you sell tangible products like cars and homes or intangible products like financial services or business solutions, read on. Understanding the inherent perceptions, motivations and emotions specific to the X and the Y chromosomes is the most powerful way to increase revenue.

Endorsements

"Wow! Great book! I've always said you had to be a chameleon to be a great seller; you have to work with all kinds of people. The X and Y of Buy takes that belief even one step further. I wish it had been written when my career first began; I certainly would have made more sales." -- Michael Oppenheimer, Market Manager, Clear Channel Radio-Memphis

"Reading Elizabeth Pace's The X & Y of Buy is like having the 'answers to the test'…knowing the key in communicating to women vs. men makes it simple to be successful! This is a great tool, with great insight, and it is hilarious!  I love to laugh and learn, and with this book you do both.  It is definitely a 'must read' for my Leadership Team!" -- Cordia Harrington, CEO & the "Bun Lady," Tennessee Bun Company

About the Author

Elizabeth Pace is the CEO of Floreat. A graduate of Ohio State University, she served for thirteen years as vice president of sales and marketing for three successful startups and has consulted with companies in a dozen different industries.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 220 pages
• Publisher: Thomas Nelson (June 9, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1595551050
• ISBN-13: 978-1595551054
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (80 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #571,600 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Google Researched It, Nature Wrote It, Nurture Trumps It, July 16, 2009

By	Kyle Slayzar (Grand Forks, ND) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

(What's this?)

As a retail salesman of nine years from 17 till when I received my graduate degree, I am always fascinated to listen to new ideas on how to improve my sales approach. So, when The X and Y of Buy ("X&Y") showed up as a choice in my monthly Amazon book club, I was hoping for some new insight. Sadly, what I ended up doing was taking out my trusty red pen and correcting what I saw were obvious factual errors while noting them in my also-trusty paper notebook. I wrote five pages of correctional notes.

Before I get into the realm of negenation, let us go over the book's primary thesis.

Author Elizabeth Pace starts by stipulating that men and women shop differently because they are differently. OK, unless you've never been to any department store and realized the men's clothing section is all polos shirts and jeans while the women's is 10x larger and with specific clothing (and specialized decorative soaps to match) for every conceivable body part, tell me something I don't know. Seriously, you do not have to read Men are From Mars, Women are From Venus to see this concept play out in society. Unfortunately for Pace, she writes as if she just discovered this concept.

However, it is the next thesis claim that really is off base. Pace makes it clear that the differences between male and female shopping habbits are almost exclusively due to biological differences and nothing else. She completely sidesteps socialization or nurture as an influence of defining a person's gender. It goes to the nurture vs. nature argument that Pace doesn't even really reference and does not even spend time debating. Even in her Q&A section she references biology the entire time and not any other external factors. She failed to look at all aspects or, at least, give them a second thought or prove why they are not prevalent.

Pace also failed to consider all options in her research is also hindered by the fact that she did very little research to come to the conclusion she did. She does not even include a detailed bibliography, just a four-page notes section. Upon examining her notes, I discovered that pace did not truly do much academic research. Since Pace is not a brain surgeon or an academician, she has to do some academic referencing and not rely on her own knowledge. Sadly, her sources are anything but academic. There are a lot of secondary sources (mainly articles referencing other articles bringing up biology), self-help books, and a lot more websites. I think the most intellectual source Pace used was a PBS website article. There are NO academic journal articles, no encyclopedia articles, or even an interview with a specialist. Heck, chapter 7 ("Give Them Something to Talk About") doesn't even have any citations!

When I typed "male female brain differences journal" into a Google search engine (which almost seems to be the method Pace used), I had numerous results from the Journal of Psychiatric Studies, the Harvard Medical Review, and many others. Pace could have easily done this or even ventured to the public library and requested some medical journals to back up her case.

All in all, Pace has brought up stuff we, as an audience, already know, ignored a critical sociological element in raising genders, and used substandard sources to get us there. I'm under the suspicion Pace wrote this book for seminars and VERY casual reading for junior salesman. She could have done a WHOLE lot better.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars More than just business marketing, this can help you in life, August 10, 2009

By	donnie5 (Cincinnati, Ohio) - See all my reviews

The X and Y of Buy is a book about gender marketing. Author Elizabeth Pace uses the scientific differences between men and women to help sales associates and entrepreneurs learn the best practices for dealing with different genders. the premise is; if you can market properly to men and women, you will be able to increase sales and expand your business.

I really enjoyed this book. Pace gives us many tips and access to research to help us deal cross-gender. She tells us things like men are more driven and strait forward when it comes to sales. They do not want interruptions and need to get right to the point. Women, on the other hand, want more connection and community when it comes to business relationships. Women will deal with (or add to) the conversations and interruptions if it means a group can come to a consensus.

The only place I found this book lacking was in the "spiritual content" department. Thomas Nelson is a Christian publisher and prides itself on having a spiritual message. If they did not, I would not be picking at this point. It would have been nice to see a link between gender-specific sales practices and proper Christian ethics. Maybe a chapter on how men could treat women with respect during a sales meeting (trust me, I witnessed the degradation of women in many a sales meeting) or some way women can deal with the constant sexual marketing happening today.

Overall, it was a good book. I enjoyed reading sections aloud to my wife and more than once getting that "ah-ha!" moment as I found something that related both to business practices, and my personal relationships. I give this book 4 out of five stars.

-Don-

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The X and Y of Buy, August 8, 2009

By	C. Kendall - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Any person who works in sales can benefit from a book like The X and Y of Buy. In this book, Elizabeth Pace discusses the difference between men and women and their buying habits. If we can understand those differences, we can learn how to better our sales techniques depending on gender.

The X and Y of Buy is a very informative and interesting book. It not only discusses how to sell to men and women differently, it goes deeper and tells the reader why men and women are so different. My husband works in sales and I know that he will benefit greatly by reading this book. I found the scientific aspects of this book to be very interesting. I am always interested in the science behind things and Elizabeth Pace has included some interesting scientific facts.

This book has a very readable format that will make it easy to read when traveling or between sales meetings. There are several tables and charts illustrating important points. I highly recommend The X and Y of Buy to anyone who works in sales or is just interested in the differences in buying habits of men and women. It really is a good read.

The X and Y of Buy is part of a new program by Thomas Nelson called Nelsonfree. When you buy this book you can also download the free audio book and the free ebook.