How Your Decision Making Personality is Impacting Your Business
I learnt recently about the two types of decision making personalities and I’m going to share them with you today.
See if you recognise yourself as one or the other.
Satisficers VS Maximisers
A Satisficer is someone who has a criteria in their mind – a check list if you will – of what they want when they are buying something (let’s say, a pair of jeans – dark blue, slim fit, high waist), and as soon as they find the first item that matches their criteria, they are happy to make the decision and purchase the jeans.
Whereas a Maximiser is someone who needs to know they are getting the best of all possible options. A Maximiser will walk into the jeans store, pick out ALL the jeans that match their criteria, try them ALL on, compare buttons to zips, and stretch quality to price, and then go to the next jeans store to see if they have better options.
Maximisers find it hard to make a decision, but a Satisficer can make pretty quick decisions.
And seeing fast decision-making is one of the key criteria for business success, it seems like a Satisficer would be a better business person.
Is that really true?
I see myself as definitely in the Maximiser camp.
When I go to a restaurant, I have to read the WHOLE menu to make sure I’m getting the best option. I weigh up the health content, the price differences, what sides come with which item, what I ate recently, what I feel like… And if the waiter comes over to tell me the specials AFTER I’ve made up my mind, the process starts all over.
And then I usually order a mix of menu items, I’m one of those pedantic customers… “I’ll have the lamb, but can I have the sides that come with the beef? And sauce on the side.”
(I always get sauce on the side. I don’t trust that they’ll put the right amount on.)
However, when it comes to business, I CAN make decisions quickly.
Take this blog challenge for instance.
Normally I would get stuck on sentence one. But now, I’m allowing myself to write without editing or even thinking much about it. I’ll edit at the end, but whatever sentence I am writing right now (including this one) is good enough. It satisfies my criteria for getting the blog written.
And I don’t need much information to call back an enquiry from a new potential client.
Instead of umming and ahhing over whether or not I can help the person who’s enquired – checking their website, searching for them on socials, pondering what they might need help with and whether or no I’m a good fit – I simple call them back and ask some questions.
The criteria has been met – they’ve told me their name, their number and that they’d like to chat. Easy.
I also feel like Maximisers would suffer a lot from FOMO (fear of missing out).
Because their ultimate driving force is to ensure they are getting the best possible option of everything available. And this can lead to continuous searching for more options.
If a Maximiser has made a decision, and new options come available, they feel that FOMO and begin questioning their original decision.
Maximiser are probably the early adopters of technology too. A new model comes out, they compare it to their existing one, clearly the new one is more advanced, so they made the switch.
Whereas a Satisficer would see the new model, but compare it to their existing one which is still meeting their criteria, and NOT decide to upgrade.
How about you?
Where do you see yourself on the Satisficer-Maximiser spectrum?
How does one or the other impact your business?
