Beware of Busy Buyers: Make Your Solution Easy to Buy

“Never underestimate the laziness of buyers.”

That was the advice a mentor gave me. He was someone I trusted, respected, and would take all of his suggestions and put them into play.

Yet this advice was very offending to me because I’ve never considered my buyers or my clients as lazy people.

No, they’re hardworking, they’re really smart, and they care about what they’re doing.

So, laziness is not a word I would attach to them. But because I trusted my mentor, I ignored his word choice and focused on the message that he was trying to tell me, and what I found is that it was very wise advice.

Buyers Are Busy

You see, our buyers are busy. They have so much information coming at them each day.

They’re over-scheduled, and if it is hard, or frustrating, or confusing on how they can decide to work with you, to move through that process to get what you’re offering, they’re not going to have the time, bandwidth, or effort to put into it.

So, the easier we make it for them, the faster they get our help. 

What I Could Have Done Better

So case in point, I have a client that I have been working with, and he wanted to talk about a larger scope for helping more of the people in his business.

And what I thought was a brainstorming conversation with this very type A, let’s-get-going kind of guy, turned into, “This sounds great, let’s get moving.”

The problem was, I wasn’t ready. I didn’t have an implementation plan ready for him. I didn’t have a timeframe that I could lay out. I didn’t have the fees available.

So, instead, I set up the next steps and said, “Okay, here’s what’s going to happen. I’m going to put together the implementation plan with the timeline, send it to you, and once you look through it and approve it, we’ll then incorporate all of that into your services agreement, we’ll get you the services agreement for you to sign, and then we’ll be able to get started.

He said, “That sounded great.” Problem was, I couldn’t get his attention again. I sent him that information. I called. I emailed. Over 60 days I still couldn’t even get a response from him, which I knew wasn’t because he didn’t want to do it. I knew it was because I had lost his attention and focus, and getting him to refocus was not easy.

So, as I was preparing this message, I thought, “I’m still making it hard. I’m waiting for him to get into this detail, make a decision so that we can take the next step because a signed agreement is what ensures that we’re delivering the right scope and going to get paid.

So, instead, I sent him the services agreement through our e-signing software. Within 45 minutes I got the email that said the contract to the agreement was signed. And so then, I could contact his assistant and get everything scheduled and now, we’re on track to get going.

But, what a shame that his business lost these services for a couple of months, which means they lost sales for those couple of months and I take responsibility for that because I didn’t make it easy for him.

So, while some people call me a sales guru expert, I’m not always expertly executing the best practices. Learn from my mistake.

Identify the Potential Outcome for Your Conversations Beforehand

Here’s two ways that you can make it easy for your buyers to get what you’re offering faster and more effortlessly.

First, identify the potential outcome for any interaction or conversation you have, and be ready for the next steps for more than one probable outcome. That will keep you from scrambling like I did and keep things moving forward. Adjust to what they need at the time, and be specific on what that is.

Connect Your Conversation to What’s in it for Them

The second way to make it easy is to connect anything that you talk about as far as your service, your recommendation, your fees, your background to What’s in it for Them.

Make it easy for them to see why this is important, why it’s relevant, and why there’s value to it in working with you.

Remember your buyer is busy and so much information is coming at them each day that counting on them to make that mental connection is making them do more work than they should. We should be able to make that connection because no one knows the value more than we do.

One Size Doesn’t Fit All

So, for example, if you tell people, “We’re going to work with you on your cash flow.” Well, what does that really mean?

For one person, “work with you on your cash flow” might mean that they’re going to be able to make confident purchase decisions each month because they know what’s available.

For another person, working on their cash flow might mean, “We’re going to be able to identify what can be freed up so that you can pay down debt and save on those interest fees.”

Help Them Get What You’re Offering

You knowing how to make that connection makes it easy for them to move through the process, make a decision, and get what you’re offering.

So, while “Never underestimate the laziness of your buyers” is not great word choice, “Do whatever you can to make it easy for your buyers” is wise advice.