Legal Commentary

Seller Must Adapt To Buyer

By Patrick J. Lamb

Just a few days ago, I posted You Must Understand Their Expectations Before You Can Meet Them, the latest is a long line of posts in which I articulate my basic premise that Clients have the power of the Buyer and that law is, inherently, a Buyer's market.  In this same vein, Seth Godin has just posted The Rational Marketer (and the irrational customer).  Before I make my point, let me first be clear that I AM NOT suggesting that clients are irrational customers.  Far from it.

Back to Seth Godin's post.  Here's the punchline:

The problem is that your prospect doesn't care about any of those things. He cares about his boss or the story you're telling or the risk or the hassle of making a change. He cares about who you know and what other people will think when he tells them what he's done after he buys from you.

The opportunity, then, is not to insist that your customers get more rational, but instead to embrace just how irrational they are. Give them what they need. Help them satisfy their needs at the same time they get the measurable, rational results your product can give them in the long run.

When you begin with the premise that the buyer has (1) the money you want and (2) the power to decide whether to hire you or not, any discussion of rationality is wasted breath.  All that matters is whether you make the client believe that hiring you will make his or her life better.  You won't find that out from the Company website.  The more you interact with the customer, the more you will know.  The more questions you ask, the more you will know.  And in the end, your best chance of winning will be if you adapt to the Buyers needs and wants instead of trying to make the Buyer change.

Full post as published by In Search of Perfect Client Service on February 18, 2009 (boomark / email).