Think about what you prefer when you’re a buyer.
Why spend time thinking about how to make buyers feel special? Because we all buy from sellers who respect our time, the ones who don’t waste a single minute on irrelevant pitches, mundane questions or rework. We appreciate when sellers are efficient, coming to meetings on time, prepared and fully engaged.
This doesn’t mean buyers expect sellers to race through the agenda or to “take just a minute of your time” as so many sellers promise when they book an appointment.
What buyers want is to invest the right amount of time to get the value they need. If, within the allotted time, a seller also creates more value, the buyer feels the return on the time invested is even greater. Sellers make buyers feel special when they respect their time and work to create value in the time they spend together.
Creating value could be succinctly defined as taking the extra steps needed to let a buyer know he or she is appreciated. Some specific ways cited by buyers include:
- The seller took an extra measure of care to check a detail, make a call or follow through on something I was concerned about.
- The seller anticipated my needs, responding with ideas or asking questions I hadn’t even thought of yet.
- The seller asked me about when and how to communicate with me and abides by the preferences I outlined.
- The seller took the time to explain how I could use her products and taught me about best practices in businesses like mine.
- The seller gave me advance notice about deadlines so I wouldn’t have to make decisions at the last minute.
- The seller booked meetings directly on my Outlook calendar for me, which was a big help because I was in between assistants.
- The seller tracked data and ran analysis for me so we could adjust order volume based on the early trend lines.
- The seller introduced me to someone and networked on my behalf to help me get a firmer foothold in the industry.
- The seller spoke my language and understood my business. We talked about what mattered most to me.
- The seller sent me articles and information pertinent to my business.
None of these examples takes much time. And each one creates new value in the buyer’s mind, building trust and loyalty. Just ask quality questions, so you can pinpoint buyer priorities and can create value.
