Also Solve Personal Challenges

Sellers fixated on personas miss crucial buyer insights.

Here's the kicker:

A lot of rapport and trust-building happens outside of the persona context.

Buyers, as everyday people, have their own dreams and challenges: 

- Keeping their partners happy

- Building a great life for their kids

- Progressing in their own careers

… whatever.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned from having dealt with hundreds of buyers over the last 10 years, it’s this:

Look at them holistically. Pay attention to everything. Then action it.

- The trivia they drop during a call

- The things that get them excited or worked up

- Areas where they seem confused, overwhelmed, or clueless

Try to build on these, go deeper. Ask questions, label. Note it down, follow-up proactively.

A lot of sellers don’t do it. They just leave that info on the table, right there for the taking. 

Too bad for them––better for us.

Is that alone going to sell your product? Nope. It still has to be relevant.

But the point I want to make is that you might be able to help your buyers in more areas.

I’ve helped buyers:

- plan their honeymoon trip to Portugal

- get them access to health practitioners

- brainstrom for their personal passion projects

While I’m highly curious to connect with people personally, I’m still not a Samaritan. I have a commercial agenda.

But the beauty is, that buyers won’t mind––if you’re helping them what matters to them on a personal level. 

As an exercise this weekend, think about where you can help.

Not (just) with the product or service you’re selling (let’s assume that is a good fit). But also what else you as a person have to offer, your assets:

- The network you have

- The experiences you’ve had

- Skills you’ve developed in one domain

And sometimes literally just… time. Giving a person the feeling to be seen.

The beauty is that with that, you tap into the psychological principle of reciprocity. 

Humans are wired to return favors. 

Even if a person cannot help you progress a deal, they might be able to give valuable feedback, industry insights, or warm intros. 

A win-win scenario, that is more about paying attention than extra effort.