I use this phrase with clients: the sophisticated buyer.

It has nothing to do with intelligence. It has everything to do with context and experience.

A sophisticated buyer has been through the process before. They’ve purchased consulting services like this. They can speak a little inside baseball. And they can usually decipher what you do quickly (or even say it back to you in their own words).

They understand about 80%. Meaning they are talking to your to unearth the last 20%. The nuance that gives them confidence to decide.

When you’re speaking with a sophisticated buyer, the conversation feels different. There’s an, “Oh, you get it” moment in the conversation. Where is becomes more direct, without it feeling direct.

Unsophisticated buyers struggle with the same style of conversation. Not because they’re incapable, but because they lack context. They may not know the budget, the buying norms, or even the outcome they’re trying to achieve. Which is why jumping to price too early can derail things.

Sometimes the goal of the early conversation is simply to make them feel like a sophisticated buyer in the process.

Or to recognize they already are one.

Thank you for reading.

Be well. Talk soon.

— Peter

P.S. The interesting thing about sophisticated buyers is that they’re often created through conversation, not discovered beforehand. The earlier you recognize who you’re speaking with, the easier it is to navigate the rest of the conversation.