You will be able to present two or three options that differ in a way the buyer can understand.
You have probably been offered options that were not really options. A gym membership with a basic plan so stripped down that nobody would choose it. A phone contract with three tiers, where the cheapest leaves out the one thing you came in for. You can tell the seller built two decoys to make the third look sensible, and it makes you trust the whole menu a little less.
Real options work differently. They give the buyer a choice about how to buy rather than whether to buy. That shift matters. A buyer looking at one proposal asks, "Should I do this?" A buyer looking at two or three good options asks, "Which of these suits us?" Both are fair questions, but the second is closer to a decision, and it lets the buyer shape the solution instead of accepting or rejecting yours.
The rule that keeps options honest is simple. Each one has to solve the problem the buyer confirmed in discovery. An option that drops the core problem is not a choice. It is a way to make another option look good.
Go back to Priya and Joel. Joel's core problem is that the books eat his Sundays and he cannot trust the numbers from his two cafes. Any option Priya offers must take the books off Joel's hands and give him numbers he can rely on. An option that only tidies up last year's records for the accountant would not count, because it leaves the Sundays exactly where they were.
So Priya's three options all include monthly books for both outlets. Where they differ is in how quickly problems get spotted and how much support Joel gets.
Buyers compare options on what matters to them. Your internal package names mean nothing to a cafe owner, so describe each difference as speed, scope, support or risk, whichever one the buyer would notice in their own week.
Here are Priya's three options, with prices made up for this lesson.
Option one, at S$350 a month: monthly books for both outlets, with the tills checked against sales once a month. Joel gets his Sundays back, but a till gap could go unnoticed for up to a month.
Option two, at S$450 a month: monthly books plus a weekly till reconciliation for each outlet, with any gap flagged by Monday. Joel finds out within a week if a till is short.
Option three, at S$550 a month: everything in option two, plus a quarterly meeting to go through cash flow and plan for the next quarter. More support, for an owner who wants to think ahead.
Bringing last year's records up to date for the accountant is a one-off S$600, the same in every option, because Joel needs it whichever he picks.
Notice how each line ends with what changes for Joel. The difference between options one and two is not "weekly reconciliation module." It is "you find out within a week, not a month." Put it that way and the buyer can choose for themselves.
Keep to two or three. One option is a yes or no. Four or more and the buyer has to work too hard, and some will put off deciding altogether. Sales foundations lesson 1.3, Why no decision beats every competitor, explains why that is the outcome to fear most.
Laying out options and then saying "it's up to you" is not neutral. It leaves the buyer to work out alone something you are better placed to judge. Recommend one option, and give the reason in a sentence that refers to what the buyer told you.
Priya recommends option two: "I'd suggest option two, because you told me the thing that worries you most is not knowing whether a gap is a mistake or something worse, and weekly checks answer that within days." Her reason is Joel's own words played back.
A recommendation is not always the most expensive option. If Joel had said cash was tight this year and the till worry was minor, option one would have been the honest pick, and Priya should say so. Buyers notice when the recommendation always lands on the top tier, and they stop trusting it.
The same applies when the buyer is an individual. A financial adviser setting out choices for a client should base the recommendation on that client's needs and budget, and explain the reasoning. The course Selling financial advice in Singapore: needs-based and compliant covers what that means for advisers in detail.
Watch for three mistakes. Options that differ in ways the buyer cannot see, such as different internal processes with the same result. Options built so that only one is sensible, which buyers spot and resent. And an option the buyer never asked for, added because it pays you more.
Before you write the options in the activity below, list the four or five things the buyer said mattered most. Pick one or two of them. Those are where your options will differ.
Design two or three options for one live opportunity and write the one sentence explaining which you recommend and why.
Junxiong-WFG Organisation is an authorised representative of AIA Financial Advisers Private Limited (Reg. No. 201715016G).