You will be able to name the stages of a buying decision and say what a buyer needs from a seller at each one.
Many sellers start explaining the product as soon as a conversation begins. Often the buyer isn't ready to hear it, and the conversation ends there. You can avoid this by working out where the buyer is in their decision. Every buying decision goes through five stages, whether or not a seller is involved. Once you know a buyer's stage, you know what to say to them. You also know what to leave unsaid.
Think back to your last costly purchase, such as a laptop, a gym membership or a sofa. The decision probably began in your own head weeks before you spoke to a salesperson. That is normal for a costly purchase. By the time a buyer talks to anyone selling, most of the work is already done.
The first stage is noticing. The buyer becomes aware that something is wrong or could be better. Maybe the old laptop takes four minutes to start, a friend pays half as much for the same phone plan, or the rent went up. At this point nobody is shopping. The buyer only sees a gap.
The second stage is researching. It starts once the gap bothers the buyer enough. They search online, read reviews, and ask a group chat or an AI assistant what is available. They want a sense of the kinds of solution that exist, and they are still some way off choosing one.
The third stage is comparing. The buyer has a shortlist and asks specific questions about budget and about fit with their own situation, such as their working hours and their family. People read the fine print at this stage. This is also where most buyers first talk to a seller.
The fourth stage is deciding. The buyer picks one option or decides to do nothing. Doing nothing is a real outcome and a common one, and the next lesson covers it.
The fifth stage is justifying, which comes after payment. Buyers look for reasons their choice was right. They reread the reviews they agreed with and tell friends why they chose it. A buyer who still feels unsure after buying may ask for a refund, cancel during a free-look period, or simply never recommend you. In Singapore, most insurance policies come with a free-look period, a cooling-off window after purchase in which the policyholder can review the policy and cancel it by writing to the insurer. Travel, car and maid insurance do not have one. MoneySense explains how the free-look period works and how long it currently lasts.
These days much of the research happens before anyone contacts a seller. By the time someone replies to you or books a call, they have often seen the main options and formed opinions about them. Some of those opinions are right and some are wrong. You are rarely their first source of information. Your job is to help the buyer make sense of what they found, correct what they got wrong, and add what only someone close to the product would know.
Pitching straight away goes badly with a buyer who is still noticing. They haven't yet agreed that there is a problem worth solving, so a pitch feels like being rushed towards a decision they haven't started. Even a good product sounds like pressure when you offer it at the wrong stage. Offered at the right stage, the same product sounds like help.
Take a financial adviser at a friend's wedding. A guest mentions that their parents are getting older. In one version, the adviser starts describing a policy, and the guest makes an excuse and heads for the buffet. In the other version, the adviser asks what made the guest start thinking about it, and they talk for twenty minutes. The first adviser treated the guest as someone comparing products. The second met the guest at their real stage, which was noticing.
If the buyer is noticing, help them define the problem. Ask what prompted the thought, what the problem costs them and what happens if nothing changes.
If they are researching, explain the options honestly, including ones you don't sell. Buyers usually come back to the seller who described the whole category fairly.
If they are comparing, help them weigh what matters in their own situation. Leave aside the points that only make your product look good.
If they are deciding, make the decision easy and low-risk, with clear terms and an obvious next step.
If they are justifying, follow up after the sale. Check that the product works, and answer any question the buyer was too embarrassed to ask before signing.
Only one of the five stages, comparing, involves describing the product in any detail. Sellers who treat every conversation as a comparing conversation miss most of the ways they could be useful.
Buyers rarely tell you which stage they are in, so you have to ask. Plain questions work best:
What made you start looking into this? What have you looked at so far? Have you ruled anything out? How soon would you want it sorted?
Listen to the whole answer before you decide what to say next, then place the buyer in a stage from what they told you. A buyer who isn't sure it is even a problem is noticing. A buyer who names three competitors and their prices is well into comparing. Once you know the stage, respond with what that stage needs, using the guide above.
In the activity below, write your own version of these stage-finding questions in words that sound like you, so they are ready for your next conversation.
Write down three questions you could ask a new prospect to find out which stage of the buying process they are in.
Junxiong-WFG Organisation is an authorised representative of AIA Financial Advisers Private Limited (Reg. No. 201715016G).