Some time ago, a taxi ride reminded me of something companies can easily overlook: two people can face the same product, have access to the same information and experience the same level of quality, yet feel very differently about adopting it. The difference is not always in the product itself. Sometimes, it lies in the decision.
Two people. The same car. Two different realities.
I have known an independent taxi operator for several years and occasionally use his services when I am in the Lyon area. On one journey to Eurexpo, our conversation turned to his new car. He spoke about it enthusiastically: the equipment, the comfort, the performance and the deal he had negotiated when buying it. Everything seemed to confirm that he had made the right choice.
What interested me most, however, was neither the car nor its specifications. It was the way he talked about it. He was proud of his decision. It was not simply a good car: it was the car he had chosen.
A few hours later, I needed another ride. This time, one of his employees picked me up, driving the very same vehicle. I naturally expected to hear the same enthusiasm. The opposite happened. To him, the car was nothing exceptional. He preferred other models and, had the choice been his, he would have chosen something else.
Same vehicle, same comfort, same company. Yet the experience of the decision was entirely different.
What changes is not the product. It is the person's place in the decision.
The first driver had taken part in the decision. He had compared, chosen, negotiated and weighed the alternatives. The second simply received the outcome of a decision made by someone else. His employer could explain at length why the car was excellent, describe its qualities, value and advantages, and every word could be true without ever turning that decision into his decision.
We often assume that adhesion increases as our arguments become more convincing. That is not always what happens. An argument can inform, reassure or provide proof. But it can also create resistance when it arrives before the other person has found their own reason to move forward.
Buying is more than saying yes
This is one of the starting points of Market[SELL]ing™. We tend to look at selling from the seller's side: what should we say, which argument should we use, which objection should we handle, what should we demonstrate, and how can we convince?
Market[SELL]ing™ shifts the perspective. The question becomes: what makes the other person begin to want to buy?
The difference may seem small, but it fundamentally changes the way we observe a decision. Someone can say yes without truly embracing the choice. Conversely, someone can still hesitate even when their desire to buy is already strong.
A decision is not a switch that simply moves from “no” to “yes”. It develops, progresses, sometimes retreats and encounters resistance. It is fed by proof, trust, projection, understanding and preference. This movement is precisely what the Desire-to-Buy Gauge™ is designed to help observe.
The problem begins when we decide for the other person
When I spoke with the employee, I made exactly the mistake I am describing. I started defending the car. I explained why it was remarkable, why he was fortunate to drive it and why, objectively, he should probably be satisfied with it.
In other words, I sold him a conclusion. It created no additional adhesion.
It is an extremely common reflex. When a customer hesitates, we add arguments. When they object, we answer. When they seem unconvinced, we strengthen the demonstration. When they cannot project themselves into the choice, we explain why they should.
Yet the problem is not always a lack of arguments. Sometimes, we simply do not yet understand what the person is actually trying to decide.
An objection is not always an obstacle to remove
Imagine a customer says, “It’s expensive.” The conventional sales response is to defend the price. Yet that sentence can hide very different realities. The price may genuinely be too high; the customer may not perceive enough value; they may be comparing another solution, fearing a poor decision or needing to justify the choice to someone else. Or they may simply not want the product enough yet to accept the price.
Treating all of these situations as a pricing objection means answering before understanding the question.
In Market[SELL]ing™, resistance is therefore not merely something to “overcome”. It is also information about the state of the decision.
The best argument can arrive too early
None of this means we should stop explaining, presenting, demonstrating or advising. Arguments matter. Proof matters. Expertise matters. But their effectiveness also depends on the moment at which they appear.
Evidence provided when someone is looking for reassurance can help a decision progress. The same evidence imposed while that person is still trying to understand their need may simply add noise.
The question is therefore no longer only what we should say. It becomes more demanding: what does this person need now in order to move forward in their own decision? That requires us to observe before we act.
Creating the conditions for buying
This is where the founding principle of Market[SELL]ing™ takes on its full meaning.
This does not mean becoming passive. Quite the opposite. It means working on everything that makes a decision possible: clarity, trust, proof, projection, preference, the reduction of resistance and the consistency of the experience.
It also reminds us of something essential: the final act belongs to the person who buys.
A company's role is not to make the decision for them. It is to create the conditions in which that decision can become clear enough, desirable enough and reassuring enough for them to want to make it.
Returning to the buyer's side
My first taxi driver may not have been satisfied simply because his car was excellent. He was also satisfied with his choice. His employee had not chosen the vehicle, and no amount of argument could artificially recreate that experience.
It is a small scene, but it captures the shift in perspective proposed by Market[SELL]ing™.
Instead of beginning with “How are we going to sell this?”, we can first ask: “Why would someone want to buy it?”
The difference between these two questions may appear slight. Yet much of the buying decision happens precisely within that space.