Practicing Organization Development: A Guide for Leading Change: A Third Edition

IDENTIFYING AND REACHING THE ECONOMIC BUYER

There are two types of “buyers” in organizational settings:

1. Economic buyer: Possesses the power and authority to approve a check for your services and to fund the project.

2. Feasibility buyer: Provides opinion and analysis of the project’s appropriateness in terms of culture, scope, credentials, content, and other relative clients.

Now hear this: Most consultants fail at marketing because they spend too much time with feasibility buyers—who cannot say “yes” but can say “no”—and not enough time (or no time at all) with economic buyers who can say “yes.” That is why the attributes mentioned above are so important. You must be able to relate to economic buyers on a peer basis. Your content and ...