Concrete Magic Dust

Here’s an interesting piece of framing, picked up from the construction world.

The often fraught B2B of solution selling through third parties without true skin in the game. Influencers, especially those pesky architects, consultants and contractors.

The age-old blindspot emerged. Someone knew the cost of everything, yet value of nothing.

The vendor was attempting to show how a little extra attention on day one costs would seriously reduce ongoing costs.

An everyday conversation we all recognise.

Maybe your ‘buyer’ is sceptical about ‘insurance’. Feel mitigation an unnecessary premium and should be included anyway. Knows they’ll have pocketed their cut and be long gone by when any disaster strikes.

They probably have no real care for the difference between CapEx and OpEx.

This particular exchange I was privy to, centred on an initial treatment that protected concrete. Apparently a real winner. Yet like all advances with benefits down the line, it is not free.

In slight exasperation, I heard this seller retort;

“It’s not magic silver dust that you just sprinkle on and miraculously makes you bulletproof.”

The added reference here being that it took a bit of time for experts to apply the treatment. And such expertise merits a cost.

Pay it, and then you become bulletproof.

There are many flavours of this pitch.

The general thrust is that you don’t just flick a switch and … abracadabra!

It can also cover the trusted ‘stitch in time saves nine’ facet.

It is when you truly know what you’ll bring – or often, eliminate – farther down line you can succeed with this approach.

But. Yes, there is a but. But often only with the person whose money you will be saving in that future. So find them. They are unlikely to be the intermediary, are they…