# Three buying situations: first-time, renewal, switch > A company buying for the first time, renewing or switching from another provider fears different things and needs a different move from you. - Course: [B2B Marketing and Sales: Win Your First Company Customers](https://productovi.com/courses/b2b-marketing-and-sales.md) - Module: Who buys, and why it takes seven people - Lesson 2/32, ~23 min - Source: https://productovi.com/courses/b2b-marketing-and-sales/three-buying-situations ## Three calls, one week **Alex Tutor:** Back at Klasna for Teams. Marta has three conversations lined up this week, and they only look alike from the outside. **Marta:** Veloria has never bought corporate English. A design studio in Lviv, our client for a year, renews in December. And Cobalt, an IT services company, is unhappy with its current language school and wants a quote. **Sofia:** Same product, same price. Can I send all three the same deck? **Alex Tutor:** The product is the same; the purchase isn't. Buying for the first time, renewing and switching from another provider are three **buying situations**. In each, the buyer fears something different and compares us with something different. **Alex Tutor:** The situation decides how many people get involved, how long it takes and what proof they'll want. So name the situation first, then plan the move. > **Exercise:** Which of these companies is in a **switch** situation? ## First time: the fear of the unknown **Sofia:** Start with Veloria. What does a first-time buyer worry about? **Alex Tutor:** Not knowing what good looks like. They've never bought this, so they can't judge quality or price, and they don't know who should be involved. Their real alternative isn't another school: it's doing nothing. **Alex Tutor:** That makes the committee bigger and slower. Before anyone compares suppliers, Pavlo has to convince the finance director that Veloria should spend money on English at all. **Marta:** So with Veloria we sell the problem before the product: what weak English costs them with EU partners. **Alex Tutor:** And we help them buy: who should be involved, what to measure, how to start small. A first-time buyer values a guide more than a feature list. > **Exercise:** Veloria has never bought corporate English. Which move fits the first meeting best? ## Renewal: don't let it become a new decision **Sofia:** The Lviv studio should be easy. They already know us. **Alex Tutor:** Easy, and easy to lose through neglect. A renewing client compares us with its own past year: did people attend, did it help, were the invoices right? The fear is paying again for something nobody uses. **Alex Tutor:** So bring the evidence before they ask: attendance, progress, what learners say. If doubts appear, a quiet renewal can turn into a fresh decision, with procurement asking other schools for quotes. **Marta:** They also want to add their support team. That's an **expansion**: more people on the same account. **Alex Tutor:** Treat it as a small first-time purchase inside a familiar account. New users, maybe a new budget line: ask who pays for them and what they'll need to see. > **Exercise:** **True or false:** when a client renews, the main thing it compares Klasna with is other language schools' prices. **Alex Tutor:** And the support team the studio wants to add: how would you handle that part? > **Exercise:** Along with its renewal, the Lviv studio wants to add its support team to the program. How should you treat this? ## Switch: the cost of changing **Sofia:** And Cobalt is unhappy with its school, so it should be glad to move. **Alex Tutor:** Unhappy isn't the same as ready. Switching costs something: a new contract, new schedules, learners mid-course, and someone at Cobalt who chose the old school. The fear is going through all that and ending up no better off. **Alex Tutor:** Quick check on that point about Cobalt. > **Exercise:** **True or false:** Cobalt is unhappy with its language school, so it is ready to switch as soon as it sees a good price. **Alex Tutor:** They'll compare us with the current provider line by line. So find out exactly what isn't working, and show how we'd fix that, not everything. **Marta:** And no bashing the other school. Somebody at Cobalt picked it, and that person may be on the call. **Alex Tutor:** Then make the move easy: a start that fits the end of their current contract, a plan for learners mid-course, and a small trial group if they want proof first. > **Exercise:** Match each situation with what the buyer compares you with and fears. ## Name it, then plan **Marta:** So, three plans for one product. Veloria needs a guide, the studio needs proof of value, Cobalt needs an easy way across. **Sofia:** What if I get the situation wrong? **Alex Tutor:** Then you answer questions nobody asked. Send Cobalt a "why train staff in English" deck and they'll think you didn't listen. Treat the studio like a cold lead and they'll wonder whether we've forgotten them. **Alex Tutor:** Situations also change mid-deal. A renewal with falling attendance can turn into a switch, with Klasna as the school someone wants to leave. > **Exercise:** Cobalt is still under contract with another school. Which moves fit its situation? Choose all that apply. **Alex Tutor:** Here's how a situation can flip. Imagine this happens with the Lviv studio. > **Exercise:** Imagine that two months before the Lviv studio's renewal, attendance has fallen and its office manager has asked another school for a quote. What has happened to the situation? ## Your turn: the first reply to Cobalt **Marta:** Cobalt's learning lead wrote: "We're not happy with our current English provider. Could you send us a quote?" Draft our first reply. **Alex Tutor:** Think about their situation: they'll compare us with the current school, and they fear the cost of changing. A price list alone answers neither. **Sofia:** So: thank them, ask what isn't working, show how we'd handle the move, and suggest a short call? **Alex Tutor:** Good shape. Keep it short and honest: no jabs at the other school and no invented deadlines. > **Exercise:** Cobalt's learning lead wrote: "We're not happy with our current English provider. Could you send us a quote?" Write Klasna's **first reply** (4–6 sentences) that fits a company in the switch situation. > **Key ideas** > > - Name the **buying situation** before you plan the move: first-time purchase, renewal or switch. For a subscription-like service, also watch for expansion inside a current account. > - **First-time:** the buyer compares you with doing nothing and can't yet judge quality or price. Sell the problem, then guide the purchase. > - **Renewal:** the client compares you with its own past year. Bring the evidence of use and value before anyone asks. > - **Switch:** the buyer compares you with the current provider and fears the cost of changing. Find the one thing that isn't working, and make the move easy. > - Situations change mid-deal: a neglected renewal can become someone else's switch. **Alex Tutor:** Next time: how to lower each person's risk with proof, pilots and guarantees. - Previous lesson: [One deal, many people: who is in the buying committee](https://productovi.com/courses/b2b-marketing-and-sales/one-deal-many-people.md) - Next lesson: [Reducing the buyer's risk](https://productovi.com/courses/b2b-marketing-and-sales/reducing-the-buyers-risk.md) --- Productovi Learning. 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