Transactions can be immediate (exchange) or transactions can happen over time (interest).

The purchase of a “Flashing Blue Light Special” is an immediate transaction. I give you something. You give me something. Now we’re done. Transactions like these indicate an Exchange Market where customers are in Transactional shopping mode. Make no mistake about it: Big things can happen fast when you make the right offer in an Exchange Market.

The danger of an Exchange Market is that customers can be lost as easily as they were won. You might sell 10,000 customers in 2 hours but these customers were never attracted to you, they were attracted to your product and its price. If a snazzier product comes along, or the same product at a better price, “your” customers will become someone else’s customers.

Growing a fruit tree, winning the heart of a woman and building a brand happen over time, are like putting money in the bank and receiving interest on it. Big miracles that happen slow and steady are the product of Exponential Little Bits. Transactions like these indicate an Interest Market where customers are in Relational shopping mode.

The keys to winning short-term, Transactional customers in an Exchange Market are:
1. Make a compelling offer and
2. Impose a time limit, or
3. Make a limited quantity available.

The keys to winning long-term, Relational customers in an Interest Market are:
1. Specific details.
2. Honest evaluation.
3. Deliver what you promise.
(And be sure to leave a little bit unpromised so you can add “a delight factor.”)