The State of Buying: Predictions and Trends to Watch in 2025
In 1995 I got my first position in a corporate setting, and at age 25, I was a bit full of myself.
Ready to sell more effectively? It’s time to get serious about understanding buying trends.
Back then, the internet was new, Jeff Bezos was still selling books out of his garage, and a show called “Friends” was getting popular on NBC.
One day my mom called me and said, “you should check out this new search engine, it is going to be big.”
I told her “MOM, you are so behind the times. The only search engine I will ever use is YAHOO. Period!”
She tried to argue but it was useless because I just wouldn’t listen.
The new search engine was GOOGLE.
And just like Rachel and Ross, Google stuck around long after Yahoo rose and fell.
If I could have predicted the future I would have bought stock in Amazon. Or run Facebook ads early on. Or invested heavily in Apple.
What would happen in your coaching or consulting business if you could predict the future?
We can’t always predict what will work in business or how buyer behavior will change tomorrow. But there is a reason every research firm is constantly gathering data from you and me and your neighbors down the street.
We need to understand our customers and we need good data to figure it out. Whether you are a business, or a political candidate, you live and die by customer behavior—which is getting harder and harder to navigate and predict.
A few times a year I publish insights into the trends of the past year and the future trends I see in client and customer buying behavior. I give my audience insight into the future of business. This isn’t an easy thing to do, and it normally takes me about a month to compile data, mull it over, compare the experts’ opinions, polls, and actual buyer numbers to form my conclusions.
If you don't have access to a major consulting firm, or a research company for buyer behavior data, you’re not alone.
And frankly, most folks don’t know the COST of using big research firms. These research studies are expensive, costing hundreds of thousands of dollars to gather information about consumer behavior and make sense of it! Most of us do not have access to that kind of intel.
Fortunately you don’t need those research firms. For several years, my buying- trends-predictions have been precisely on point. And hopefully this year’s report will be just as accurate.
The buying trends statistics coming for 2026 and how things stand: What you need to know.
Maybe this year your sales slipped substantially.
Maybe your sales grew so much you don’t have capacity for all the clients coming at you!
There aren't many businesses just doing “ok.” Either you have loads of demand and clients or you are gasping for air and wondering who let the dogs out and when things will go back to normal.
Unfortunately this is now normal. It’s getting rougher.
The New Market Reality: Buying Trends Point to Economic Turmoil, Changing Priorities, and Unpredictable Consumers
This next year is going to be insanely competitive. You will see many businesses go bankrupt. Not just online, but offline brick and mortar companies like Kohls and possibly GameStop. I believe Peloton is also in deep trouble despite raising capital to pull them out of the hole.
Even though inflation is cooling, even though spending is up in the 2024 Christmas season. 75% are still tightening their budgets with the main prioritized expenses: travel and food.
This is important to note for behavior purposes, as travel and food is all about treating ourselves, comfort, and escape.
To add to all of this, according to my research, one third of all clients are not paying their invoices. Many are doing chargebacks. I have clients who are attorneys and doctors, and their clients have decided they simply aren’t paying.
Colleges and Universities are in huge shortfalls to the tune of multiple millions of dollars. Big universities who were counting on large freshman classes have dipped into endowments to pay their bills, while smaller colleges are doing rolling blackouts because they cannot afford to keep the lights on.
Because grocery prices are sky high, every four families in America are using Afterpay for groceries. Afterpay breaks up purchases into smaller payments, spread over 4 weeks or 6 months!
Afterpay for groceries is awful because the next week you still need groceries. We are all pushing the debt down the road. We are still buying travel like crazy, airlines are making a killing.
Even though we can’t buy groceries without financing.
Confused yet? It’s a big club.
Confusion is the norm because the economy and people are being unpredictable.
Economists are confused, too! They have no idea what's going on, and are referring to dips in the market as “rolling recessions,” which doesn’t really mean anything—one month is up and the next month is down.
Usually when inflation gets out of control, the Federal Reserve raises interest rates and inflation comes down a little bit. Historically, everyone quits spending if interest rates are up. Except we are still spending; getting credit cards and leveraging debt. We are taking our children to concerts, booking travel, and spending money we don’t have.
Even though predicting economic changes is challenging right now, people are a little bit more predictable. We CAN predict behavior by understanding how people are thinking and behaving. We can predict what people will buy and how they will buy, and we can predict what they're not going to do anymore.
And that's why you're here. The trends and forecasts for 2025 in buyer behavior, marketing, spending, and how it relates to your offers.
Understanding Your Clients Through Trends Data and Research: The Missing Link for Coaches & Consultants
Let’s talk about the consequences of lockdowns and the mental toll it has taken on us, along with the current state of the world, wars, and the economy.
We can look at the behavior and beliefs to know what is happening in the mind of our clients.
We want time and control back. We feel bad about the pandemic/lockdowns and deep down we resent the lost time. We lack control over our lives and are determined to change that.
We are making emotional buying decisions because we are unhappy.
You can see it everyday. People are mad at each other. They're mad at their families. They're mad at their kids. They're mad at their life.
And we don’t like feeling that way.
Buyers won’t “sacrifice” for anyone other than their circle. ]
Paradox and inconsistency in 2024 buying trends.
Inconsistency is a trait that is now VALUED rather than being reviled.
Pre-pandemic, if we waffled back and forth on decisions, buying, actions, commitments, etc, we saw those inconsistencies as weaknesses. Now, your client knows they are constantly changing. All circumstances in their life, their moods, their body, and needs and desires are changing rapidly, sometimes as fast as by the minute.
I can make spur of the moment decisions when I value inconsistency, and justify my actions by insisting I am simply staying true to myself.
Since clients are inconsistent, they aren’t acting in the same way, and will also react differently to our marketing, pricing and selling.
Companies need to know that marketing working yesterday might not work today-even tactics working 5 minutes ago might not work now! The most flexible businesses will flourish. Those who can customize, change, and are flexible and agile will be the ones who flourish.
We are buying inconsistently, too. People are flying across the country to Taylor Swift and Beyoncé concerts (multiple times!) while refusing to invest in their businesses. They will buy gourmet dog food or even cook organic chicken and rice for their dogs, yet they are ordering Popeyes and Taco Bell. They don’t feel guilty and they aren’t changing anytime soon!
Understanding your client’s penchant for paradox will be paramount to how you market to them.
The Three Things Clients Are Craving in 2024:
Today’s clients desire three things.
Ultimate power and control over their business, finances, relationships and life
To be transported to another time and place.
Permission to break the rules and treat themselves.
No matter what you sell, it likely fits into one of those categories if it’s selling well.
However, today’s buyers want all those things AND they also want intense emotional experiences when they buy. If you can accommodate your client’s need for all three things, you’ll likely be sold out all of 2024.
If you can provide ultimate power and control over their issue, transport them emotionally, and make your offer feel as though it is a rule-breaking treat, you will be miles ahead of anyone in your niche.
Selling to the Savvy Client: Building Trust, Cutting Through Noise, and Delivering Real Value
During the pandemic no one was there to help us make those decisions and we had to draw our own conclusions and take action. For most of us, those decisions worked out well.
Therefore your buyers have decided the only person they can trust …is themselves. Your client will use their own resources and sophistication to research your offers and expertise. Make sure you are leading with your authority in every part of your business. Your market position, your brand, your online and offline presence, your offers, thought leadership and last but not least, your results.
20 Actionable Ideas for Intelligent, Data-Driven Sales and Marketing in 2024
Use the new way clients are acting and reacting to online and offline content. Google and Boston University just did a study on this, clients are streaming, shopping, scanning, and scrolling ALL the time. They are not going through a regular buying pattern or customer journey, they are investigating your brand and encountering other brands constantly.
Clients are looking for a custom path they can help create. Companies are inviting clients to have a say in which products to create next and even put their creative stamp on those products.
Clients don’t want to be told what to do, but we do want someone to hold our hand while we do it! There is a bit of a paradox as clients want to shape their path but also need a guide. Shape your approach around your understanding of your client’s desire to want it all and want it their way. Make sure they understand that your brand delivers above and beyond all others in the marketplace.
Outreach will become more important as attention becomes more of a commodity. If you do only inbound sales, expect that to become harder if you are only operating on social media without a cohesive marketing strategy in four different places. (Example, SEO, YouTube, Podcast, Social media, Summits, Guest spots on podcasts, speaking etc.) Learning to outreach will likely increase your sales in 2024 by 40-50% over 2023. Most coaches and consultants do not do any outreach at all.
Expect AI to become more of an issue with copyrighted material. Protecting intellectual property (IP) will be more important than ever as language learning increases. AI can be helpful in identifying ideal client avatars, pain points, aspirations and other useful information—and that’s why I provide guidance for doing so in my Trends Subscription. However, expect Google and other search engines to prioritize real written content by experts. So even though AI can produce 90 blogs for you, more isn’t better, in this case it is just more. Use AI for prompts or useful information, but write your own posts, stories, emails, videos and blogs.
The market is correcting itself because many coaches prioritized marketing over mastery of their craft. When you market to premium clients, lead with your results and understand the return on investment of your offers first.
Trust is paramount right now. Clients need to know you will do what you say you will do. Also that you will be around tomorrow. Expect this even more as coaches and consultants return to 9-5 jobs. The return to regular jobs confuses clients and makes it seem as though the coach might not be in business tomorrow. You can expect this to create some uncertainty in the market.
Be aware you’ll need to create more trust with touch points. A touch point is the place where the clients experience you before the sale. At one point we needed 7 touch points to hit buy, now we need 70. (Which is crazy to me, but makes sense when you think about attention being a commodity.) We need to experience you for seven hours over 4 places 11 times to trust you enough to buy.
Talking to the inner emotions of your clients will be VERY important this year. You will need to know what they are whispering to themselves and won’t tell anyone else. Find out what they are thinking and lead with those emotions in your marketing.
Advanced clients are buying things they need but want to tick off several boxes on their wish list all at once. They might buy health coaching, but if that coach also offers mindset work, in person retreats and the ability to lower their blood pressure or fix their gut health, they will go with the person who offers the most bang for the buck. OR they will pick the best in the industry, or the personal brand they relate to the most.
Webinars and challenges will still work for marketing but they will need to be rethought in terms of delivering real, concrete value because clients are much busier, savvier, and the market is much noisier than before.
Google has revamped the requirements for email marketing to protect consumers. February 2024 saw huge changes in how we use email to communicate. I believe many coaches and consultants are in for a rude awakening when they email their lists and find Google has deleted the email before it can even reach their clients’ spam folders. Find more information about that here.
Tell your clients they deserve to fix the pain or have the aspiration. We are tired of marketing that tells us we are doing things wrong, instead, acknowledge the savviness of your clients and help them understand they are a success already.
People are interested in trying things out before they commit. Consider marketing offers that are trial offers. Negotiate part of the offer as the first step, then upsell as they get results. Consider taking deposits and tell your clients you’ll start the consults when they get a certain amount paid in. Work with the economy we have, rather than the 2021 economy!
Clients are looking for higher touch and will pay the extra to have it. My family and I just returned from a cruise where we paid extra to get on and off the ship faster. We upgraded the cabin to a balcony. We got a suite in the hotel the night before. We traveled first class. And upgraded everything because we wanted better. Your best clients likely don’t want DIY, they want personalized, customized, accountability and hand holding. They want to go faster to the goal.
Companies are starting to understand the value of community around a brand. For instance, going back to the cruise, there are cruise communities on Facebook that aren’t run by the cruise lines. There are hundreds of Carnival Cruise Facebook groups! Talking about ports, what to bring, discussing ins and outs, and even organizing meetups for groups. They have identified themselves as CARNIVAL cruisers, not just cruisers. They are even more brand loyal because of the community before and after the cruise.
Going back to trust, this is the number one thing for your clients right now. You must get to the top of your industry as fast as possible using authority building methods: in your content, in person events, writing a book, doing summits, guesting on podcasts and being visible in the right way.
Most people are marketing to the 80% of the market that isn’t buying. These are the people who are overly invested and no longer have money to spend. They didn’t get results in programs and are now desperately trying to get clients.
Only 20% or so of the market is making money and this is the client everyone wants but not everyone is able to sell to. Almost no one is talking to the highest part of the market, I see this in clients who come to me to help them with higher level messaging.
Like my client Gia who wanted to speak to her most resourced client: Gia came in wanting to speak to a higher level client and raise her prices. She was able to immediately start getting inquiries and booked 3 clients at the higher price due to a shift in message strategy.“Nice to have” offers will be difficult to sell next year. If you can tie your offer to the big three things (permission to treat themselves, transported to another time and place, and ultimate power and control) any offers that provide all three of those things will be in demand. Fluffy offers, personal development that sounds good for “someday” will be much harder to sell. Solving intense current pain and providing a fast path to the desires will sell the best.
Cutting through friction and making it easy for clients to make decisions. We are completely and utterly overwhelmed-remember the stressed out numbers we started with? Your clients are seeking ease. Make it simple for them to say yes.
Bonus: Authentically Connecting with Your Clients in a Time of Uncertainty
A few extra selling and marketing methods I see working well in 2024.
Give gifts before making the sale.
According to buyer data, for every gift you send to a prospective client that has expressed interest, you can capture the sale of 28% of those clients. So if there are 10 people who raise their hands, and all ten receive gifts, you should be able to book three clients.
Choose 10 people you want to work with and get their address. Send them something wonderful. Very few will do this because it can get expensive, but the return on the investment is almost unsurpassed. Better than ads and better than most marketing and outreach. Especially if you target the top of your market.
19% of customers rebuy within 90 days of receiving a gift. Gifts are a fantastic way to restart a sale, or upsell to a great past client.
You can send them a handwritten note, along with something lovely or useful. I know if I got a gift before the sale I would not believe it was happening! If they took the time to make me feel special I would definitely listen or take their call!
Remember, your client feels incredibly special. They have decided to get what they want in their reimagined life! They want more. It is all about them and how they want to be treated. If you treat them well, they will be loyal only to you, and often refer others to you even if they don’t buy.
Send Direct Mail.
Yes, direct mail, like snail mail. Throw on some postage and send it to a physical address. Postcards, letters, cards. There was a time when we loved email,(back when Google was young *ahem,) now we are deluged with email!
When was the last time you received something written in the mail, besides bills? Or the latest credit card offer? Maybe your mom sends you Valentine's cards like my mom used to. But direct mail works, and it works well.
Pick the top 20 people that you really want to work with, ask for their addresses, and send them handwritten notes, cards, or even printed newsletters.
Provide a community and resources around your offer or niche.
Start thinking about the WHOLE client as a multi faceted being, rather than just supporting the area you service.
For example: a pet company might say, “we sell pet food, but we also have a community to talk about pets and share pictures. We have an in-house veterinarian and an animal behavior expert where you can ask questions like, "when my cat's ears are down, is my cat in pain?”
Let’s say you’re an ads specialist who does marketing and ads coaching. But you also provide a bonus meditation (from a hypnotherapist) to help clients center themselves so they’re not stressed about the ads.
What if you also give clients a Spotify playlist to listen to while ads are up and running because it's not very fun to do ads? A “music list” gift, making your client feel like you care about them. They feel seen and valued beyond just the sale.
Don’t just sell an offer, sell an identity.
Think about your brand, are your clients proud to buy from you? Do they tell others they are hiring you and saving for your programs? If so, you have the opportunity to market your offers with identity around your personal brand and values.
For instance, take Warby Parker, a glasses company with charitable work you take part in each time you buy. Warby Parker isn’t just selling glasses, they are selling a style. They are selling good works, because they give away a pair of glasses for every pair of glasses they sell.
They could take it a step farther and offer a community with conversations about style and using glasses to create the right looks using the clothes in your closet. They could share stories about the people who receive the free glasses, and how their life changed. This community shares values: talking and thinking about glasses, eye health, and style. Naturally, Warby Parker will be at the top of mind anytime any of these community members need new glasses! And they will likely refer others to the group and to buy new glasses as well.
Many businesses will not make it through the insanely competitive landscape in 2024 if they don’t have their finger on the pulse of why their clients buy.
Ask yourself:
“How can we help our clients in ways our competition can’t help them or won’t help?”
“How do we make my clients feel like they're special?”
“How can we treat clients differently (better!) then everybody else is treating them?”
“How can I assure their results if they're not getting results with other people?”
Clients want to know you care.
Your company doesn’t have to tell people you're authentic.
Show your authenticity by using empathy, humor, warmth, and generosity.
Find out about your clients’ buying behavior, but also don’t forget they are real people with goals, dreams, and feelings. Treat your clients as the most important part of your business, and you will reach each goal you set.
Are you ready to get serious about staying ahead of the trends in 2025? Join the Trends Subscription and understand your buyers better than they do.
