Buyer Readiness: The Missing Middle Most Marketing Ignores
There’s something I’ve been circling quietly.
I want to create in-person spaces.
Rooms and stages, unlike anything that exists right now.
Spaces that feel generous. Energizing. Deeply human.
Spaces that build businesses and feel amazing.
Spaces that feel like someone thought about you before you walked in.
And here’s the honest part:
I’m interested.
But I’m not ready.
No doubt I’ll do it. I can feel that future version of me already moving furniture around in the room.
But today? I’m not ready to hold that stage yet.
And that distinction — between interest and readiness — is one of the most overlooked dynamics in buyer psychology.
It’s also why so many thoughtful business owners feel confused when someone says:
“This feels perfect for me.”
… and then doesn’t buy.
The Paris That Never Happened
Twice, I seriously considered moving to Paris to attend culinary school.
Not in a Pinterest-board fantasy way.
In a “what would this cost?” “Where would I live?” “What would this change about my life?” way.
I’ve worked in restaurants.
Managed them.
Taught techniques to line cooks.
Learned from chefs who could reduce a sauce down to silk.
I wasn’t lacking exposure.
I wasn’t lacking belief.
But I never sent the application.
Because readiness isn’t about attraction.
It’s about consequence.
Interest says:
“I love this.”
Readiness asks:
“Am I willing to rearrange my life for this?”
That’s a completely different question.
And most marketing never acknowledges it.
The Myth of the “High-Intent Buyer”
We love the term high-intent buyers.
It sounds clean. Efficient. Predictable.
If someone is clicking, opening, replying, or lingering on the sales page, we label that as intent.
But intent and readiness are not synonyms.
Someone can be:
Deeply aligned
Financially capable
Emotionally resonant
Actively researching
…and still not ready.
Because readiness isn’t a funnel stage.
It’s a capacity check.
It’s someone quietly scanning their life and asking:
What will saying yes require from me?
What else will have to shift?
Do I trust myself to follow through?
Do I have the bandwidth to integrate this?
That internal calculus doesn’t show up in analytics.
But it’s happening.
Why This Is a Hospitality Issue (Not a Conversion Issue)
When we view this through hospitality — not tactics — everything shifts.
Hospitality does not rush the guest once they’ve sat down.
It reads the room.
It notices if someone is still scanning the menu.
It understands that sometimes the most respectful move is space.
Most marketing frameworks are designed to collapse the middle.
Shorter cart windows.
More bonuses.
More urgency.
More “just checking in.”
And again — none of that is inherently unethical.
But when someone is interested and not ready, pressure doesn’t create clarity.
It creates nervous system noise.
That’s when hesitation deepens.
Not because the offer is wrong.
But because the experience stops feeling grounded.
The Middle Is Where Trust Is Built
There is a stage between interest and readiness that most marketing treats like friction.
It’s not friction.
It’s discernment.
It’s someone respecting their own limits.
It’s someone who doesn’t want to say yes from adrenaline.
It’s someone who wants their yes to feel clean.
This is especially true for experienced buyers.
The more seasoned someone is in business, the more they’ve learned that every yes comes with invisible weight.
Time.
Attention.
Energy.
Identity shifts.
Experienced buyers hesitate more — not less.
Because they understand ripple effects.
And if your marketing mislabels that as resistance?
You start solving the wrong problem.
You Can’t Manufacture Readiness
This part is uncomfortable for marketers.
You can (and should):
Clarify value.
Address objections.
Show proof.
Make logistics easy.
You cannot create readiness.
Readiness forms when someone feels safe enough to choose.
That safety comes from:
Not being cornered.
Not feeling hurried.
Not feeling like their timing is inconvenient.
Not being treated like a metric.
When someone senses:
“I don’t have to override myself here.”
That’s when readiness can quietly click into place.
And sometimes it clicks three months later.
Or nine.
Or the next time you open enrollment.
Hospitality marketing has the patience for that.
What Happens When We Mismanage the Middle
Here’s where things get subtle.
If someone is interested but not ready, and the marketing response is escalation, the buyer feels one of two things:
Relief when the cart closes
Distance from the brand
Neither is what you want.
Because what they were actually doing wasn’t resisting your offer.
They were protecting their capacity.
When marketing interprets protection as hesitation to fix, trust erodes.
When marketing interprets protection as discernment to respect, trust compounds.
That difference is microscopic in tone — and massive in impact.
Designing for Buyer Readiness Instead of Buyer Speed
If you want to build something sustainable, you design for readiness.
That means:
You allow thoughtful nos.
You don’t chase silence.
You normalize timing.
You communicate that someone’s nervous system matters.
It doesn’t mean you remove all structure or abandon sales strategy.
It means you don’t collapse the middle.
You let people stand there as long as they need.
Because when someone becomes ready inside a hospitable experience?
They don’t just buy.
They stay.
They refer.
They expand.
They trust themselves in proximity to you.
That’s long-term equity.
Interest Opens the Door. Readiness Moves the Body.
Interest is orientation.
Readiness is embodiment.
Interest says, “I like this.”
Readiness says, “I’m willing.”
Those are different physiological states.
And when you build marketing that respects that difference, you stop feeling like you’re dragging people across the finish line.
You start feeling like you’re holding the door open.
Which, frankly, feels better on both sides.
A Gentle Invitation
If this way of thinking about buyer readiness and hospitality resonates, you might appreciate something I made quietly.
Welcome In. This is Hospitality in Marketing is a private podcast about building businesses that feel generous, grounded, and human — even while they grow.
No urgency theatrics.
No nervous-system spikes.
No persuasion gymnastics.
Just thoughtful conversations about designing experiences people want to step into when they’re ready.
You can listen whenever it feels right:
👉 Subscribe + Listen to the private podcast here
No rush.
I’m interested in building rooms like that.
And when I’m ready?
You’ll be invited.
