Why some people get chosen long before a decision is made.
For consultants, speakers, coaches, trainers, agency owners, business owners and experts who want to become the obvious choice in their market.
A 3-hour masterclass on 24 June with Jacques de Villiers
Most people think they lose opportunities because they are invisible.
They don't.
In fact, many of them are highly visible. They post regularly, attend networking events, invest in professional websites and keep their LinkedIn profiles up to date. They show up consistently and do all the things the experts tell them to do.
And yet the opportunities seem to find somebody else.
Somebody gets invited to pitch. Somebody gets referred. Somebody lands on the shortlist. Somebody gets the meeting.And they're left wondering what they missed.
I've watched mediocre suppliers win deals over better suppliers for most of my career. Not all the time, but often enough to become fascinated by the question.
Why do buyers choose one person when several people appear capable of solving the problem?
Long before a buyer compares products, services, methodologies or pricing, they form impressions about the people involved. They decide who appears credible, who seems to understand their world and who feels like a safe pair of hands.
Buyers like to believe they are choosing the best option.
Most of the time they are simply trying to avoid making a mistake.
The supplier who gets chosen is often the one who makes the decision feel safest.
The proposal rarely decides the outcome. It simply reveals a decision that has already been forming for weeks or months.
By the time most proposals are submitted, buyers are not asking themselves which solution they should choose. They are asking themselves whether they can justify the decision they have already started making.That is why some people seem to attract opportunities long before a proposal is requested while others spend their lives responding to tenders, submitting quotations and competing with suppliers they have never heard of.
The market does not always reward the best.
It rewards the clearest.
"Sharp, insightful and refreshingly direct. No fluff. No recycled thinking. Just clear frameworks that change how you think about sales and decision-making."
Louise Krog
Growth Leader, Cinique
Over the past twenty-odd years I've become fascinated by a simple question:
Why do buyers choose one person when several people appear capable of solving the problem?
This workshop is an exploration of that question.
"Jacques shifted the way I think about influence, persuasion and sales. It changed how I approach conversations and what I believe actually drives decisions.
"Marie le Roux
Communication Lead, Totally Morpheus Leadership Development
Together we'll look at how decisions form, why some people seem to attract opportunities before they are formally available, and what separates the obvious choice from everybody else.
We'll also spend some time looking at LinkedIn, not because it is the only place these decisions happen, but because for many of us in the B2B world it is one of the places where they become visible. Long before a buyer visits your website, requests a proposal or takes your call, there is a good chance they have already looked you up.
One of the reasons LinkedIn matters so much is that it has become a public record of how you think. Buyers don't only look at what you do. They look at what you say, what you notice, what you believe and how consistently you show up. We'll spend some time unpacking why that matters and how it influences commercial decisions.
Over the past twenty-seven years Jacques has written more than twelve million words, delivered more than 3 000 workshops and keynotes, edited or ghostwritten more than thirty books and worked with sales teams, entrepreneurs and leaders across multiple industries.
This masterclass brings together many of the observations, questions and patterns that emerged from that work.
This workshop is for consultants, coaches, trainers, speakers, business owners and subject matter experts who know they are good at what they do but suspect the market doesn't always see it.
Perhaps you've found yourself looking at a competitor and wondering why they keep getting invited into rooms you can't seem to access. Perhaps you've watched somebody win an opportunity that you were convinced you could have delivered better. Or perhaps you've simply reached the point where you know your expertise is not the problem.
If those thoughts sound familiar, this session was designed for you.
This is not a workshop about posting more content, gaming algorithms or collecting followers.
It is a workshop about why buyers choose one person and ignore another.
LinkedIn happens to be one of the places where those decisions become visible.
Because before somebody buys from you, hires you, refers you or invites you to speak, they have already made a decision about who you are. Most people leave that decision to chance.
The people who become the obvious choice don't.
Date: Wednesday, 24 June 2026
Time: 09h00 – 12h00
Venue: The Tryst, Kramerville
This is a small working session with limited seats available.
Investment: R797
Light lunch included after the session.
If you're already visible but not being chosen, this may be the conversation you've been missing.
Jacques de Villiers
Commercial Decision Design