#010: The Science of Closing

It’s a challenging time to be in sales. It’s harder than ever to get buyers’ attention and when you do, it’s tough to convince them to change the way they do things. Here are some startling statistics from a recent study that was published in The Jolt Effect: How High Performers Overcome Indecision.

• 44% of deals that end up lost to inaction are due to the customer’s preference for the status quo

• 56% of the time, the customer expresses a desire to abandon their status quo but, for one reason or another, is unwilling or unable to make a decision and commit

This doesn’t mean all hope is lost.

High-performing reps disrupt the status quo and identify the different types of indecision to help their customers move forward.

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We’ve all had deals where everything seemed to be going well, and then out of nowhere, the prospect ghosts us.

They told us they wanted to move forward, but for some reason, they just stopped responding to our follow-ups.

We’ll never completely eliminate this from happening, but there are techniques we can use to lower the chances it happens to us.

2 parts to every sales process

There are 2 distinct phases in every sales process. You have to disrupt the buyer’s status quo and then help them overcome indecision.

In the early stages of the sales process, you need to disrupt your buyer’s status quo. Get them to agree to change.

As the sales process continues and gets closer to a purchase decision, you need to adapt your sales strategy to overcome indecision.

Defeating the status quo is all about showing the customer how they will succeed with your solution, but overcoming indecision is all about proving to the customer that they won’t fail by purchasing your solution.

Let’s break down each of these.

Disrupt the status quo

Status quo bias is one type of cognitive bias that involves people preferring things to stay as they are or for the current state of affairs to remain the same.

Understanding how the status quo bias influences buyer decisions, you can look for ways to disrupt the bias in your conversations.

Here are four different components that pull someone towards their status quo.

Your initial conversation with a buyer is your best opportunity to disrupt their status quo.

Help them identify a problem, the root cause of that problem, and the impact of not solving it. Get your buyer to agree that the status quo is not their best option for achieving their desired results. Use a framework, like the one below, to guide your initial discovery conversations.

Once you get them to agree that the status quo is not sufficient, you still have work to do. The data says over half of these opportunities are still lost to indecision.

Overcome indecision

There are 3 different types of indecision discussed in The Jolt Effect.

1. Valuation Problems - worried about choosing the wrong option

2. Lack of Information - concerned they haven’t done enough homework

3. Outcome Uncertainty - fear they won’t get the results they’re paying for

Your first step is to identify which type of indecision you’re facing.

Identifying Valuation Problems: Does the buyer continue to press on differences between various offerings and configurations or express confusion about which option to choose?

Identifying Lack of Information: Does the buyer ever delay because they need “more data” or they need to “evaluate all other options” before making a decision?

Identifying Outcome Uncertainty: Does the customer talk about the risk involved with your solution or ask for guarantees of results?

Once identified, you can implement the right strategy to work with the buyer to overcome their indecision.

If you want to learn more about the science of closing deals, check out the free course in the Succession community. We go deeper into these topics and discuss how to navigate the buying committee, build a business case, overcome objections, manage your pipeline, and many more nuances behind what it takes to close deals.

TL;DR

1. 44% of deals are lost to the status quo

2. Your sales process needs to both disrupt the status quo AND overcome their indecision

3. Help buyers identify a problem, the root cause of that problem, and the impact of not solving it.

4. Identify and overcome the specific type of indecision you’re facing

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