👻 Why Customers Ghost You
Hello! Adam Thornhill here. ‘The Podcast Guy’ saving you 10 hours a week.
Quick update! Juggling 2 kids, a happy marriage, a full time job, AI consulting, and a weekly newsletter has become A LOT to manage. I still love writing Podup - it has become my perpetual personal MBA - but I need to reclaim a bit of time back to dabble with a business idea I’m working on. So, you’ll get the best bits of business podcasts once a month going forward. To everyone who opens this religiously, thank you for your ongoing support!
Enjoy the 161st Podup, with special thanks to ChatGPT Consulting - a proven 4-week program to transform your team’s productivity and creativity.
Today, you’ll learn about the JOLT method, thanks to Lenny’s Podcast.
40-60% of qualified leads are lost to no decision. This represents a massive waste of time, energy, and resources for both you and your customers.
So, why do customers make no decision? Why do they waste their time as well as yours?
Find out what causes this irrational behavior and how the best salespeople overcome it using the JOLT method, which is based on 2,500,000 sales conversations.
The FOMO playbook
When customers start showing signs of cold feet, it's because:
They think what they're doing today is good enough
They think what you‘re proposing is not compelling enough to change
It's not a priority for them or their organization
Most salespeople have been armed to address this by dialling up FOMO [Fear of Missing Out].
They try to scare prospects into action by dialing up fear, uncertainty, and doubt.
They say things like:
We're working with your competitors. They're seeing tremendous benefits.
The problems you brought up with me won’t solve themselves.
I can give you a 10% discount that's only good for this quarter.
However, we found that when salespeople dial up FOMO, this backfires 87% of the time. In other words, it increases the odds that the deal will be lost to no decision.
Matt Dixon
The FOFU problem
A lot of indecision stems from a fear of failure and loss.
People are okay with missing out. People are not okay with being blamed for making decisions that lead to a loss.
And this is really powerful.
FOFU [the Fear Of Fucking Up] matters more than FOMO.
We've got to instil confidence that the customer is making a great decision.
Matt Dixon
The JOLT method
The JOLT can help with FOFU. It stands for:
Judge the indecision
Offer your recommendation
Limit the exploration
Take risk off the table
Don't think about this as a process where it's step one, two, three, four, J-O-L-T.
Think of it as it starts with the J and the J tells you what the next step is.
So we first judge their level of indecision. We figure out what we're dealing with and what's got the customer nervous.
Then we can either offer a recommendation, get them to stop doing research and start trusting us, or de-risk the deal for them so they feel like we've got their back.
Matt Dixon
Why it matters
Think about it. Customers don’t want to be pressured into a decision that they might regret. They’re scared. Scared of making the wrong decision, scared of how they will look in front of their peers, and scared about losing their job. People care about themselves, so lean into that. Help them look good. Then, and only then, will you eliminate no decision.Â
Next steps
Understand customer concerns. Don’t just assess where they’re hesitant. Understand why. Pick up on their body language and off hand comments to uncover the root cause of their fears.
Craft personalized recommendations. Generic advice won’t cut it. Tailor your recommendations to address their specific needs and concerns, showing you truly understand their situation.
Create an irresistible offer. Beyond just de-risking the deal, offer trial periods, money-back guarantees, and clear, transparent terms. Make your offer so good they can’t say no.
Leverage success stories. Share real-life examples of how others overcame similar fears and benefited from your solution. This social proof can be incredibly powerful in alleviating FOFU.
Your thoughts
Want to connect? Connect on LinkedIn or Twitter
Want to advertise? Click here