Written by: Vickie Sullivan | July 15, 2014
Clients Hate It When We Do This
A potential client calls you for help. You assess their situation, give them some options (even writing them down) and promise to follow up. Then…radio silence. They’ve disappeared into thin air. What just happened? They were so interested in working with us!
According to this interesting research from Barry Schwartz, they were overwhelmed with too many choices. Contrary to popular belief, too many options increase the risk of making the wrong choice. This drives the procrastination of making any decision at all. Perhaps buyers don’t disappear because they chose someone else; they don’t respond because they shut down the decision all together.
I see this all the time. Folks decide they want to be a sought-after thought leader; they talk to me and others in the field. Confusion about all the different approaches ensues. Buyer puts off making a decision; other priorities take over the schedule so they just don’t decide. I’ve done this myself.
The antidote to this dynamic: identify the visible need. Many times, buyers don’t know what they want until they recognize it in our conversations. So our help in clarifying what they really need will help buyers narrow choices. When potential clients move forward with more clarity, we win. Even if they don’t choose us, we’ve created good will. We’ve helped someone along their journey. That’s how good word-of-mouth is born.
Click here to get the study. If you want just the notes, this Fast Company article hits the highlights.
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