You just finished a stellar product demo. Your prospect is nodding along, clearly impressed. But then you hear, “We need to think about it.” Sound familiar? If so, you’re not alone. B2B tech start-ups and scale-ups often find themselves battling the silent killer of B2B sales: indecision.
Guess what? You know that thing that keeps your deals in limbo? Or your sales team ghosted? It’s not you. And it’s not “so-and-so’s cool new widget.”
A lot of the time we’re dealing with the status quo.
That said, indecision is also deeply rooted in something much bigger than the status quo: fear.
Sometimes it’s FOMO: the Fear of Missing Out. But it’s more likely FOMU: the Fear of Messing Up.
In a nutshell, think of FOMO as the anxiety of missing out on something great, whereas FOMU is driven by the fear of making a bad decision that backfires.
“Where overcoming the status quo is about dialing up the fear of not purchasing, overcoming indecision is about dialing down the fear of purchasing.”
Matthew Dixon, Ted McKenna, The JOLT Effect
Here’s the good news: you can overcome indecision, and I’ll show you how.
Most of us think our biggest challenge is beating out the other guy’s bright shiny object. But the real opportunity is showing customers why staying the same is riskier than moving forward.
Doing nothing feels safe, but it comes at a cost—time, money, and missed opportunities. Our job is to help buyers overcome indecision and make change feel like the obvious, logical choice.
The status quo is our comfort zone, sure, but when we see how much better life can be and how much easier our jobs can be, that’s the Aha Moment.
Customers don’t always compare us to another solution—they compare us to whatever they currently use and as long as that keeps the business running, they’re good.
It could be a spreadsheet, a manual process, an intern, or just doing nothing. That might just be good enough and not worth the hassle to switch.
We sometimes overthink this and “ass-u-me” it has to be a better whatchamacallit.
The fear of making the wrong choice is very real. I personally experienced this with a well-known marketing automation platform. It ended in a classic bait-and-switch that cost me my job at the time. To say I was gun-shy afterwards is putting it lightly.
There’s a reason people say, “No one ever got fired for buying IBM.” They built a brand so trusted, buyers felt confident it was always the safest choice. You can earn that level of trust, too—by consistently delivering value and building your reputation over time.
If we want buyers to trust us, we need to create awareness and instill confidence in our company and the stuff it makes. Like developing any relationship, building a solid brand reputation like IBM takes time. The sooner we invest in it, the sooner we create the credibility we need to earn that trust.
Showing and telling customers that “staying the same will cost them in the long run” is one thing. Backing it up with credible proof is another. And that’s what it takes to help buyers feel confident about choosing our stuff.
Find out what’s bugging them. What’s holding them back? We may think their current solution isn’t ideal—but do we know why?
Pinpoint their fears and frustrations. Be crystal clear about the problems you solve and how to overcome their challenges. What pain do customers deal with every day? What’s working? What’s not? Why?
Oftentimes, they’re making it work with what they’ve got. “Good enough” is always a safe answer. We’re not just competing with other products—we’re competing with the way things have always been done.
If we’re stuck comparing features with other products, we’re missing the bigger picture. Step back, look at what’s keeping your customers comfortable, and show them how you can make things better. When we nail this, we demonstrate how well our solution fits.
The JOLT Effect is an excellent sales strategy book by Matt Dixon and Ted McKenna. It outlines a simple four-step process that assesses buyer indecisiveness.
By following the JOLT Method, you take buyers from uncertainty to confidence, helping them overcome FOMO and FOMU and making the decision to choose you a no-brainer.
Building trust takes time and every interaction you have with a customer is a chance to build it. The more they see you as a trusted partner—not just another vendor—the more likely they will eventually choose you over the alternatives. Over time, this trust becomes your biggest asset, and it’s how you beat the status quo every time.
“No one ever got fired for buying [insert your brand here],” has a nice ring to it, wouldn’t you agree?
Your competition isn’t just another bright shiny object—it’s indecision. But when you reframe the challenge, build confidence, and paint a picture of a better world, you’re not just selling a product—you’re helping buyers take a step forward. And that’s how you win.
Ready to build trust and crush indecision for your B2B tech solution? Let’s chat about how we can make it happen.
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This article is AC-A and also published and discussed on LinkedIn. Join the conversation!
