You finish your demo, and the prospect says, “I want to think about it.”
You chase.
You never hear from them again.
What happened?
Storytime.
I grill salmon on my barbeque.
I’m making progress.
One day the right side of my grill stopped working.
I have what Jobs-to-be-Done calls a first thought: “Shoot, the right side of my grill doesn’t work.”
Since I’m only grilling for two, I can make progress using the left side of the grill.
So I might “book a barbeque demo,” but I’m not a buyer because the problem isn’t intense or frequent. (I grill once a month).
And my anxiety and habit of the present are greater than the allure of a new grill (JTBD).
I already know how to use my grill.
I’d rather dance with the devil I know.
What if this “new grill” doesn’t work for me?
How long will it take me to figure out the hot spots on the “new grill”?
In other words, I’m a looker masquerading as a buyer.
A few weeks later, my wife invites a couple over for a barbeque.
Now I’m cooking for four.
However, I can still make progress using the left side of the grill.
I’m still a looker masquerading myself as a buyer.
A few months later, my wife wanted to have a barbecue for 12.
I can no longer make progress. I need both sides of the grill.
The positive forces of a new grill were greater than my anxiety and habits, so now I’m a buyer.
Opportunities end in no-decision because the positive forces of switching to a new “barbecue” are less than the anxiety and habits of the present.
Knowing where people are on the Jobs-to-be-Done timeline is a sales superpower because it lets you spend time with buyers, not lookers.
Here’s how to unlock the truth about where people are in their buying journey using Christopher Voss’s method.
Mirroring
“Think it over?”
Accusation Audit
“Seems like I haven’t covered something as well as I needed to.”
“Sounds like you’re on the fence about whether to switch.”
“You’re concerned getting everyone up to speed and using a new product will be a distraction in the short term.”
“Sounds like you don’t see the value.”
An accusation audit is an inventory of all the negative things a prospect might be thinking.
If you’re still not getting any information after 4-5 accusation audits, try a labeling
“It seems like there may be some things that I’m failing to understand.”
The takeaway?
Knowing how to unlock the floodgates of truth enables you to go from closing 30% of deals to 90%.
You can waste a ton of time selling to people who can grill salmon on the left side of their grill.