Among the most difficult things to do are to get someone to:
recognize,
admit to, and
do something about a problem.
If this doesn’t immediately ring true, consider these anecdotes.
Of the 150 passengers on US Air 1549 that landed on the Hudson River after birds caused dual engine failure on takeoff, 33 left the plane with their life vest. All of them were given the pre-flight safety briefing and could see the plane was going down in the water. It was January and the water was bound to be frigid. No one knew “Sully” would be a hero and keep the plane from disintegrating on impact. At this point, most had probably already been within easy reach of their life vest while they were bent over to kiss their a$$ goodbye. Still, nearly 80% decided to pass over a resource that may have been the difference between life and death.
A driver of high healthcare costs is patient compliance. Patients go to a doctor with a complaint, get advice, and often don’t follow through. Things get worse and more is needed to treat the condition. Compliance varies by condition and other factors. Studies show rates can be as low as 10%.
These are two examples where problems are 1) recognized and 2) admitted to. Remedies are clear and within reach. Yet step 3 is realized at a shockingly low rate. Would you have taken the life vest? Do you follow doctor’s orders? What about your customers?
Implications…
Divide your total available market (TAM) by at least 2 – maybe 4 or 5 – to account for the portion of prospects that just won’t act despite the highest quality sales and marketing activities
Watch signals very closely during lead nurturing campaigns to identify prospects that are part of the majority that just won’t do what is good for themselves or their company. Stop wasting resources on them.
Take a close look at the weighting factors used for the company’s opportunity funnel. It’s probably oversized.
Look for any friction that prevents prospects from considering, buying, and implementing your product or service and eliminate it. They need every bit of encouragement.
Want help with these implications?