Fighting Inertia

Who’s your biggest competitor? Maybe it’s that other company in town that offers the exact same service you do. Maybe it’s a business in a neighboring city that has a schnazzier facility than you. And then there’s that on-line retailer that can slap your prices three ways to Texas.

What about your customer?

Yeah, Big Bill kicked back in his recliner… did you know that he—or more specifically his personality and habits—is also a source of competition? Oftentimes, prospects know that you are a nicer, faster, cheaper, all around better place to do business, and they STILL choose to stay where they are. The reason: inertia.

Inertia is a physical object’s resistance to change its state of motion. As a personality trait we might call this procrastination. It’s just easier and more comfortable to keep on with the usual, the status quo, instead of making the effort or taking the time required to make a change.

The implication is that you have to work hard to motivate that prospect to choose to resist inertia. Make the offer too good to turn down, consider a cut off time so that they have to “act now!”, and always, always make the transition as easy as possible.