Notes on The JOLT Effect by Matthew Dixon and Ted McKenna

I recently finished reading ​The JOLT Effect: How High Performers Overcome Customer Indecision by Matthew Dixon and Ted McKenna, and I really liked it and learned a lot. It explored a new topic for me -- customer indecision -- which is extremely relevant and which I have seen firsthand so many times and which I thought was uncontrollable and without mitigation.

I liked how this book did a scientific analysis of actual recorded sales interactions to find patterns of what behaviors better addressed this. The key takeaways of judging the indecision, offering your recommendation, limiting the exploration, and taking risk off the table are very logical and straightforward, and I have already seen the positive impact of trying them out.

Below are my main notes and takeaways. I highly recommend this to anyone involved in complex sales processes.

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​Intro: stuck
How to overcome customer status quo
Besides preference for status quo, there is also customer indecision that needs to be beaten
Customer Fear of making mistake even bigger factor in indecision

1 inaction paradox
Indecision bigger factor than preference for status quo
Change resistance
Path of least resistance
Status quo bias
Preference for current solution
New one may be better but unclear
Change too involved even if new one better
Omission bias
Loss aversion worse than winning
No one likes to lose
We place more weight on errors of commission than of omission
People want to avoid losses directly due to decision than to indecision 
More comfortable missing out than messing up
Error of commission tangible versus omission is abstract 
Errors of commission personal and culpable but omission not
Three purchasing fears of commission
Valuation problems (choosing right option)
Lack of info (didn’t do enough homework)
Outcome uncertainty, Doubting expected benefits (won’t get expected results)
Warm hands, cold feet
Dialing up FUD or painting future of value prop isn’t useful because it’s just about status quo
This actually lowers the win rate because counterproductive to relitigate the status quo 
Now it’s about failure of their actions and changes
Now it’s about proving that they won’t fail with your solution

2 the jolt effect
Need another playbook to deal with fears of moving forward
Dial down the fear of purchasing
Judging the indecision
Qualify based on ability to decide not just ability to buy
Offer your recommendation
Here’s what I would do if I were you
Limit the exploration 
Control the flow of info to not feed insatiable appetite for more info
Establish self as subject matter expert
Take risk off the table
Opt outs, carve outs, professional services to ensure success
Guard rails to ensure customer downside risk limited
Map out quick wins over first 3 months
Recommend customers start small and get wins then grow

3 judge the indecision
Look for ability to buy and ability to decide
3 sources of indecision, each associated with certain phrases 
Valuation problems, stuck between options
Does the customer quickly point to options they prefer or do they seem to want it all?
Are they repeatedly confused about options and ask about their details
Are they distracted by new options and features and ask for more info 
Lack of info
Anxiety or confusion based on perceived lack of homework on choices
Do they ask for more demos and references than typical customer
Do they delay to get more info
Do they say they’re overwhelmed by more info
Do they say they’re still in the dark
Outcome uncertainty 
Anxiety about returns they’ll see
Do they press you for ROI projections and revisions of those
Do they reference other investments they’ve been burned on
Do they reference big risk
Do they ask for guarantees
Customer personal level of indecisiveness
Psychologist indecisiveness scale of 15 questions to self assess on decision making ability 
Four step process 
Understand how they search for and process info and if comfortable with ambiguity 
Bad signs
Research for research sake
Backtracking in process when new info presents itself 
Ask how they evaluate alternatives and if local and structured 
Do they have clear purchasing criteria and must haves and a logical process or are they just trying to compare apples to oranges
Do they struggle to explain how they created their short list of vendors to consider
Signs that they’ll settle for good enough or will wait until product perfectly suits their needs
Satisficers vs maximizers
Always ask after demo or trial how it went. Do they lead with the positive or the negative
Procrastination vs decision avoidance
If customer delaying, put in powerful request like to talk to key buying authority and leader and see how they respond and if they’re serious 
External factors causing indecisiveness 
Magnitude of decision or decision important can cause delays
Time pressure can cause delays
Scorecard in book to quantify situation and disqualify if too bad

4 offer your recommendation 
Paradox of choice
More choices lead to more indecision and poor adoption 
Proactive guidance
This is our most popular configuration
Most of our new customers start with x plan then upgrade as needed
Advocacy and acting as if it were your money
Here’s what I would do if I were you
I always tell customers you can’t go wrong with x
First establish you are trustworthy
Avoid amplifying indecision
Don’t be reactive 
Be prescriptive when they’re indecisive

5 limit the exploration
Owning the flow of info
Establish self as expert and guide
Seller has already done the research for them
Don’t bring in subject matter experts like solutions engineers or customer success people too early
If bringing in expert to a call, they should speak very little
Suggest third party content for customer to independently review 
Anticipating needs and objections
Need to give rebuttal
Look for implicit non objection
Gut check
Active listening for customer wavering
One of the common concerns i hear around now is xyz
Practicing radical candor
Challenge directly and care personally
Focus on what’s best for customer and tell them when something they want won’t help them and will just waste their time
Five whys
Ask the question behind the question
Ask to articulate the reason behind the request
Rep talk time higher (58%) in wins than losses. Top performers talk more. 
Interrupt customer and talk over them when necessary 
Cooperative overlapping
Engagement more important than listening
Silence time helpful but not too much (8-17%)

6 take risk off the table
Indecision from outcome uncertainty
FUD not helpful
Better to make them feel good about moving ahead with purchase
Set outcome expectations
Don’t make crazy ROI expectations
Under promise and over deliver
Set reasonable expectations 
Offer downside risk protection
Cancelation policy
Money back guarantee
Detailed project plans and KPIs created before signing
Professional services support baked in
Creative contracting 
Carve out risky work in shorter term separate agreement
Start smaller
Talk them out of too many options to save money initially

7 becoming a buyer’s agent
Too many options creates need for guides and advisors and agents to help
Jolt seller as buyer agent
Offer to save them money or start smaller
Offer positive feedback on competitor product
Be clear where you are great and where just ok
Be honest about roadmap and timing
Openly admit when don’t know answer to some question
Trusted advisor to collaborate with
Make yes the default answer
Offer default option
Path of least resistance
Ask for sale. If I have your permission, I can send over the order form for you to sign and we can schedule your onboarding. 
This sounds like a good fit for your business. The next step is to sign our order form and schedule onboarding. Can I send that over today?

8 beyond win rates: jolting customer loyalty 
Four flavors of customer loyalty
Product and brand stickiness (low/high) x effort of the experience (low/high)
Post decision dysfunction
Worrying
Checking
Decision review
Higher win rate from lower customer effort
Relitigating status quo raises perception of effort

9 how much is indecision costing you
Look at crm data for amount of deals lost to no decision and sales cycle lengths 
Interaction frequency goes up as deals get closer to finish 
Assess individual seller jolt skills
Manual call auditing
Call auditing tool on their website
QA team to do call auditing
Competency scorecards
Customer surveys
Voice of customer
Interviews
Survey on website 
Conversation intelligence 
Machine learning
Tether tool

10 applying jolt in different sales environments 
Inbound
Already deep through buyer journey
Don’t spend time resolving service issues and instead route to support
Outbound
New logos and expansion
Don’t chase disqualified opps
Monitor for cold feet and cut bait early
Derisking when opt out isn’t an option
Case studies
Customer references
Bolt on service contract to reduce risk

11 building jolt sales force
Look at past sales experience
Training for jolt behaviors 
Jolt interview guide on website