And hope, as we know, is not a strategy.
Far too many sellers do a decent job talking about their offer, the shiny features, the benefits, the service levels, but completely miss the commercial context their buyer is living in. The risks they’re carrying. The friction they’re tolerating. The money leaking out.
Worse, they assume the customer already knows the cost of doing nothing. “They must realise it’s costing them to delay…”
The problem is, most don’t.
Buyers are busy. They’re under pressure. They’re navigating complexity, internal politics, and competing priorities. Unless you make the cost of inaction crystal clear, in their language, with their numbers, they will almost always choose to delay, deprioritise, or just do nothing.
The cost of doing nothing is your business as a seller. It’s part of the value conversation. And if you haven’t explored it with the buyer, you’re not just missing a trick, you’re leaving the door wide open for them to choose to do nothing.
So how can you fix things?
Here’s what strong sellers do differently:
- They quantify the problem Rather than just identifying an issue (“Your process is slow”), they explore the impact.
- How many hours are lost each week?
- What’s the cost per hour?
- What’s the knock-on effect on customers or revenue?
- How long has this been going on?
A problem described is interesting. A problem costed is urgent.
2. They explore the trajectory Is the problem staying still, getting worse, or increasing in cost over time?
- What happens if this goes unchecked for another 6 months?
- Who else is affected by the current approach?
- What’s the opportunity cost of not fixing it?
The more clearly the buyer sees the future consequences, the harder it becomes to justify staying put. Our job is to create real urgency.
3. They connect to what matters Most importantly, they link everything back to the buyer’s strategic goals.
- Is this problem holding back growth?
- Is it putting regulatory compliance at risk?
- Is it damaging employee retention, customer experience, or brand reputation?
If the buyer can’t connect the cost of inaction to something on their board’s radar, it’ll never get the attention or budget it deserves.
This is the work of value selling. Not persuading people to want what you sell, but helping them see why not changing has consequences.
If they can’t see that cost – and you can’t help them calculate it – the next solution they hear will always sound expensive.
In the absence of pain, price feels painful. In the presence of pain, price feels practical.
So the question to ask yourself is simple: In your last few sales conversations, did the buyer fully understand what it’s costing them to stick with the status quo? And if not — why not?
Want to sharpen this part of your sales process? Download the Value Sales Checklist and score yourself on how well you’re uncovering and monetising the cost of inaction. Or better still, send it to your team and compare answers.
P.S. Need help putting this into practice? I run short, high-impact training sessions to get sales teams fluent in the value conversation, including how to calculate and communicate the cost of doing nothing. Hit reply and let’s have a chat.