The Status Quo is the biggest challenge for most salespeople.  Most people simply don’t want to change. 

This article by Corporate Visions (see link below) shares insights into the psychological reasons why people make non decisions. This is an important lesson for sales professionals to learn as they seek to influence buyer decisions. Sales enablement tools are designed to help teams share information. But, how sales professionals share information, especially in conversations is often more important to securing a closed win. 

Status Quo is about safety. Status Quo is about CYA! Status Quo is about taking the path of least resistance. This is why there are so few early adopters to new technology or new ways of doing things. It takes courage and effort. 

“In customer acquisition scenario, you need to disrupt and defeat your buyer’s status quo to convince prospects to change and choose you.”

This article shares 4 causes of status quo bias based on the study, “The Psychology of Doing Nothing” by research psychologist Christopher Anderson. 

1. Preference Stability – people discount information that runs counter to their existing opinion.

2. Anticipated Regret or Blame – The possibility of regret brings up internal negative emotions that make it hard for a person to move ahead.

3. Cost of Change – This is not just monetary but also the time and energy of doing something new.

4. Selection Difficulty – When people are overwhelmed by too many options, “choice overload” leads them to what they perceive as the safe option. 

The article continues with ways to overcome status quo bias.

This article is published on:https://corporatevisions.com/status-quo-bias/