Cost-of-inaction messaging

Cost-of-inaction messaging makes waiting visible as a choice with consequences. Give the prospect enough detail to compare staying with the current approach against acting, then let them decide whether the loss deserves attention. The strongest version names the thing that keeps happening, the opportunity that disappears, and the risk of receiving an unwanted result. It also shows how certain the estimate is. A precise-looking cost can weaken a message when its assumptions stay hidden, so make the basis of the estimate part of the conversation.

Start with the decision being postponed

Anchor the message to the decision the prospect is postponing. This keeps it attached to a choice instead of turning it into a general warning.

The cost of inaction is the future cost created by failing to act now.¹ A framework for estimating future costs helps justify present action or inaction.² Ask, "What happens if you don't solve for it?"³

Listen for a consequence the prospect accepts as real. If the answer stays vague, keep tracing the problem until they can describe what continues, who feels it, or what decision becomes harder.

Trace the consequence

Follow the consequence until it reaches an outcome the prospect can recognize. A problem label gives you a topic; the cost of inaction gives you a reason to decide.

Inaction can create consequences for individuals, families, communities, economies and society as a whole.⁴ Prospects may also lack knowledge of a risk that can hurt them, so test for consequences they have not seen.⁵ Ask, "What is the cost of inaction?"⁶

Ask what keeps happening if nothing changes and where the impact shows up. Ask what opportunity stays out of reach. Stop when the prospect connects the unresolved problem to a consequence they would recognize without your help.

Quantify the lost opportunity

After the prospect names the consequence, give it a scale that helps them judge the decision. Use the current approach as the baseline so the message shows what waiting produces.

An executive-level point of view should explain what the customer stands to lose by not acting.⁷ Sellers should quantify the opportunity cost of not reaching the desired level of enterprise sales.⁸ Use the current approach as the reference point: "If you were to stay on what you're doing today, here's your ROI."⁹

Ask what that return leaves out. The answer may be revenue, capacity, customers, time, or an outcome the prospect already wants. Keep the calculation tied to the prospect's own target, since a loss only helps when the person can judge its importance.

Test the estimate

A calculation helps when the prospect can inspect how you reached it. Keep it simple enough to discuss, and show its limits before someone challenges the figure.

Costs can be difficult to quantify.¹⁰ Projections of associated costs can vary greatly.¹¹ Estimated damages for a given level of warming can vary by an order of magnitude when assumptions change.¹²

Name the inputs, assumptions and time horizon behind your estimate. A cost-of-inaction methodology can draw on multiple data sources¹³ and focus on median estimates of near-term costs within a defined horizon.¹⁴ In outbound, state where the estimate comes from, what period it covers, and which assumption would change the result.

A range can be more credible than a single figure when the inputs are uncertain. If you cannot explain the basis of the cost in a sentence, remove the figure and describe the consequence in terms the prospect already uses.

Write the message

1

You are dealing with

2

If it continues

3

The missed opportunity

4

Is this worth pursuing

1. You are dealing with
2. If it continues
3. The missed opportunity
4. Is this worth pursuing

Write the message after you understand the consequence and the basis for the estimate. Put the cost into the prospect's decision before introducing what action could improve the outcome.

Sellers should help prospects understand the cost of doing nothing before introducing the upside of taking action.¹⁵ They should frame the message around what buyers stand to lose.¹⁶ Loss aversion messaging can compare the cost of the current approach with the offering.¹⁷

Use this structure:

• You are dealing with [current condition].
• If it continues, [consequence] follows.
• The missed opportunity is [outcome the prospect wants].
• Is this worth pursuing now?

Keep each line tied to something the prospect has acknowledged. Make the before and after state feel real for the prospect.¹⁸ When delay itself creates a known consequence, use a direct line such as, "If you keep kicking this down the road, we'll have the same conversation a year from now."¹⁹

Use that line only when the repeated conversation reflects a real cost of waiting. A deadline that exists only in the seller's calendar gives the prospect a reason to distrust the rest of the message.

Validate the risk

Use validation to check whether the loss has meaning for this prospect. The message is ready to progress when the prospect can recognize the risk, describe its effect, and decide whether it deserves attention.

Risk-based pain messaging can start with the email the prospect never wants to receive, such as a system outage notice.²⁰ Ask, "Why take on that risk?"²¹ Then listen for the event, consequence and response the prospect considers serious.

The purpose of showing the cost is to help the prospect decide whether the problem is worth pursuing.²² Move on when they can explain the cost in their own words. If they cannot, return to the consequence and remove any estimate they cannot assess.

What not to do

These mistakes make the loss vague, inflated or disconnected from the prospect's decision.

• Relying on features and benefits alone can leave loss out of the message.²³
• A broad problem label leaves the cost of continuing hidden; show what continuing without change costs them.²⁴
• Do not present a cost as exact when costs are difficult to quantify.¹⁰
• Do not hide assumptions that can change an estimated damage by an order of magnitude.¹²