The Catalyst by Jonah Berger
Book Overview
The thesis of ‘The Catalyst’ is that you don’t change someone’s mind by ‘being more convincing or a better persuader’ but by ‘removing roadblocks and lowering barriers that keep people from taking action’. It is easier to guide people to change by clearing a path for them, than to force information/opinions on them.
This is one of those books that I had a hard time putting down. Berger’s writing style is clear and easy to understand. With real-life examples like the ‘Tide Pod Challenge’ and ‘How to Change the Boss’s mind’, you’ll quickly grasp the content. I couldn’t recommend this book more, as it will definitely help you think differently about your sales process.
Key Concepts
In the book, Berger identifies 5 key roadblocks (R.E.D.U.C.E) that prevent people from changing their minds:
Reactance – “When pushed, people push back”
It’s well known that when you tell people they should/shouldn’t, can/can’t do something, they are likely to do the opposite. So why do we often tell our customers why they should switch to our product, and shouldn’t use our competitor? According to Berger, people need freedom and autonomy, they need to feel in control. This is why catalysts get people to persuade themselves.
Endowment – “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”
According to Berger people are reluctant to change. It is easy to stick with the status quo, especially if it’s only mildly annoying. In order to remove the endowment roadblock, you must show people the cost of doing nothing.
Distance – “Finding the zone of acceptance”
Contrary to intuition, providing people with evidence against their current opinions does not make them change their minds. Usually it does the opposite. To change someone’s stance, you need to slowly remove the distance between their opinion and yours.
Uncertainty – “Will a new product, service, or idea be as good as the old one?”
Berger explains that making a change to a new service, product, etc. comes with an uncertainty tax. In order to get someone to change, the value of the new option needs to be much higher relative to the risk of making the switch. Providing a short free trial/service is key to overcoming this barrier. The customer can always stop using your solution, with little to no investment from them.
Corroborating Evidence – “Finding reinforcement”
The stronger someone’s opinion, the more evidence they need to change their stance. Berger describes this barrier as the need to gather multiple opinions from the right sources to change someone’s mind.
Once you understand what each of these roadblocks are, it is much easier to identify and remove them. In almost every sale we need to change peoples’ minds. Based on the R.E.D.U.C.E. system, I have outlined a few ideas that you can apply today to remove these buying barriers, and sell more!
Key Takeaways to Sell More
Remove your customer’s reactance roadblock. Berger suggests providing a menu, essentially allowing the person to choose one of the options you provide. This tactic can be used to set next steps after a customer call. One example after a discovery call is: ‘So Customer, we have 2 options on how we proceed next… we can have a meeting with the internal stakeholders to align on this project, or we can do an initial demo with you and show you our solution, which works best for you?’
‘Questions encourage people to commit to the conclusions’ – Berger. Make sure your discovery questions have the customer identifying their goals and what they’d like to achieve. “What do you personally want to see out of this project?” “What does real success look like to you?” “How is your current solution working today?” Berger provides a great question: “If you were starting from scratch, given what you know now, how would you suggest starting the project?”
Sales people often find themselves selling against the status quo. It is easier for a customer to keep using their current solution than to change to a new product. This is an ‘Endowment’ roadblock. If the need to change isn’t strong enough, people won’t. We commonly create ROIs for a customer to show what they’d get from buying our solution. We should also help them realize the cost of doing nothing, regardless if they buy from us or not. We can do this by asking about: time lost, customer frustrations, employee frustrations, business errors, etc. that may occur from their current process.
When selling to a new prospect, a great way to provide ‘corroborating evidence’ and breakdown the ‘uncertainty’ barrier is through customer referrals. While sharing a previous customer story is great, you should have a couple of your customers talk to the new prospect. Reach out to you customers in similar industries or roles and see if they’d be able to have a quick call with your prospect.
Personal Take
This book really taught me the importance of constantly asking questions. Whether it’s on a customer call or in a 1-1, I ask questions to understand the perspective of who I am speaking with. When you learn more about a person, what motivates them, and what they care about, it makes it easier to breakdown the barriers above. Obviously I highly recommend giving ‘The Catalyst’ a read! Click here to get yourself a copy.