Your biggest competitor isn’t who you think it is
Rory Sutherland often reminds us that people don’t behave logically. One of my favourite quotes of his is: The human mind does not run on logic any more than a horse runs on petrol.
If logic drove decisions, most buying choices would be obvious and the best option on paper would win. However, in B2B buying, one of the most common outcomes isn’t yes or no, its that the prospect does nothing. Contrary to popular opinoin that is not indecision as according to behavioural economics, it’s a perfectly rational emotional response.
Doing nothing; Minimises regret, avoids blame, preserves status, prevents extra work and requires no explanation – why wouldn’t that be the default decision? Until the pain of staying the same becomes greater than the hassle of changing, doing nothing will continue to win.
So, if decisions are made emotionally and justified logically, then beating our biggest competitor requires more than logic alone.
The psychology behind doing nothing
There is extensive academic research on status quo bias which is the official term for the tendency for individuals and organisations to favour existing conditions over change.
Foundational research work by Samuelson & Zeckhauser (1988) showed that decision-makers systematically prefer the status quo because the potential losses from change loom larger than equivalent gains. Subsequent research reinforces this:
- People over-weight uncertainty
- Loss aversion dominates opportunity
- Familiarity feels safer than improvement
This explains why even objectively better options are often rejected in favour of inaction.
Business risk vs Personal risk
Most organisations are good at addressing business risk. They can churn out information on costs, ROI, payback and disruption. What they are far less diligent about is personal risk. On a personal level, your buyer is asking: Will this make me look foolish if it fails? Will this expose something I can’t control? Will this create work or tension I don’t have capacity for?
This is where decisions choke. If the personal risk feels high, doing nothing becomes the safest option, because reputational risk outweighs commercial logic.
Don’t deal in logic first
Logic helps buyers justify a decision after emotional risk has been reduced.
It rarely creates the decision on its own. This is where many sales and marketing efforts fall down. They push more and more justification. All useful but none answer the buyer’s first question: Is this solution and the people behind it a safe option for me to put forward?
Until that question is resolved, the business case won’t move anything.
What really matters to your prospect
To overcome the comfort of doing nothing, five things matter:
- Timing matters
- Buying windows must be identified, understood, and maximised
- Messaging and marketing must actively reduce perceived risk
- The decision must feel socially safe for those advocating internally
- The solution must feel worth the effort, not just the money
When these conditions aren’t met, they wlll take the default option – doing nothing.
What your prospect needs from you
Value is created when buyers feel safe enough to move. The sellers who win are the ones who make progress feel the obvious next step and easier than doing nothing. When both business risk and personal risk feel manageable, inaction stops being the comfortable choice.
Status Quo bias validate outbound lead generation
The research is clear: status quo bias is countered through Interaction, reassurance, social proof and reduced perceived effort not through louder messaging or more data alone.
This is why outbound, human-led conversation remains a vital part of any serious B2B sales mix as it allows you to:
- Identify real buying windows rather than assumed ones
- Normalise problems by showing others like you are dealing with this too
- Reduce perceived risk through familiarity and dialogue
- Surface personal concerns that never appear in forms or funnels
- Build trust which is another word for safety
The Your Lead Generation view
At YLG, we believe:
- Doing nothing is the strongest competitor in B2B sales
- Buyers move when emotional risk is reduced, not when logic is increased
- Talking to the market is how risk is surfaced, understood, and lowered
- Lead generation isn’t persuasion — it’s risk reduction through human connection
So before you bemoan competitors with louder voices, shinier websites, endless content, or lower prices, remember this: People don’t fail to act because they lack information. They fail to act because action exposes them to risk; social, personal, and reputational.
In B2B sales, your biggest competitor is rarely another supplier. It’s the cosy comfort of doing nothing.
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