Schwartz studied why more choice reduces satisfaction
Schwartz studied why more choice reduces satisfaction. Iyengar showed it reduces decisions.
In one study, only 3% bought when shoppers saw 24 jam options. Most B2B sales teams add more choice & call it a better buying experience.
Most stalled B2B deals are not lost to the wrong option. They are lost to too many of them.
When shoppers saw just 6 options, nearly 30% made a decision. A study of nearly 800,000 employees showed the same pattern.
For every 10 extra 401(k) fund options, participation fell by up to 2%. Plans with very few options saw participation close to 75%.
Plans with 59 funds dropped to about 60%. B2B tech sales keeps making the same mistake.
We keep adding packages.
Add-ons. Pricing paths. Custom versions. Slides to compare.
The buyer does not feel more confident. They feel the weight of the decision.
Now they have to compare the options. Defend the choice internally.
Get other stakeholders comfortable. And avoid being the person who approved the wrong spend.
Then we add more.
Another version of the proposal. Another pricing path.
Another bundle. Another possible next step.
That is where momentum disappears. Not because the product is weak.
Because the decision feels heavier than it should.
The job is not to remove choice. The job is to organize it.
Three clear options. One recommended path.
A short list of add-ons that matter. A simple next step.
Good sellers do not just explain the product. They reduce the effort required to buy it.
Most stalled deals do not need another option. They need a clearer one.
🔔 𝘍𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸 Barry Flanagan 𝘪𝘧 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘰𝘢𝘥 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘮.
♻️ 𝘙𝘦𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 6-𝘰𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘢𝘭𝘴.
🔖 𝘚𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘵 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘳𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘢𝘭.