Hello Predictable Revenue community,

Pre-order club: our next meetup is August 8th at 930am PT and is open to anyone who pre-ordered the book. My goal is to help 3-5 companies work through a revenue related challenge every time. Forward me your receipt and I’ll add you to the invite.

About the book: Most sales books are written by people who've never actually had to find their own customers. They're full of theory that falls apart on real sales calls.

The Terrifying Art of Finding Customers is different. It's a no-BS guide to the messy, uncomfortable work of turning strangers into buyers—written for founders who have to sell their own stuff. Get your copy here

"Finally, a sales book by someone who's actually made quota.” - Me 

This newsletter is also available as a talking head video, check it out here if you prefer that format.

“Doing Nothing”

Here's a mistake I see founders making every day in sales calls: they're pitching to people who have zero intention of buying anything. They spend hours crafting demos, writing proposals, and following up with prospects who are just curious about what's out there.

Today I want to teach you how to identify real buyers from tire kickers using one simple concept: whether or not "do nothing" is off the table.

What Does it Mean?

Getting "do nothing" off the table means your prospect has recognized that their current way of doing things is broken and they're going to make a change. It doesn't necessarily mean they'll buy from you, but they've agreed that continuing to do nothing would be the wrong course of action.

Think about it this way: changing anything is a pain in the ass. Your prospect has to allocate budget, get stakeholder buy-in, implement new processes, train their team, and deal with the inevitable hiccups that come with any change. The default state for most businesses is inertia - keep doing what they're doing, even if it's not perfect. Doing nothing is always your biggest competitor. 

But when "do nothing" comes off the table, they've mentally crossed a threshold. They've admitted that their current approach is causing enough pain that the cost of change is worth it.

Why This Concept Matters for Your Sales Process

This distinction matters for three critical reasons:

First, it separates tire kickers from real buyers. Tire kickers are just curious about what's out there. They might take your demo, ask thoughtful questions, and even seem engaged. But they haven't committed to solving the underlying problem. Real buyers, on the other hand, are committed to making a change and are evaluating solutions to help them do it.

Second, it prevents you from wasting time on expensive demos and trials. Nothing burns through your resources faster than giving detailed demos and setting up trials for people who aren't actually in buying mode. When you can identify whether someone has taken "do nothing" off the table, you can invest your time appropriately.

Third, it helps create urgency. Someone who's committed to solving a problem usually wants it solved quickly. Once they've decided the status quo is unacceptable, every day they wait is another day of pain.

How to Identify When "Do Nothing" Is Off the Table

Here's what I look for to determine if a prospect has genuinely committed to change:

They're already spending money trying to solve it, even inefficiently. This might look like hiring people to manually pull data, paying for expensive workarounds, or cobbling together multiple tools that don't integrate well. The key is they're already investing resources because the problem is real.

They've expressed real frustration with their current process. I'm not talking about mild annoyance or academic interest in optimization. I mean genuine frustration where you can hear the pain in their voice when they describe their current situation.

There's external pressure. This could be new board requirements, investor demands, compliance issues, or competitive pressure. When the pressure is coming from outside their immediate team, "do nothing" becomes much harder to justify.

You can tie it to one of the big three: making money, saving costs, or reducing risk. If you can connect their problem to a clear financial impact or risk mitigation, you have a much better chance of getting "do nothing" off the table.

The Right Questions to Ask

The key is knowing how to surface this information, and timing matters. These aren't questions you ask at the beginning of a call when you're just building rapport. Generally, I bring these up after a good discovery conversation where I've established that there's real pain we can solve.

If you have good rapport with the prospect, you can be direct: "Is this a priority to solve right now?"

If you want to soften the approach: "Where does this sit on your priority list - is this number one or number ten?"

For timing context: "Is this a this month, this quarter, or this year problem?"

One of my favourites when people seem hesitant to share: "Help me understand - what would happen if you choose not to solve this right now?" Then explore the first, second, and third-order consequences of inaction.

The most important piece is simply to ask. This isn't generally a yes-or-no question - it's a topic you want to explore. "Can we talk about priority level here?" If they say yes, go deeper. Get them to articulate why change is necessary.

Red Flags vs. Green Flags

Red flags that "do nothing" is still on the table:

• Vague answers about timing ("We'll probably look at this next year")

• Talk about future budgets rather than current ones

• Focus on planning and exploration rather than evaluation and implementation

• Reluctance to bring in other stakeholders

Green flags that "do nothing" is off the table:

• They bring additional stakeholders without you asking

• They ask about trials, integrations, or implementation details

• They want to understand your procurement process

• They're trying to negotiate terms rather than questioning whether they need a solution

A Real Example

I was recently talking to a founder I work with who had a prospect commit to a $1,500 paid trial. When they sent the Stripe invoice, the payment failed. Then it failed again. That prospect tried paying the bill 15 times until it finally went through.

That person had clearly taken "do nothing" off the table. Compare that to someone who just wants to "see a demo" without sharing any context about their problems or timeline.

Your Homework

Here's what I want you to do: In your next sales call, ask one of the priority questions. You'll be shocked at how many people will just tell you where they really stand. This isn't some secret sales trick - it's just two humans having an honest conversation about their priorities.

Stop wasting time on people who haven't committed to change so you can focus on the ones who have already decided they need to solve this problem. When you ask these questions directly, you might be surprised by the clarity you get.

The goal isn't to manipulate anyone into buying - it's to have honest conversations about whether there's a real fit between your solution and their genuine need for change. When "do nothing" is truly off the table, both you and your prospect can move forward with confidence and appropriate urgency.

Remember: not every prospect needs to buy right now, and that's okay. But you deserve to know where you stand so you can allocate your time and energy to the opportunities that are most likely to move forward.

Collin 

PS - thanks to everyone who replied to last week’s email, I’ve been away with the family this week so I’m still catching up. If I haven’t replied to you by the time this lands in your inbox, know that a reply is coming shortly.