What is the cost of being undecided?

I was inspired by Mark Morfords San Francisco Chronicle titled Undecided? Really? This article is primarily written for the whopping 18% of undecided voters. Morford write that he can’t imagine how they can still be “on the fence” about Obama or McCain, love or hate, country or disco, Paris or Fresno, oil or water, Porsche or Pinto.

There are many similarities with the undecided voters and undecided buyers today. According to a recent study that surveyed more than 1500 sales organization, 48.7% (almost half) say their reps close the deals in their pipelines. They lose 30.1% but 21.2% end up as “no decision.”

Where are they? -these hard to find voters are not hard-core partisans and manage to stay under the radar by major campaign prospecting. In sales, many of these undecided buyers tend to hide- behind a few gatekeepers or they sit silently on a decision-making committee.

Worried about the economy- many voters haven’t decided which candidate is going to best solve their problems. Buyers are losing faith in the economy and they are paralyzed by fear. Companies still have to buy good and services no matter what the economy is doing. They may buy different, they may buy less, but they still have to buy.

Still not convinced- Voters have not been swayed by any of the candidates after all this time. Buyers are still not sold because the salesperson hasn’t done a good job of persuading, convincing or influencing them.

Completely confused- The candidates have differed in so many areas and some have even changed platforms which has confused audiences more. Buyers are confused today with so many choices starting at them and many hungry salespeople offering more than they can deliver.

Paralyzed by fear- Since decision-making is usually an emotional decision, they may fear taking a stand, having an opinion, believing in something when their job could be at risk.

The impact of not making a decision can be severe. The cost of inaction is worst than action. This is the time to reach out to undecided buyers and ask the tough questions, ask them early, often and reconfirm with more people.

And don’t forget to vote.