Are you unknowingly driving customers away? Want to know what customer turnoffs to avoid? Explore the critical mistakes that lead to customer turnoffs and learn how to rectify them.

If you’re struggling with clients not returning your emails, not getting your offers signed, and generally struggling with keeping customers happy, the answer might be in this list of customer turnoffs.

I’ve been in customer service since I was 11 years old.

I’ve been in customer service in one form or another for decades. I won’t count my days as a babysitter, au père and camp counsellor (but I’ve got stories!), but starting when I was about 11 I started working weekends and summers at my parents’ business.

What I learned there and then at my first “real” job from the manager who’s turned into a lifelong mentor, has helped me hone my craft not only at sales, but at exceptional customer service.

And when I started my own business, I made a commitment to exceptional customer service. If you can solve these 5 common customer turnoffs, you’ll solve a lot of the issues that keep you from getting return business and referrals.

Not following through

You recently attended a summit and you were also featured on a podcast. Your lead magnet is doing well.

Great. Well done. I hope you’re following through with those leads.

Your lead magnet has gone out with the standard auto message containing the PDF or video. And then? Are you sending additional follow-up emails?

In case you’re wondering why you would want to send out messages after they’ve received your lead magnet, it’s simple. You need to build a relationship with people if you want them to give you their money. No one is going to buy from your lead magnet alone. 

Worst case scenario, they don’t even look at your resource. Best case scenario, they use the resource to solve their problem, then promptly forget about where they got the PDF.

You need to make an actual offer before people can buy. That offer will be better received if people are accustomed to receiving useful messages from you.

Hitting people with offers out of the blue is one of the worst customer turnoffs inherent in many businesses.

Not being consistent

You’ve just finished a webinar, class, summit, etc. You managed to get dozens of people subscribed to your list. Great stuff, congratulations.

I know you will be tired when it’s all over. But deciding to sit back without doing anything further is turning your back on money.

You’re failing to capitalize on the novelty stage, where people are still interested in you. Maybe what you said was so profound, they’re actually starstruck – until another distraction comes along, that is.

That’s why you need to plan what you’ll do with new leads long before the event. Go back to the first point and make sure your follow-through emails are already drafted.

When you eventually have an offer, you will already have a group of people eating straight out of the palm of your hand waiting.

Being too shy

Are you too afraid people will say no if you make an offer? I’ve been there as well.

It’s normal to have this irrational idea that it’s better to have no answer than to hear no. It’s also a perfect strategy for pushing away buyers.

The question is what exactly are you expecting? Do you think people are going to respond to an offer you never made? Do you think they’ll recommend you when they have no idea what you’re selling?

You might as well bite the bullet and make the offer. 

Letting yourself become the bottleneck in your offer.

A bottleneck is anything standing in the way of your client making a purchase. More often than not, you are that bottleneck. You’re probably the source of customer turnoffs in your business without knowing it.

Does signing up for your coaching program require clients to fill in a three-page application, followed by a five-minute video? 

You are the bottleneck!

Yes, I know you think you’re eliminating time wasters. But you’re also annoying potential clients who’d rather signup with the guy who has a form that takes ten seconds to fill out.

Another way you’re the bottleneck is your attitude.

Are you too hesitant to make an offer?

Maybe you think the time is not right, or you’re not yet ready.

The truth is you’re simply standing in your own way.

Price is another bottleneck in the way. Sometimes you have to compromise between charging what you think the true value of a service is, vs what people are willing to pay.

For instance, if you’re selling a course for $100. But then you realize the material actually provides more value, so you push the price up to $700. You will most certainly lose many potential clients.

Being too pushy

We already touched on not following up and not being consistent with leads.

So imagine you haven’t reached out to people in a while. Maybe they even forgot who you are. Then bam, you start bombarding them with your offer.

People don’t respond well to that kind of thing. In fact, it’s more spam than marketing. And it’s a major customer turnoff.

That’s why I choose the permission-based marketing approach. I’m always in touch with my clients to make sure we are walking the same journey. They know of my upcoming offers long before launch.

My pitch never comes as a surprise to them.

People don’t suddenly start dropping off from my webinar when I make an offer. My events end with the same amount of people they start with.

If people are dropping off during your pitch, then you’ve clearly failed to connect somewhere.

5 customer turnoffs – key takeaways

There are many things you could be doing to push away clients. However, the most common customer turnoffs are:

• Not following through.
• Lack of consistency.
• Hesitancy.
• You—standing in your own way.
• Being too pushy.

I’ve been helping businesses host summits and build lists and launch exceptional products for over 10 years. I’m always happy to discuss your project. Book a free call with me today.