Creating Urgency In Ecommerce Value Propositions

Sales Isn't Just About Benefits. It's About the Buyer Brain. Let’s talk about why most pitches fall flat—and what to do instead. 💣 It's not your offer, 💣 not your price, 💣 not even your timing. The real issue? ➡️ Framing. 🧠 Here’s why: the buyer brain is wired to avoid loss faster than it chases gain. This principle—loss aversion—isn’t just psychology, it’s sales gold. Most sellers lead with upside: ✔️ "You’ll save time." ✔️ "You’ll increase revenue." ✔️ "You’ll scale faster." Sounds nice. But it rarely moves the needle. ❌ Benefits don’t create urgency. ✅ Perceived loss does. The amygdala—your buyer’s fear sensor—lights up when they sense something slipping away. That’s when decisions happen. So shift your frame: 📉 Lost time → “Every month you delay is another month stuck in the same chaos.” 📉Missed revenue → “That pause might cost you more than you think.” 📉 Falling behind → “Your competitors aren’t waiting. Why are you?” You don’t need sleazy pressure. You need a clear perspective. 👉 Frame what’s already being lost. 👉 Help buyers see what’s at stake. 👉 Create urgency with truth, not tricks. 🎥 In today’s video, I unpack how to build urgency (without discounts or desperation) using buyer psychology and real-world phrases that flip the switch from “maybe later” to “let’s do this.” 🎬 Watch the video for more – you don’t want to miss this. https://lnkd.in/dSAS-C6Q #salesstrategy #buyerpsychology #lossaversion #salescoaching #b2bsales #framing #decisionmaking #sellingtothebrain

Trying to create urgency at the end of the sales cycle is like trying to build a parachute after you've jumped. By the time you’re reaching for discounts, EOM pressure, or vague “let’s get this wrapped up” language, it’s already too late. The prospect has mentally exited the buying process. You're reacting...not selling. Urgency isn't something you invent at EOM/EOQ. It's something you engineer in discovery. Here’s how I'd recommend you do it: 1. Anchor to real business milestones Start with their goals - not your timeline. “When do you need this live to hit your Q3 retention targets?” Reverse engineer the path from that milestone. It’s not just about setting dates...it’s about aligning their priorities to your process. 2. Create resourcing pressure without being gimmicky “Our onboarding team is booking ~3 weeks out. If you want to be up and running by July, we’d need signed paperwork this week to hold a spot.” It’s honest. It’s operational. And it’s grounded in value delivery, not just contract signatures. 3. Use mutual action plans as a pressure valve Don’t just align on “next steps. Instead, build a shared, visual timeline. Include: - Decision dates - Internal reviews (legal, security, finance) - Stakeholder involvement - Go-live targets This becomes your accountability contract. Every missed milestone is a legitimate reason to ask: “Has something changed?” That’s not a forecast question, btw. That’s a discovery question. When urgency is built with the buyer, you don’t need tricks. You don’t need FUD. And you don’t need to pray the deal closes. You just follow the plan...the one THEY helped build.

Why Salespeople Struggle to Create URGENCY: Urgency gets buyers to act now. But most salespeople create urgency that feels like a gimmick.   “We will no longer be offering this type of package." “Prices go up next week.” “Buy now, and I’ll throw in a discount.”   That’s not urgency. That’s an enticement wrapped in a ticking clock.   It’s price-driven. Not purpose-driven.   Real urgency doesn’t sell pressure. It sells impact.   Urgency isn’t about what they’ll save. It’s about what they’ll miss.   Challenge them to self-reflect. To feel the cost of inaction. To ignite urgency and create ownership of the consequences and impact, ask: 1. What are your biggest challenges in X-area that you'd regret not solving six months from now? 2. Who is impacted by this, and how? 3. What happens if nothing changes? 4. If you could achieve these results now, how would it impact you, your coworkers, company and customers? 5. What’s the long-term cost of waiting?   These aren’t scripts. They’re implication based questions.   They turn your buyer from passive to proactive. From “maybe later” to, “I need this now.” Don’t tell them to act now. Help them see why they need to.   That’s not pressure. That’s salesmanship.   It’s not manipulation. It’s motivation.   Let them sell themselves on why now matters.   Urgency isn’t yours to push. It’s theirs to discover.   When customers articulate their urgency, rather than being told, you’ll never need to, “drop your price” again. #sales #selling

One simple promo bar test generated $109,705 in additional annual revenue. This fashion and apparel e-commerce site's products were great, but their promotional strategy needed work. The test: Add a promotional countdown timer bar whenever they ran sales. The design: Simple banner under their main navigation showing: - Current promotion details - Countdown timer creating urgency - Non-clickable design to avoid distraction The results after just 2 weeks: - Generated $15,998.71 in additional revenue during the test period - Projected annual increase: $109,705.44 (based on running promos 4 days per month) - If they ran daily promos: potential $834,218.45 annual increase Urgency drives action. When customers see time ticking away on a good deal, they stop hesitating and start buying. The implementation key: The bar wasn't clickable. It didn't redirect traffic or create navigation confusion. It simply communicated value and urgency. Sometimes the simplest additions create the biggest revenue impacts.

It's time to start driving timeline with your Q4 deals. Here are the 4 ways to create urgency to close: 𝗛𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗗𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀 Examples:  • Contract expiring with their provider  • About to cross an employee # threshold & subject to new regulations • Tax filing or reporting deadline "Date on the calendar" events are the easiest to drive timeline with, since your prospect has to do 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 by the hard deadline. ___ 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗧𝗲𝗿𝗺𝘀 Discounts, flexible payment terms, extra licenses, etc. There are times you'll want to proactively discount as a way to drive timeline. Before proactively offering a discount, "Timeline Test" your deal: "𝘌𝘮𝘮𝘢, 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘺 𝘝𝘗 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘬𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯 𝘶𝘱 𝘢𝘴 𝘤𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘲𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘳. 𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘱𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘦𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘶𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘐'𝘮 𝘸𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘧 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘶𝘴 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘧 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘶𝘱 𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘰𝘶𝘵?" ^If you can get them to close on your timeline, a small discount is absolutely worth it. But if a discount won't actually make a difference for their timeline, you'll only look like a chump if you proactively offer one. 𝟯. 𝗛𝗶𝗴𝗵 𝗖𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗜𝗻𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 This is a painful problem that's impacting your prospect's business, but doesn't need to be solved by a certain date. You generally need to pair high COI with another timeline driver; otherwise your deal is apt to linger since they can always kick the problem out another week (and another, and another....) 𝟰. 𝗦𝗼𝗳𝘁 𝗗𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀 These are events where your prospect might want to have something in place: • Buy podcast ads to support an upcoming product launch • Rollout new accounting software at the start of their fiscal year • Get your product stood up before the holiday craziness I like to 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝗱 soft deadlines: "𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘶𝘴𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘐'𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰. 𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘴𝘮𝘰𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘧 𝘸𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘴𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘻𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘢𝘪𝘮 𝘧𝘰𝘳?" Just like high COI, you probably need to pair this with another driver. 

SMB AEs stuck at $5K per month make the same mistake when it comes to creating urgency in deals. They try to manufacture it. "This promo ends Friday" "We only have 2 licenses left" "Pricing is going up next week" Prospects see right through it, and worse, it cheapens the deal (and your product). The best AEs making $10K-$20K don't fake urgency. Here's how: 1. Tie to their calendar, not yours: Instead of “my end of quarter,” they anchored next steps to their business timelines, hiring pushes, seasonal peaks, upcoming product launches, etc. 2. Stack the cost of waiting: They don't say “sign up now or else.” They show what waiting 30 days actually cost (lost deals, more $ spent, etc). 3. De-risk fast action: They reduce friction in the deal by addressing prospect's major FUD (Fear Uncertainty and Doubt) and de-risk the decision for them. Before my AEs go after a big deal, I tell them to lay out the prospects: → problem → timeline → reason timeline → benefit to switch now on paper and role play the talk track by tying it all together. When buyers see the cost of waiting, you don’t have to push. They’ll pull the deal forward themselves. P.S. If you liked this, you'll love my Monday morning newsletters 6,000+ sellers are reading: https://lnkd.in/dkuDYfnn

Creating urgency (i.e., why now) is tough in marketing. I've wanted an Oura ring for at least 2 years, and I finally bought it over the holidays. It wasn't an email that finally pushed me over the line. It wasn't an influencer. It wasn't an ad. What finally got me to purchase was my decision to prioritize my health and sleep more in 2025. This isn't unlike B2B purchases. We all want our buyers to buy now, but creating urgency is one of the toughest things to do in marketing. There are good and not-so-good ways to do this. I'm a critic of the approach of offering a discount b/c it's the end of the quarter. Does this work? Kinda. But it's fake/manufactured urgency, and you're not adding value. You're teaching your audience to only buy from you when you're offering a discount. Here's how I think about creating urgency for buyers to BUY NOW! ✅ Highlight the Cost of Inaction Clearly articulate the costs (financial, operational, emotional, etc.) of not solving the problem now. Do the math for them. HOWEVER, your math has to be believable. Otherwise, you're losing trust. Use data and case studies to show how delays have worsened similar problems for others, leading to missed opportunities. Calculators and other interactive tools are great here. ✅ Use Real Scarcity I got an email last week saying, "There are only 10 spots left for the webinar; save your seat." That's fake. It's manufactured scarcity. You're not fooling anyone. But there are ways to use real scarcity. This could be offering something exclusive—like beta access, personalized onboarding, or a VIP cohort—emphasize the limits and explain why. For example: “We’re capping this cohort at 15 teams to ensure each gets hands-on guidance.” Another option is to use real-world deadlines, like regulatory shifts or upcoming industry events. For example: “New privacy regulations go into effect on March 1. Get compliant now to avoid disruptions.” ✅ Showcase Rapid Changes in the Market Tell your buyers how changes in the market or industry trends make immediate action beneficial. Give them insights on recent changes, like regulatory changes, technological advancements, or even competitive actions that would make the buyer want to act now. ✅ Emphasize the Quick Wins Show them the immediate benefits of addressing the pain points. Show how acting now provides instant relief (pain killer) or advantage (vitamin). And I've learned that you really have to translate the value for your audience. Don't make them think. ✅ Use Social Proof to Create FOMO. Highlight stories of peers that they know in the industry who have successfully implemented your product or seen benefits from acting quickly. This is why influencer marketing is making a big splash in B2B (it's about time B2B caught up with B2C... but we're not quite there yet). I know people way smarter than me have plenty of thoughts on this. What are you doing in your marketing to create urgency? 

Creating deal urgency in a very uncertain time. Given the macroeconomy right now [gestures at headlines], I’ve heard stories of companies putting purchasing decisions on hold, and who can blame them? As a result, it’s harder than ever for the founders and sellers out there trying to close deals on a given timeline. If you're trying to move things along without sounding pushy, here are a few tactics I’ve seen that can help speed up deal urgency: 🕵️ It starts at the beginning – with great discovery I feel like every sales tip starts here—but it really matters. Do the work up front to understand if this should be a good deal, and all the why behind that. → Example: Ask early, “What happens if this doesn’t get solved this quarter?” 📅 Tie it to something real Deals tend to move when there’s a reason to move. A renewal, a board meeting, a project kickoff—anything time-bound that’s already on their calendar. → Example: “If we start onboarding in May, you’ll have live results by your Q3 planning cycle.” 🧩 Make it easy to start If a full rollout feels like too much, suggest a smaller step—pilot, limited scope, phased launch, whatever keeps things moving. → Example: A 30-day paid pilot with one team can be way easier to approve than a company-wide contract. 👥 Involve decision-makers early (& gently) If someone senior will need to sign off eventually, try to get them involved sooner. Not to add pressure—just to make sure they’re aligned before everything’s baked. → Example: A 10-min intro call between your exec sponsor and theirs can save weeks later. 🧘♂️ Don’t be too chill “We’re flexible on timing” sounds nice, but it gives the other side permission to wait forever. Instead, share a clear (but reasonable) path forward. → Example: “We’re holding onboarding slots for late May—can you commit to that?” ❤️🔥 But also don't be too intense. “Hey just checking for an update here” texts every few hours when your decisionmaker has told you they're working on it risks alienating them. See tip #1 and ask yourself if you've really found a pain to solve that merits this level of pushiness. You don't want to risk the deal entirely just to try to close it at the end of the month. → Example: “I don't want to pester you, so please let me know if you have five minutes in the next few days to discuss finalizing this partnership.” Would love to hear what’s working (or not) for others. How are you trying to drive urgency in your deals these days?

Create Urgency Without Saying “Urgency” “Do you have a timeline in mind?” It’s a fair question. It’s also a dead end on most calls. You either get: “Not really. We’re just exploring.” or “We’re aiming for something in Q3, but nothing firm.” That’s not urgency. That’s a status update. In our discovery workshops, I’ve been helping AEs shift from timeline questions to timeline tension. And the best way to do that? Introduce a tradeoff they haven’t accounted for. For example: AE: “Often, when teams are moving quickly to go to market, they don’t loop in security until the last stage. And by the time we’re brought in, it’s more expensive and harder to fix. I’m curious — how are you thinking about launching quickly while still making sure those bases are covered?” This kind of question does two things: Creates productive tension without pressure Frames you as someone who’s seen this story play out before It turns their urgency into a risk conversation. And that’s where the call starts to shift. Don’t ask for urgency. Create the conditions that make them bring it up. That’s how you teach. That’s how you partner. And ironically, that’s how you close faster. 📘 Click "View My Newsletter" for weekly insights

How to Build Event-Based Urgency Into Your Sales Plan Here’s how you can start using this technique right away: -Make a list of key events relevant to your buyer’s industry, region, or company calendar. -Pair those events with how they might affect your buyer’s timeline or budget. -Craft messaging that connects your offer to the consequences of delay—clearly, confidently, and respectfully. -Practice delivering it with calm authority. You’re not rushing them, you’re guiding them. This is what high-performing salespeople do. They don’t rely on “hope” or wait for a perfect moment. They create urgency—strategically and ethically—by using what’s already happening in the real world. Close the Deal Before It Cools Your prospect’s interest has a shelf life. Without a reason to move forward now, that interest fades along with your deal. Event-based urgency is one of the fastest ways to keep deals alive and moving—without pressure, without gimmicks, and with complete integrity. Start using it today. Build it into your process, your scripts, your mindset. As always, experience is your best teacher. Try it a few times, and you’ll see how quickly momentum builds—and how easily “maybe later” turns into “let’s do it now.”