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Decision Tax: How Much Are You Paying?

Decision fatigue in sales is a tax you pay on every open choice. Ryan Groth explains how slow decisions slow your selling and how routines fix it.

Ryan Groth Founder & CEO, Sales Transformation Group

January 18, 2019 1 min read

Originally published January 18, 2019. Updated September 2026 with a summary, next steps and answers to common questions.

In today’s video blog, I discuss the impact of your decisions in your overall sales and business success. Slow decisions equate to slow selling and business success.

Here’s what I cover:

The way you buy equally reflects the behavior you attract with your prospects, clients and partners
Each pending decision you haven’t made in your life and business will carry over into your sales performance
How the only way to fix this is by being the client to others that you want to have for yourself
How routines and plans stop decision fatigue and help you skip paying decision tax

Now, go close the loose ends on your decisions and watch what happens in your prospective dealings!

Enjoy this video blog!

To your success,

— Ryan

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Cutting your decision tax this week

When I work with contractors, I notice that the owners and reps who drag out their own decisions are the same ones stuck with prospects who "need to think about it." How you buy is how you get bought from. So start with your own loose ends.

Write down every decision you have been putting off, in the business and at home. Big or small.
For each one, decide, delegate, or set a date when you will decide. Then honor that date.
Notice how you act as a buyer with your vendors and partners. Give them a clear yes or no, the same way you want your prospects to answer you.
Build routines for the choices you make every day, like when you prospect, when you follow up and how you plan your week, so they stop costing you energy.

Once the loose ends are closed, watch how your conversations with prospects change. If you want a coach to hold you to it, my 1-on-1 sales coaching gives you a structured plan and weekly accountability. You can also book a sales action plan call and we will map out where your decision tax is hurting you most.

Cutting the decision tax in your business

What is decision tax in business?

Decision tax is the cost you pay for every decision you have not made yet. Each pending choice in your life and business carries over into your sales performance and slows you down. Slow decisions equal slow selling and slower business success. The fix is to close the loose ends on those decisions and use routines and plans so you stop paying that tax over and over.

How do my own buying habits affect my sales results?

The way you buy reflects the behavior you attract from prospects, clients and partners. If you stall and avoid giving vendors a clear answer, expect prospects to do the same to you. The only way to fix this is to be the client to others that you want to have for yourself: make clear decisions and follow through on them.

How do routines reduce decision fatigue for salespeople?

Routines and plans take everyday choices off the table. When your prospecting time, follow-up rhythm and weekly plan are already set, you are not spending energy deciding them again each day. That frees your attention for the decisions that matter in front of a prospect and helps you avoid paying decision tax on small, repeated choices.