Definition: In sales and marketing, a “show stopper” refers to a a comment, feature, product, or aspect of a service that is so obviously low quality, unlikeable, or trust destroying that the client will never purchase and potentially now has a permanent negative impression of the brand.
The show has “stopped” because no amount of communication trying to create the opposite impression can overcome a “show stopper.” The client has permanently exited the sales funnel and should be market as Closed-Lost in the deal pipe.
Examples:
- A software platform that advertises itself as providing mission critical services shows the data of one client within the user interface of another.
- A website is so poorly formatted or has so many typos/word choice errors, etc. that a visitor assumes the entire company either doesn’t care or is incompetent.
- A sales person mistakenly copies a client on an email talking about that client in a negative way.
- A CEO gives a talk or demo and is so obviously narcissistic that the client won’t support the company under any circumstances.
In sales funnel consulting, identifying and removing all show stoppers is critical.
Note: In theater, the term is generally positive and refers to performance so good that the audience applauds and the cast must wait for the applause to subside.
Use it in a Sentence: Elon Musk’s embrace of white supremacy and other extreme political views is a show stopper for many would-be Tesla purchasers, X users, corporate contracts, & more.
More Definitions: Trophy Logos Definition, Buyer Persona Definition, Hot Wallet Definition, Pain Point Definition, Bleeding Edge Definition, Gatekeeper Definition, Incentive Definition
For Further Reading: “Doing Social” vs. Driving Business with Protocol Labs’ Wes Finley
