Always a Next Step
Don’t waste a perfectly good sermon by not asking for a decision. There’s always a next step and you should always ask people to take it.
In marketing, we talk about the idea of a funnel, which is simply a sequence of decisions that lead toward the end goal that we want for the customer. Let me give you the example of Best Buy. They want raving customers, people who buy all their electronics from them and tell others how great they are. But the retailer doesn’t just go up to random people on the street and say, “Hey, give us your financial information, commit to spend $3,500 a year, and let us track all your electronic purchases.” That’s a big ask and people would just laugh and walk away. So what do they do?
They start by simply raising awareness of their existence. For example, let’s say you just moved into a new house. Best Buy buys a list of new movers with your name on it and they send you a flyer offering let’s say 50 bucks off of any purchase of $250 or more. If you keep that coupon, you’re now in their funnel.
You decide that you need a new TV for your new house. And you remember that coupon from Best Buy. So you go into the store, you pick out a TV, and you go to check out. So you’ve made it here to the first purchase. But Best Buy doesn’t want you to just be a one-time customer. They want you to come back again. So when you’re checking out, they ask if you’d like to join the rewards program. And they offer you double points on that purchase. So you end up with a $40 certificate for a future purchase if you just sign up. Sounds good.
So you give them your email address and phone number and you sign up for the rewards program. Now that they have your information, they start sending you messages about new products and great deals. And they keep reminding you about that $40 certificate. And one day you see that they’re having a sale on an Apple TV. So you go down and you buy one. You’re now a repeat customer, but Best Buy is still not satisfied. So when you’re checking out, they offer you a Best Buy credit card, which will give you 6 % back in rewards certificates plus an extra 20 % off your current purchase. What that means is that with your certificates and the extra discount, your $200 Apple TV is only 120 bucks. So, hey, sounds good, you sign up. Every time you respond, they offer a little more and they ask a little more. And before you know it, you’ve given them all your financial information in order to get a credit card that you don’t need, letting them track all your purchases, and you’re buying everything that you can at Best Buy to meet your $3,500 spending level in order to maintain your “Elite Plus” benefits.
You have become a raving customer. Best Buy broke down their big goal into smaller individual steps. They take a big ask and they break it into smaller low-friction decisions. And then they take intentional action to persuade you to make those decisions one by one. There’s always a next step and they always ask you to take that next step. As a pastor or as a church leader, you should be doing the same.
There’s always a next step in someone’s journey of faith, so as a spiritual leader, you need to make it clear what the decision is and then ask people to take that step. There’s always a next step and you always need to ask people to take that next step. Don’t waste a perfectly good sermon by not asking for a decision. The pastors of some of the fastest-growing churches today ask for some kind of decision every week at the worship service.
The easiest invitations are for people to ask for Bible studies or invite them to be baptized. But you do this every week because there’s always a next step and you need to always ask people to take that next step.
Pastor, thank you for your leadership. Maybe you feel under attack, like everyone’s against you. Listen to my words: God is for you. He stands with you. He is your foundation and your strength. You’re here at this church because God brought you here.
So stand strong in the faith and lead with confidence. I love you guys!