Making It Harder to Buy Can Boost Sales

Kinder leads, better conversations and the surprising power of useful friction in marketing

Most marketers obsess over removing friction from the buying process. Fewer steps. Faster clicks. Easier conversions. They want to make it easy to say yes.

Yet some marketers are discovering the opposite can work just as well — sometimes even better.

Adding the right kind of friction can filter out low-intent prospects, attract higher-quality buyers, and give sales teams better conversations later in the funnel. In other words, making it a little harder to buy may actually improve who buys.

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The key is knowing the difference between friction that clarifies value and friction that frustrates customers. Marketing experts say when used strategically, small barriers such as qualifying questions, clear positioning and even messaging that repels the wrong audience can strengthen both conversions and customer relationships.

Successful marketing can take weird twists and turns before the tactics strike it rich.

“One story I loved was getting an even lower price just as I was about to check out,” said Ivana Taylor. “I clicked to buy at $97, and when I went to pay it was like $79. So, I definitely bought.

“They must have had people with second thoughts or a lot of abandoned carts at the end — and that solved their problem,” she said.

Taylor is on the hunt for similar offbeat approaches to serve her clients at DIYMarketers, where she is on a quest to help small businesses escape overwhelm.

Intentionally Outpriced

She needn’t look far for another offbeat yet effective idea: a pricing page that said, “This may be too expensive for you.” Counterintuitive? Maybe. But it filtered out bargain hunters and attracted serious buyers who valued the outcome. Sometimes honesty is the best qualifier.

Leadership and contracting expert Tom Reid reached back in time to recall another unconventional — and memorable — marketing campaign by Avis rent-a-car: “We’re №2. We try harder.”

While the end result in rental increase might have been a pleasant surprise, the well-coordinated marketing behind it was not.

“In government contracting we train professionals to eliminate surprises,” Reid said. “Our job is to bring certainty to scope, schedule and cost. Marketing sometimes deliberately creates expectation violations — never let those surprises undermine trust, only enhance credibility.

“Surprises are powerful tools, but trust is built on predictability,” he said. “The real skill is knowing when to eliminate surprises and when to use them deliberately.”

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Rather than just attract more leads, introducing friction can help attract higher‑quality business.

“Most buying decisions are emotional,” Reid said. “When you increase friction, you turn the emotions negative. Imposing qualifying gates, however, can serve more like making the deal seem more exclusive and emotionally appealing.”

More leads rarely means better leads. A little friction — forms, waitlists, clear pricing or qualification steps — filters out casual browsers. What’s left are people willing to invest time and attention, which often signals stronger buying intent.

True Value Outshines Selfish Mindsets

“Friction filters out low‑intent people and helps attract those who truly value your offer, not just want freebies,” Taylor said. “For example, lead magnet giveaways are stupid. You just get people who want free stuff.

“Think of IKEA,” she said. “Putting together that furniture is a lot of friction, but their research says people become more attached to it if they put it together.”

In those instances, people feel more invested in the outcome. According to Inc., they are twice as motivated to avoid losing something as they are to gain something.

“When you make it too easy to convert, anyone can jump in, but that often brings low‑quality leads who never buy,” said Iva Ignjatovic, a marketing and business consultant. “The moment they get that something for free, they are out — they unsubscribe or stop interacting.

“Too many business owners think that reaching vast numbers of people will increase their chances, but it’s not always like that,” she said.

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Injecting friction is a high risk, high reward proposition.

“Since most purchases are emotionally motivated, they get pre-programmed to say no,” Reid said. “Counterintuitive marketing works because it disrupts the audience’s mental autopilot. It causes them to reconsider the autopilot programming.”

One classic example: Basecamp openly explains who its product is not for. That clarity adds friction but attracts customers who truly fit the product. The result? Fewer support headaches and stronger long-term loyalty.

“Useful friction is qualifying, like pre‑survey questions that show intent,” Taylor said.

FIU Business backs up that gut instinct, noting messages that highlight who a product is not for can outperform traditional persuasive messaging in certain situations.

Understand the Purpose

“Friction that feels purposeful — not annoying — helps people self-select into your best leads,” Ignjatovic said. “People scroll through so many options that ‘no’ becomes the default. Something different breaks that pattern and gets their attention.”

Certain kinds of friction are useful in marketing while others hurt the pipeline.

“Friction comes in good and bad flavors, each with its own risks,” said Reid, giving these examples:

• Pattern Interrupt
• Honesty Heuristic
• Scarcity and Exclusivity
• Reverse Framing

“The best marketers understand each flavor and how to cater to their audience,” he said.

Helpful friction clarifies value: qualification questions, clear pricing or a short demo request. Harmful friction creates confusion: hidden costs, unclear messaging, slow pages or complicated checkout. One filters buyers. The other drives them away.

“Too much friction can tank conversion volumes if it adds no perceived value,” Taylor said. “Too often we add friction without knowing it — like not having a phone number on the site or some other obvious thing a potential client needs.”

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About 70 percent of online shopping carts are abandoned, according to research compiled by the Baymard Institute. Many drop-offs come from bad friction — surprise costs, forced account creation or long checkout processes. The lesson: friction should clarify value, not create confusion.

“A/B testing helps you see if qualified leads rise when friction is added,” Ignjatovic said.

“Businesses make mistakes when they offer a bunch of deals and discounts to their potentially new clients, but no reward or incentive for existing clients who’ve been using their services for years, even a decade,” she said.

Future Sales From Today’s Groundwork

Such companies should realize that friction today helps their sales teams later in the funnel.

“Some people hate surprises,” Reid said. “They value consistency and following plans. When you introduce surprise, you must balance the good ones with the bad ones — usually unintentional.”

Friction early in the funnel saves time later. When prospects answer qualifying questions or commit to a demo, sales teams spend less time educating and more time solving real problems.

“Use friction where it adds value, like qualifying intent before personal info,” Taylor said.

Companies that nurture and qualify leads effectively generate about 50 percent more sales-ready leads at roughly 33 percent lower cost, according to MarketingSherpa research. Early qualification friction helps sales teams focus on prospects who are already closer to buying.

“Keep the basics easy, but add deeper steps only for high‑intent paths,” Ignjatovic said.

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There are the risks of adding friction, making it important to test if friction is helping or hurting.

“Add one qualifying question before someone fills out your lead form,” Taylor said.

The risk: too much friction kills momentum. The test is simple — watch conversion rates, lead quality and deal size.

“Experiment with gated content for high‑value guides,” Ignjatovic said.

Many times the answer is contrary to what one might think.

“Counterintuitive marketing works by violating expectations in a way that increases credibility, attention and memorability,” Reid said.

Ignjatovic said marketers should test those frictions to see which one really improves conversion.

Smart marketing doesn’t remove every barrier. Sometimes the right friction attracts the right customers, improves conversations and leads to better outcomes for both sides. The goal isn’t easier buying — it’s better buying.

About the Author

Jim Katzaman is a charter member of the Tealfeed Creators’ program, focusing on marketing and its benefits for companies and consumers. Connect with him on Substack, Twitter, Facebook, Bluesky and LinkedIn.