Are you losing customers at the final hurdle?

You’ve done the hard work.


You’ve attracted the right customer, guided them through the process, answered their questions, and built trust.

Then… they disappear.


No sale. No follow-up. No clue why.

It’s easy to blame marketing, pricing, or product fit. But often, the problem lies much closer to the finish line — right at the point of purchase.

I call this losing customers at the final hurdle. And it’s far more common than most businesses realise.

What the final hurdle looks like in real life

Here’s a simple example from the high street.

I recently queued in a well-known supermarket. Two tills open. One suddenly closed. Then reopened. Another opened. Then another closed. Staff moved customers around. Tannoy announcements contradicted instructions. Everyone just wanted to pay and go.

No one shouted, but you could feel the tension rising. And in that moment, it would’ve been very easy for someone to walk out and leave their shopping behind.

That same friction happens online too — and arguably, it's even easier to walk away:

• The checkout that forces multiple upsells before letting you pay

• The form that glitches or asks irrelevant questions

• A confusing login process just to complete a transaction

The result? Doubt creeps in.


Even if someone wanted to buy from you, the experience makes them question it.

Why this matters – especially in B2B

It’s tempting to think this only applies to fast-moving consumer environments. But in B2B, it’s often worse — and harder to see.

Your customer may be a CFO or CRO who’s taken weeks to get sign-off. They’ve internally championed your solution. They’ve put their credibility on the line.

So when the final step feels disjointed — unclear terms, clunky payment, unexpected sign-up hoops — it shakes their confidence. And no one wants to be the person who made a dodgy call.

Even if they don’t abandon the purchase, they might already be regretting it. Which is no foundation for loyalty or long-term value.

What to check in your own business:

Ask yourself:

• How easy is it to say yes to us? If a customer decides they want to buy, what happens next? Can they complete the process quickly and confidently?

• What does our payment process say about us? Does it feel secure, simple, and professional — or is it disjointed and clunky?

• Are we introducing friction right at the wrong moment? Pop-ups, irrelevant upsells, confusing forms, delays — these may seem minor, but they erode trust when trust matters most.

• Is the confirmation process reassuring or jarring? Once the customer hits “go,” do they feel certain the process has worked? Or are they left wondering if anything actually happened?

The final step is still part of the experience

We talk a lot about lead generation, brand awareness, onboarding, and customer care. But what about the moment a customer is actively trying to give you money?

It’s not a formality — it’s a fragile, emotional moment. And it’s one of the easiest places to lose a customer you’ve worked so hard to attract.

Fixing it doesn’t require a huge project. Often, it just takes:

• Mapping the current buying process from the customer’s perspective

• Identifying where the friction lives

• Streamlining the journey to remove doubt, not create it

If that’s something you’d like a second pair of eyes on, I’d be happy to help.

Know your customers. Grow your business.

That includes the moment they say yes.