It’s no surprise, given where I spent a good deal of my career, that my go-to perspective is that of the salesperson. Even when in senior management, I spent a lot of time selling, if not to customers then to bankers, investors and partners. And while no one can benefit more from understanding this concept than someone in a sales role, it can be applied anywhere.
I call it the Grease and Friction Framework, and once you start seeing it, you’ll find it’s everywhere — in marketing, customer service, hiring, onboarding, operations, and even product design.
At its core, it’s a simple concept:
- Grease is anything you do to make a desired outcome more likely.
- Friction is anything that gets in the way.
The salesperson has the most obvious opportunities to apply the framework. A good salesperson might offer a limited-time discount, a free trial, or a money-back guarantee as grease to move the buyer to a “yes”. They anticipate objections and address them before they arise. They handle all the logistics so the customer barely has to lift a finger. That’s grease.
On the flip side, friction shows up any time the customer hits a bump: a clunky checkout form, a confusing pitch, a delay in follow-up, crappy credit terms, or too many hoops to jump through. In a retail setting, friction might look like long lines, poor signage, a lack of helpful staff, or convoluted return policies.
My favourite pizza joint is a “mom and pop”, independent shop that’s been in business since 1967. Their pizza is amazingly tasty. Both the crust and the sauce are extraordinary, which is, after all, the foundation of a good pizza. Unfortunately, their business processes have also been around since 1967. Every time you call — yes, call. Web ordering? Fuggedaboudit! You have to give them your phone number, name and address. Every time! What? No call display? No POS system? Not even an Excel spreadsheet!
And then consider my part-time employer, Toronto Metropolitan University, which operates several cafes and cafeterias, none of which accept cash. I’m sure some overly progressive committee decided this was somehow “better” (using the incomprehensible criteria of a university), but there is one group that this is in no way “better” for — customers!
Removing Friction
Here’s one small way I’ve used this concept outside of the sales environment. I offer downloadable tools on my website(things like Excel models, templates, and checklists), and I want people to download them and use them. If I make them available with no strings attached, then anyone can simply click and download. That’s minimal friction, and what I’ve chosen to do for now.
If I ask for an email address first, that’s a bit of friction, and at the margin, a few people won’t bother. If I ask for name, phone number, business size, and what their favourite dinosaur is, I’ve created so much friction that most people won’t bother. The more friction I introduce, the more people I lose. Every added step is a filter, whether I want it to be or not.
You can even apply this concept to yourself. Imagine you’re trying to build a daily writing habit. If your workspace is cluttered, your writing tools are scattered, and you have to hunt for your notebook or charger every morning, that’s friction. It makes it harder to get started and easier to procrastinate. But if you set up a dedicated spot with your laptop charged, your favourite pen and notebook ready, and a clear plan for what you’ll write, you’re adding grease. By removing obstacles and making it as easy as possible to start, you increase the likelihood that you’ll stick with your habit and accomplish meaningful work.
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Friction isn’t Always Bad
Friction can sometimes serve a purpose. If I only want highly qualified leads, asking for more information may be worthwhile. If I want people who are really serious, adding friction might be a deliberate tactic. Friction can be strategic — as long as it’s intentional.
Grease, too, isn’t just about giving things away or making it “easy.” That’s a somewhat lazy way to sell (and less profitable). Grease can be about clarity. Good copywriting is grease. A clean, fast-loading website is grease. A thoughtful onboarding sequence is grease. So is removing jargon, simplifying pricing, or showing a quick demo video.
Grease is also removing any impediments to closing in a B-to-B sales situation. You need to get a sign-off from your boss? No problem; let me have our VP give her a call and answer any questions she might have. You aren’t sure of the business case? I have a white paper that you can share, detailing how five other firms have implemented our solution and saved significant headcount as a result. A savvy salesperson anticipates and works around these issues, helping the buyer navigate their own internal roadblocks so they can confidently say yes and allow the sale to close.
This framework also helps you diagnose problems. If people aren’t taking the action you want — buying, signing up, sharing, referring — ask yourself:
- Where might the friction be?
- Could I add some grease?
In many cases, the answer is yes. Your payment flow might have too many steps. Your lead capture form might be asking for too much. Your website might be slow or confusing. You might not be following up fast enough.
Small businesses, in particular, can benefit from this mindset. You may not have a huge marketing budget or a big sales team, but you can make things smoother for your customers. You can identify and reduce friction. And you can grease the wheels so that more people do what you hope they’ll do.
Grease and friction are everywhere — in how you hire, how you train, how you communicate. Think about your business processes through this lens and you’ll start seeing opportunities you didn’t notice before.
- What “rules” do you have in place that don’t serve a purpose, or don’t warrant the friction they introduce?
- What approval processes do we have, and are they appropriate?
- What information are we collecting and do we need it?
- Where are people falling out of our sales funnel?
Here’s your takeaway:
Anything that slows, confuses, or annoys is friction. Anything that guides, encourages, or simplifies is grease.
If you liked this, you might find this related post about Why No is the Second Best Word to a Salesperson’s Ears.
