Churn Isn’t a Retention Problem—It’s a Sales Problem

Most founders treat churn like something to fix after the fact. Customers cancel, and the instinct is to look at retention strategies—better onboarding, customer success teams, loyalty programs. Maybe even a last-minute discount to keep them from leaving.

But by the time someone churns, the real problem already happened—back at the point of sale.

Churn isn’t about retention. It’s about who you’re selling to, how you’re selling to them, and whether they even belonged in the first place.

Not Every Customer Is a Good Customer

The easiest way to reduce churn? Stop closing bad-fit customers.

Most SaaS companies are so focused on growth that they treat every new signup like a win. But a sale isn’t a win if that customer was never going to stick around.

Here’s what happens when you chase revenue over fit:

• Customers leave after a few months because they were never the right audience.
• They expect things your product doesn’t actually do.
• They don’t engage, don’t use the product, and eventually cancel.

Instead of obsessing over getting more customers, focus on getting the right customers. Ones who actually need your product, understand its value, and will stick around long enough for you to deliver on it.

Why Are Customers Buying? (And Did They Buy for the Wrong Reasons?)

Sales teams love to close deals. But sometimes, they overpromise just to get someone in the door.

The problem? If a customer signs up expecting one thing and gets another, they’re already halfway out the door.

Ask yourself:

• Are we selling the real version of our product, or the “future roadmap” version?
• Are sales teams pushing features that don’t actually exist yet?
• Are we attracting people who expect the product to do things it was never built to do?

Churn often happens when sales teams optimize for signups instead of long-term success.

A customer who buys for the wrong reason isn’t just unlikely to stay—they’re going to cost you time, support resources, and brand reputation when they leave frustrated.

Onboarding Can’t Fix a Bad Sale

A lot of companies try to “fix” churn with better onboarding. But onboarding isn’t magic—it can’t force someone to love your product if they never needed it in the first place.

Sure, onboarding helps if your customers actually belong. But if you’re pulling in the wrong people, it doesn’t matter how many tooltips, welcome emails, or video tutorials you throw at them.

Retention starts with sales clarity, not onboarding tricks.

Your Best Customers Are the Ones Who Never Consider Churning

If your churn is high, don’t just look at why people are leaving—look at why your best customers are staying.

• What made them sign up?
• What problem are they solving?
• How did they hear about you?
• What messaging actually resonated with them?

Once you know this, double down on attracting more of those people. Make your marketing, your sales process, and your product positioning all about them—not just anyone with a credit card.

Fixing Churn Starts at the Beginning

Most founders focus on reducing churn after customers leave. But the truth is, you don’t fix churn by improving retention. You fix it by selling better in the first place.

• Sell to the right people.
• Be brutally honest about what your product does—and doesn’t do.
• Stop overpromising just to close a deal.

Churn isn’t a retention issue. It’s a sales issue—and the sooner you fix that, the sooner you build a business where the right customers never even think about leaving.

‍