Deals get stuck because the buyer doesn’t believe your solution is worth the effort, time, or money right now. It’s not because your product doesn’t work or your service doesn’t solve a problem. The buyer simply doesn’t feel enough urgency to act.
Most of the time, salespeople cause deals to stall. You might skip a step in the sales process, fail to articulate value clearly, or worst of all, overlook the problem you need to solve.
Stuck deals signal that something went wrong. The good news? You can fix it.
Root Cause of Stuck Deals
Deals stall because buyers don’t feel urgency. They don’t see solving the problem as worth their time or money. When buyers aren’t compelled to act, they let deals linger, waiting for the environment to change or the deal to die on it’s own.
If salespeople don’t make the problem feel urgent, significant, and worth addressing, the deal will sit stagnant. Buyers don’t move forward unless the stake are high enough to justify action. It’s the salesperson’s job to ensure they see the value.
Preventing Stuck Deals
To keep deals from getting stuck, focus on solving big, painful problems. Don’t waste time chasing small issues buyers can live with. The problems you tackle must demand action.
Ask yourself these questions to ensure you’re on the right track:
- What problem am I solving?
- Why does the buyer need to solve it?
- What happens if they don’t address it?
- How much pain or negative impact does this problem cause?
- How many people does it affect?
- How does this problem rank among other priorities in the organization?
If you can’t answer these questions, you’re setting yourself up for failure. Understand the buyer’s problem at a deep level is the only way to ensure the deal moves forward.
Fixing a stuck deal
When a deal gets stuck, don’t wait for the buyer to change their mind or for circumstances to shift. Take action. Go back to the beginning and re-examine what went wrong.
Start by revisiting the problem: Why did the buyer talk to you in the first place? Reassess your answers to the six questions from earlier. Identify gaps in your understanding or your process that caused the deal to stall.
Next, reignite urgency. Refocus the conversation on the pain the problem causes and the consequences of inaction. Highlight the cost – in time, effort, or money – of leaving the problem unsolved. Show the buyer why solving it now matters.
Stuck deals don’t fix themselves. If you caused the deal to stall, it’s your responsibility to unstick it.
Take responsibility and take action
Stuck deals happen because salespeople make mistakes. Own it. If you missed a step, failed to communicate value, or didn’t understand the problem, it’s on you to fix it.
Waiting for the buyer to come around wastes time and opportunity. Instead, take responsibility and take action. Revisit the problem, fill the gaps in your process, and make the value clear.
As my dad used to say, “You got it stuck, you get it unstuck.”
Unsticking Deals
Deals get stuck when buyers don’t see enough value to act. As a salesperson, it’s your job to make the problem urgent, significant, and impossible to ignore. If a deal stalls, don’t wait for the situation to fix itself – go back, reassess, and take action.
Understand the buyer’s problems deeply. Focus on the pain, the stakes, and the consequences of inaction. By addressing these factors, you’ll not only unstick deals but also ensure they move forward with clarity and purpose.
Remember: If you caused the deal to stall, you have the power – and responsibility – to get it moving again.
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