tools

deal check · no email needed

why is this deal stuck?

A deal that stalls after a good evaluation is rarely lost to a competitor. Answer a few questions about one deal and you get the likely reason, the move that fits it, and the one request that shows whether the deal is still alive.

first: status quo or indecision?

Has the buyer said, in a meeting or in writing, that your product is better than what they have today?

When the deal comes up, what do they talk about?

then: which fear?

Tick every signal you have seen in this deal.

afraid of choosing the wrong option

afraid of having missed something

afraid it won't work

why the distinction matters.

Matt Dixon and Ted McKenna, working from about 2.5 million recorded sales conversations, separate two reasons deals end with no decision. Status quo: the buyer is not convinced change is worth it. Indecision: the buyer wants to change and is afraid of choosing wrong. In their data, indecision is the larger share.

The two need opposite moves. Raising the cost of doing nothing works on the status quo and backfires on indecision, because a buyer who is already afraid of a mistake does not need more reasons to be afraid. In security deals the temptation is strong: breach numbers, deadlines, fines. Use them only when the buyer is not yet convinced there is a problem.

when a partner runs the deal

In partner deals you often hear about indecision second-hand: "the customer needs more time". Ask the partner the signal questions above before you plan the next move, and agree who makes the powerful request. Usually it should be the person the customer trusts more, which is often the partner.

The moves follow the book's JOLT method (judge the indecision, offer a recommendation, limit the exploration, take risk off the table). The questions are my adaptation for security deals. Sources are in the no-decision guide.