Big Deal Stuck in the Mud? Get a Tow!

Your deal is going nowhere. You were cruising along, finish line in sight, then suddenly you're stuck in the mud, giving your manager the same "update" every week.

When forward momentum stalls because your customer loses steam, it's our job to find out why. Many times, there is an identifiable issue like a contract term or competing priority.

What's harder and more frustrating is when your customer isn't articulating a specific reason for the delays. You keep having "groundhog day" sessions with them, rehashing the same agenda items, the same next-steps, without moving an inch.

Time to call a wrecker!

That's right. Ask a colleague (especially one more senior) to give you a tow and help get your deal moving again..

Bringing in a fresh set of eyes can reset the conversation and elevate thinking back to 30,000 feet. Sometimes, as we're navigating details at ground level, we miss the big-picture. Enlisting help from someone higher up in your organization can reengage your customer in a strategic discussion that points to a clearer road ahead. Bringing in "the boss" can also create a higher peer-to-peer relationships that will reveal what's really holding things up.

This approach has delivered results for me on some very large deals. In two specific cases, both national contracts, my teammates called me in to give them a tow. In one case, the selection committee had already voted to go with a competitor. In another case, the contract was growing mold in the customer's hands.

No real magic. All I did was hook up my chains and pull. What this looked like was getting in front of the actual decision-maker (a layer or two up from where our sales team had been operating) and asking (as the new guy) for them to explain what they were trying to accomplish. Simple stuff.

By re-setting the discussion around these leaders' strategic goals, I was able to understand where we got bogged down, redraw the roadmap with the customer's consent, and gain the customer's commitment to put fresh energy toward this new path. Both deals got done very quickly.

In the first case, the committee had ignored their senior leader's most strategic goal, favoring lesser, more tactical ones that were important to them (like what was easiest to implement: the incumbent vendor). Once the leader and I aligned on his primary goal, which we could meet and the incumbent could not, it was easy to reverse the decision.

With the stalled national agreement, the senior leader had issues with the fundamental structure of our contract. Her organization was large and siloed, however, and her specific concerns weren't getting through to the managers our team was working with. The managers just kept saying, "The contract is on her desk pending signature." Once she shared her concerns with me, I was quickly able to reshape the agreement. She was thrilled.

The principle of Occam's Razor teaches us that the best solution is usually the most obvious one. So, if your deal is stuck and you aren't figuring out why, stop spinning your wheels and get a tow.

And don't be afraid of losing face with your leadership. It shows courage and wisdom to ask for help with you need it. And your team needs the win! A good leader in your organization will welcome the chance to pull you out of the mud.

#salesstrategy