You’re in a deal review.
A rep walks you through an opportunity that they believed forecasted to close two weeks ago. The timeline slipped. The next step is vague. The buyer has gone quiet.
You can feel where this is headed.
Your questions get sharper. The direction gets more direct. A push for urgency shows up.
From a leadership seat, it often gets labeled as a performance problem.
Reacting before diagnosing turns different problems into the same response.
More pressure. More reminders. More check-ins.
Here’s how it shows up on the salesperson side:
Follow-up frequency increases, but the approach doesn’t change.
Another email goes out instead of resetting the conversation.
“Checking in” replaces moving the deal forward.
Activity goes up. Progress doesn’t.
Before stepping in, separate what’s actually happening:
- Is it skill; they don’t know how to advance the conversation?
- Is it judgment; they misread where the deal actually is?
- Is it discipline; they knew what to do, but didn’t do it?
- Or is it system; the process never made the next step clear?
If you’re the salesperson, start here:
Shift from “What should I do next?” to “What is missing that would allow this deal to move?”
That changes how you follow up, what you ask, and how you take control of the conversation.
If you’re the leader, resist jumping to fix something!
Slow the moment down long enough to diagnose the real issue, then determine if the rep can’t, won’t, or doesn’t know how:
If they can’t
Start with the organizational side. Was the expectation clear? Is there a defined next step? Have they seen what “good” looks like in this exact situation?
If they won’t
Have a coaching conversation. Reconnect the salesperson’s personal goals to your expectations. Make sure they’re committing to actions that will move the deal and them forward.
If they don’t know how
Be specific about the gap. Work the deal with them. Model the conversation. Let them practice applying it so the behavior actually shows up the next time.
Timing matters.
Some moments require direction in the deal. Coaching happens after, when there’s space to think, apply, and improve.
When the problem is named correctly, the response to stalled deals becomes much more precise.
Keep moving forward,
Lynn