In the last couple of notes, I’ve been sharing about indecision; personally and in the context of stalled deals.
What’s been sitting with me since is this:
Helping people make decisions is rarely about convincing them they should move forward. It’s actually about helping them feel safe enough to decide at all.
When a deal slows down, many times it’s because the consequences of choosing feel heavier than the consequences of waiting.
Waiting feels reversible.
Deciding doesn’t.
Indecision has signals. Think of them as quieter objections.
It often shows up as:
- meetings focused on details, not decisions
- quotes requested without clarity on how they’ll be used
- agreement in principle without ownership of next steps
- decisions deferred until “later” with no defined moment
For leaders, this is where deals quietly drift out of the forecast. Nothing is explicitly wrong. No competitor appears. Momentum simply fades.
Stop thinking the work is to create urgency!
Instead dig underneath the surface and figure out what’s the hesitation, the stall, their fears.
What feels risky about deciding?
What feels safer about staying where you are?
What happens if nothing changes?
When buyers can answer those questions, indecision becomes something you can work through. You’re building trust where uncertainty lives.
Helping buyers decide doesn’t mean steering them toward yes. It means helping them understand the tradeoffs they’re already making by not choosing.
Because indecision is still a choice. The work starts where your buyers are, in the moment.
Helping to move forward,
Lynn