Sales Deal Recovery Tips

~30% of my pipeline comes from Closed Lost opportunities. So when an opportunity is Closed Lost, don’t let it go cold. If you have a sales engagement tool, set up an automation rule to auto add the primary contact into a Closed Lost Cadence, if not, just do this manually. Here’s an example cadence: 🔹 Step 1 (30 days post-CL) → Manual email (personalised) Summarise their focus, why the deal was lost, and let them know you’ll stay in touch. 📩 Example: "Hey Billybob, really enjoyed working with you and learning more about [initiative], like increasing conversion rates from 12% → 15% and driving $100K pipeline per AE. Appreciate other priorities took precedent, but I’ll stay in touch until timing makes sense". 🔹 Step 2 (55 days post-CL) → Automated email (deposit) Share a relevant resource. 📩 Example: "Pipeline is a challenge for most teams - thought this 30MPC webinar on account segmentation might be useful". 🔹 Step 3 (80 days post-CL) → Evaluate next steps Any team growth? Leadership changes? Priority shifts? No change → Stay in Closed Lost cadence. Key changes → Move to a prospecting cadence & re-engage. 🔹 Step 4 (105 days post-CL) → Phone call + LinkedIn touch (check-in). 🔹 Step 5 (130 days post-CL) → Automated email (new product update). 📩 Example: "See how Salesloft Rhythm incorporates AI into workflows to prioritise prospects most likely to convert into meetings [link]". 🔹 Step 6 (155 days post-CL) → Call (check-in). 🔹 Step 7 (180+ days post-CL) → Final review & decision No movement/changes? Pause outreach or move to a light nurture cadence. New priorities? Add to outbound cadence with a tailored approach. The goal? Stay relevant without being intrusive - so when timing aligns, you’re already on their radar. Are you keeping tabs on your Closed Lost Opps, or letting them slip? #sales #cadences #closedlost

Most people have the wrong idea about sales. The pushy SDR. The smooth-talking closer. The reality: good sales is simply the art of removing friction. Here's what sales actually looks like: Early Airbnb hosts hesitated to list their homes. The stated problem was "no bookings," but the hidden objection was trust. Brian Chesky (CEO) went door-to-door in New York in 2009 and watched where confidence fell apart - poor photos and thin profiles. He didn't add more explainers about trust and safety. He removed the psychological barrier. Pro photography. Identity verification. Conversion lifted. Sales wasn't persuasion. It was friction removal. Founders do the opposite because they're uncertain. So they overexplain and try to overqualify every lead. They add more copy, more form fields, more steps. Each one asks users to trust you before they have proof. Here's where that shows up: Landing pages: You wrote three paragraphs explaining your product. Healthy landing page conversion (visitor to signup) is 3-6% (OpenView). Below 2%? Your message isn't landing. Cut it to one line: "For [who], we [outcome]." Signup forms: You ask for company name, role, team size. Each extra field causes 10-40% drop-off. Start with email and password. Get them to value first. Pricing pages: You buried pricing three clicks deep. If users work to find your price, you lost them. Make it visible. "Cancel anytime.” Things you can try this week: 1. Watch 3 users try your product. Track where they stop: landing, signup, first action, first value. That's your barrier. 2. Remove the biggest friction point(s). Low landing conversion? Test if a stranger can explain what you do in 5 seconds. Low activation? Cut steps between signup and first value. 3. Measure. A 10% lift on 2% landing conversion means 2.2%. On 10K monthly visitors, that's 20 more signups. Good sales is listening for where users stop and removing what's stopping them. Build the product and remove everything between them and proof.

One of the biggest reasons deals stall isn’t that buyers doubt your solution—it’s that they doubt their ability to make the right choice. Matt Dixon's research for The JOLT Effect found that 40% of lost deals are driven by customer indecision, not preference for a competitor. And Brent Adamson's new book The Framemaking Sale highlights that customers with high decision confidence are TEN TIMES more likely to make a purchase. Here are a few ways you can help buyers build confidence in themselves: 1. Reduce Decision Complexity According to Gartner, 77% of B2B buyers report their last purchase was “very complex or difficult." Streamlining options, providing decision guides, or recommending a clear best-fit reduces “analysis paralysis” and gives buyers confidence they aren’t missing something. 2. Reframe Risk in Personal Terms Buyers often fear personal blame more than organizational failure. Use case studies and peer validation to show how people in their role succeeded—helping them feel safe and supported in their choice. 3. Provide Buyer Enablement Tools Tools like ROI calculators, pre-built board decks, or checklists reduce the burden on them and demonstrate that they have what they need to decide. 4. Normalize Their Concerns The JOLT Effect also emphasizes “normalizing indecision” as a critical skill—buyers need to know hesitation is common and that you can guide them through it. Framing uncertainty as a normal step in the process reduces the shame that often delays action. 5. Signal Post-Decision Support Harvard Business Review highlights that buyers who see strong post-sale support are more confident in making initial commitments. Show them the path forward—onboarding, customer success, peer communities—so they know they won’t be left alone after purchase. Helping buyers feel personally confident and protected is as important as proving your product’s value. The most successful marketers and sellers don’t just build confidence in the solution—they build confidence in the decision-maker.

Top sellers have a secret they use to hit quota consistently: they're often excellent at reviving “dead” deals. 🧟♂️ Here’s how you can do this too 👇 Over 5% of all of Qwilr’s “Closed Won” business, in any given quarter, are deals that were at one time marked “Closed Lost”. And now, I’m thrilled to share how we do this with all you wonderful people! At the start of each quarter, we reach out to to our champions from our closed lost deals, and see whether there’s a fresh opportunity for us. Pretty darn simple! 😂 This works especially well if you lost the deal at around the same time in the previous year (eg Q3 2023). This is because… 🅰️: This timing may align with their internal buying cycle 🅱️: If they opted for one of your competitors, their plan will be up for renewal We generally don’t do this for deals that were lost in the previous quarter, but going back and re-engaging with deals lost in the quarters prior to this can yield excellent results. This can be as straightforward as sending off 20 or 30 short and sharp emails to your champions on these deals. This is effective because you’ve already identified them as a good fit, built trust and walked most of the sales process with them. It may have simply been that the timing wasn’t right, that someone in the team blocked the deal or their wasn't budget then. By contacting these Lost buyers, you’re giving them – and the deal – another chance at life. HOWEVER - we at Qwilr have been testing a new feature for reviving these dead deals that has been working amazingly well! ✨ You can now get instantly notified when someone views (or tries to view) any of your dead Qwilr deals. 📩 So even if the offer has expired, or the Qwilr itself is no longer accessible, you’ll still be able to get a notification that they tried to revisit it. 👀 And the fact that they are trying to access it is a very good sign. It can mean that they’re still interested and it’s a perfect time to reach back out with a friendly check in. Sellers, what other strategies do you have for reviving dead deals? How do you identify a deal that has the potential to be revived? P.S: If you want to try this tactic for yourself, or experience the magic of Qwilr’s advanced proposal analytics, head over to https://getqwilr.com to learn more.

They didn't forget; they objected. Instead of "activation" or "abandonment" emails, try this... People don't abandon checkouts and free trials because they 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘵, they abandon because they 𝘰𝘣𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵. Instead of sending “reminders,” figure out 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘣𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘥 and address the 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘰𝘣𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 – Not just in your emails, but at the root cause, before they abandon. 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗼𝗯𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 If you ask ChatGPT, it'll tell you to offer free shipping and enable guest checkout – but you know it’s not that simple. Fixing “process friction” will only get you so far – most abandonment is caused by 𝘱𝘴𝘺𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, like an unanswered question or a nagging doubt. 𝟲 𝗠𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗦𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗣𝘀𝘆𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗙𝗿𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 (𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝘅 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺) 1. 𝗠𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 – Is it compatible with…? Does it do X thing?     𝗙𝗶𝘅: Live chat & detailed Q&A     2. 𝗪𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗶𝘁 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗼 [𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿’𝘀 𝗴𝗼𝗮𝗹]?     𝗙𝗶𝘅: Show the main use cases, testimonials with specific results     3. 𝗪𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗜 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗶𝘁? Or forget it but keep getting billed?    𝗙𝗶𝘅: Generous cancellation / return policies     4. 𝗦𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗙𝗿𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 – What will my boss / team / spouse think?     𝗙𝗶𝘅: Give them a story to justify the purchase to themselves (e.g. “it's cheaper in the long-run” or “you only live once.”)     5. 𝗜𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗺𝗲? (e.g. Coders, non-native speakers, gen Z women?)    𝗙𝗶𝘅: Say & show who it’s for     6. 𝗢𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗯𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗻 – They are switching from their last product for a reason, so they need to believe your product won't have that flaw.    𝗙𝗶𝘅: Position against your competitor’s flaw (e.g. “99.999% availability,” or “24/7 live support.”) 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝗽𝘀𝘆𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: Don't speculate. Ask your 𝘴𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘴:  1. 𝗦𝗮𝗹𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 – “What are the main objections you hear from prospects?” 2. 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿𝘀 – “What made you almost not buy?” Prospects who abandoned probably had 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘴 as the ones who bought. 𝗢𝗻𝗲 𝗳𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗼𝗿𝗲 Many people will say they’ve “been too busy.” That’s bullsh*t. Reality: either they don’t understand how it helps, your product or site confused them, or they don’t actually need it. Helpful? Re-post to help others in your network.

Your champion just went radio silent. It wasn't a "busy period" or "budget freeze." Here's what really happened. They lost confidence in you. Here's the pattern I see everywhere: Rep finds a champion who loves the solution. Champion gets excited. Champion promises to "socialize internally." Then... silence. What actually happened behind the scenes? Your champion tried to sell for you. They walked into a room with the CFO and got their ass kicked with questions they couldn't answer. Now they're embarrassed and avoiding you. The truth? You made them look incompetent in front of their boss. (And that’s a no no) Most reps think ghosting happens because prospects are "too busy." That's BS. Ghosting happens because champions lose confidence. The fix? Stop making your champions do your job. Instead of hoping they'll magically become great salespeople, arm them with a bulletproof business case. Show them exactly what to say to the CFO. Give them the ROI numbers. Prepare them for every objection. When your champion looks like a hero internally, they fight for your deal. When they look like an idiot, they hide from you. Stop ghosting yourself. Start enabling your champions. — Want to see the 15 strategies to move stalled deals forward? Go here: https://lnkd.in/e5CMHFih

Quota breath is real. If your reps are giving off quota breath, that’s on you. This doesn’t just repel prospects, it exposes weak leadership. Yes If your salespeople are drowning every month trying to "make the number," that’s not a rep problem. If your sales reps are still like: “Just circling back…” “Any update on the proposal?” It means they push for a close before building trust. No consistent coaching As a sales leader, your job isn’t just to manage pipeline. The goal isn’t just to hit quota. It’s to coach confidence. To build clarity. Because when you coach right, the desperation disappears. Just a reminder The rep who actually cares about solving the customer’s problem will always outperform the one who just wants to hit quota. You can’t train confidence if all you coach is the close Here’s how to coach the quota breath out of your team: Stop focusing only on the number. The best managers coach the behavior behind the number. Always understand the behaviors and mindset behind sales performance and coach to the conversion. Help reps shift from closing to curiosity. People don’t buy because you need the sale. They buy from reps who understand the problem. Review discovery calls Try to find out if they lead with value or pressure If you want to stop the end-of-quarter scramble. Start coaching before desperation sets in. P.S. Are your reps selling with confidence or just trying to survive?

One pattern keeps repeating in Enterprise Sales right now. I hear it from every Sales leader, CRO and Sales Rep I speak to. Some are calling it 'Deal Slippage' Others "Elongated Sales Cycles' or simple 'Do Nothing' outcomes. But the premise is the same, deals getting stuck mid-pipe. These deals are a killer for morale, for forecast accuracy and of course for quota attainment. You know the deals I'm talking about...The client is strongly engaged in the early stages, there's a genuine problem to be solved, good traction with their team and then something happens. The momentum disappears, the can quietly gets kicked a bit further down the road. These Zombie deals never quiet die do they?...Instead they just lurch from quarter to quarter, with just enough life to keep them in CRM. If you're dealing with this issue, either personally or across your sales teams, here are 10 Client Red Flags we're consistently seeing in our Client Loss Reviews at the moment. Avoid these 🚩 and you just might put the breaks on your deal slippage problem... 🚩No Genuine Exec Sponsor: If no-one internally has stepped up to defend your deal in the boardroom, or better yet sell the value on your behalf, that's a big red flag. 🚩Lack of Resourcing Depth – Delivery Risk is a huge concern to clients at the moment. If your team feels light or lacking in real-world experience, its a big red flag. 🚩Transition Cost Ambiguity – Hidden, deferred or unclear costs over the life of a project are huge red flags for procurement, who will usually assume the worst and penalise you accordingly. 🚩Top Heavy Team – When sales reps or senior leaders do all the talking, but the delivery team stays quiet, buyers immediately lose faith. 🚩Generic Industry Stories – If client case studies and references don’t sound exactly like their lived experiences, it's a big red flag that you haven't done this before. 🚩Q&A Avoidance – Dodging the hard questions or glossing over the risks, makes buyers assume you can’t answer their critical questions or worse, you don't want to. 🚩Rigid Pricing Models – One number, no options, no flexibility, means buyers feel boxed in and misunderstood, suggesting heighted risk, not certainty. 🚩Governance Gaps – “We’ll work it out post-award” is code for chaos, poor governance and delivery risk. Avoid at all costs! 🚩Slow Responsiveness – Slow response times, suggest slow delivery times, a lack of urgency and poor internal process. Clients think "If this is what you're like before we sign, how slow will you be after we buy" A huge red flag for enterprise clients. 🚩Risk Blind Spots – If you can’t name, explain, manage and mitigate their risks, clients will assume you haven’t seen them or worse, have intentionally ignored them. I could easily share another 20 client 🚩 we often uncover on a daily basis. Instead I'd love to hear one red flag you always look out for, as a sign a deal maybe straying off course?

It's your fault if you get ghosted. Not every positive-sounding response from a buyer is actually a good sign. Some lines sound like momentum. But actually, they’re stall tactics, indirect rejections, or polite ways to ghost you. --- 🚨 15 Lines That Should Worry You 🚨 💭 “This looks interesting. Let me discuss it internally.” 💭 “We’re very keen, but we need to check with management first.” 💭 “Send me your proposal/deck, and we’ll review it.” 💭 “We’re still aligning budgets internally.” 💭 “We’re interested, but timing isn’t right.” 💭 “Can you give us trial access?" 💭 “Let’s touch base again in a few months.” 💭 “We’ll get back to you after discussing with the team.” 💭 “We’re currently prioritizing other initiatives, but this is on our radar.” 💭 “We’re open to exploring this further, but we need more internal buy-in.” 💭 “Let me get back to you after checking with my boss.” 💭 “We’re interested, but we need to align with other departments first.” 💭 “This sounds great, but we’re just doing research for now.” 💭 “Our leadership is currently reviewing multiple solutions.” 💭 “This is valuable, but we need to evaluate if it fits our long-term strategy.” --- Why These Phrases Are Red Flags 🚩 📌 They sound positive, but lack real commitment. 📌 They shift responsibility to “internal discussions” that may never happen. 📌 They create false hope while giving the buyer an easy escape. If you take these at face value, you’ll get ghosted. So how do you tell the difference? --- 1️⃣ Test Their Urgency Ask: 👉 "If internal approval takes longer than expected, what happens next?" 👉 "What’s the risk of delaying this? Is there a timeline for resolution?" ✅ If they give specific consequences, they have a real reason. 🚨 If they get vague or avoid answering, they’re stalling. --- 2️⃣ Identify Who’s Actually Involved Ask: 👉 "Besides your team, who else needs to be aligned before a decision is made?" 👉 "How do decisions like this usually get approved in your company?" ✅ If they name actual people and a process, it’s a real step. 🚨 If they just say “management” or “the team,” they’re brushing you off. --- 3️⃣ Get a Micro-Commitment Ask: 👉 "If we send the proposal, what would happen next?" 👉 "What’s the best way to ensure this doesn’t lose momentum?" ✅ If they agree to a next step with a deadline, there's hope. 🚨 If they just say “We’ll review it”, expect silence. --- 🚫 Stop getting excited over vague “positive” responses. 🚫 Stop assuming every “we’re interested” means a deal is coming. 🚫 Stop chasing prospects who won’t commit. If you’re hearing these lines and not qualifying them properly, you’re setting yourself up for a trip to Ghost Town. Want to learn how to minimize ghosting and sell smarter in Indonesia? --- I’ll be covering this in my Feb 26 webinar – "Reduce Ghosting Rates in Indonesia" Drop "I'm in" in the comments, and I’ll send you the invite. ✌🏻

Red Flags We Watch for Before Taking on a Client Bringing on a new client isn’t just about revenue. There’s a huge investment of time, resources, and energy. And as any agency owner knows, the wrong fit can drain your team and lead to frustration on both sides. One bad client can kill an agency morale. That’s why we try to spot red flags from the very beginning, before we even think about onboarding. 🚨 They expect quick wins, not sustainable growth – Marketing is about consistency and best practices, not hacks and silver bullets. If someone is looking for an overnight fix, they’re likely to be disappointed. 🚨 They won’t share key data – We need to understand margins, customer value, and sales data to drive real results. If a client won’t share this, it’s impossible to optimise effectively. 🚨 They don’t value communication – Agencies aren’t mind readers. The best results happen when businesses provide feedback on lead quality, sales conversations, and what’s happening beyond the ad click. 🚨 They’ve been through multiple agencies in a short time – A client who’s constantly switching agencies usually isn’t getting the results they want. But the problem often isn’t the agencies—it’s misaligned expectations. 🚨 They push for guarantees – We’ll always be transparent about what’s achievable, but marketing isn’t an exact science. If someone expects us to promise specific ROAS figures before we’ve even run a campaign, it’s a red flag. The best client-agency relationships are built on trust, collaboration, and a shared focus on profitability, not just short-term ROAS. That’s why we focus on working with businesses that understand the process and are ready to invest in long-term success. What’s the biggest red flag you’ve learned to spot early?