Four questions that determine whether a deal moves or stalls.
Forrester's The State of Business Buying, 2024 found that 86% of B2B purchases stall during the buying process.
Not fail. Stall.
The pipeline doesn't empty. The buyer doesn't say no. But nothing moves. In many of those deals, the salesperson did solid work. Good discovery. A clear proposal. A champion who was genuinely engaged.
The problem wasn't the solution. It was that the champion couldn't answer the questions being asked in the room where the final decision was made.
After working with salespeople across three decades, I've identified four questions that determine whether a deal moves or stalls. The champion has to be able to answer all four. In many deals, they can only answer the first.
Depending on what you're selling, you could also ask: "If we don't upgrade this now, what could a failure cost us?"
Notice how this isn't a general problem statement. It's a specific, current situation assessment that has a measurable cost attached to it. The high-performing salespeople I know can help their Champion answer that.
This is the financial picture the buyer's organization needs to approve the purchase, beyond the typical price, timing, and specs information. Gartner research suggests buyers who build this number themselves are roughly three times more likely to approve the purchase. The word "build" matters. The champion needs to build it and believe it.
High-performing salespeople uncover this gold to help prevent deals from stalling. This helps their Champion feel more confident about supporting the deal. As a result, the Champion can explain the cost of the problem and connect the value from solving it to leadership's strategic goals. That connection is what turns a reasonable proposal into a necessary investment.
This is the one question most salespeople never ask. Harvard Business Review research suggests salespeople who connect solutions to what buyers' leadership is accountable for close at rates roughly 157% higher than those who stop at the immediate problem. That gap exists because most preparation stops at the proposal. The fourth question is the ultimate test.
If your champion can answer all four with confidence, your deal is in a very different position than one where they can only answer the first.
The next time a deal stalls, run through these four questions. The one they can't answer clearly is usually where you need to focus next, before it's too late.