What I'm seeing in my business and in my clients’ is buyers now form their perceptions of sellers on their own during their silent research and make their decision based on that initial perception. So by the time the cold email lands, they've already decided if that kind of seller is worth a reply. Relevance alone isn't closing deals anymore. You need strong leverage that shapes the right buyer perception when buyers research you before any sales conversation happens.
Hey Brice E., good question. The first sign always is the momentum slows down and they start hedging their words. I've had deals where I had nice chats which felt amazing in the moment but looking back there were all the signs that they merely manage decisions, not make them. So whenever you have any conversation, look for are they simply saying lots of sweet words or specifically talking about how to move forward.
Quite a few things to identify here Brice E.:
I would start with figuring out if I was talking to the decision maker and someone who has the authority to write the cheque or someone who simply manages the decision. The former are the people you want to talk to.
I've found that 2 things work really well when the momentum slows down: 1. Remind them they were interested. Follow it up (in the same message you send) with a straight-foward question like "What do you want to do about it?" or "I have some time Tuesday at Y. Why don't we take a few minutes to explore this further?" and 2. Send new insights that either solves a problem they have already mentioned or shifts their mindset on a solution they weren't thinking about. Be really specific and mention where in conversation they brought it up. This positions you as their expert in their mind.
And yes, in B2B, especially the bigger the company, building relationships with 5-7 people is the best bet so the momentum doesn't slow down as much.
To sum it up, be assertive, remind them they were interested, and ask for a decision within a stipulated deadline. That kickstarts the conversation.
