How to Approach Communication Slowdowns When a Promising Deal Suddenly Stalls

Brice E. · 2026-07-02T06:06:19.421Z

A situation I've been thinking about lately: you're working on an important deal, everything feels positive, the buyer is engaged, meetings go well, and nobody has raised any objections. Then communication suddenly slows down. Before deciding what to do next, what's the first thing you try to figure out? Do you assume the buyer is simply busy, that someone new has entered the decision process, or do you wait for more evidence before reaching out? I'm curious because I've noticed experienced operators seem to approach that moment very differently.

4 comments

· Sorted by Oldest

thomasmaitre
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deals going silent are the worst, and it happens. multiple reasons:
champion got cornered, is tired, can't challenge the status quo
you're just there to roleplay, they already chose another solution
they're not ready
depending on the deal size, i would highly recommend talking to 5 to 7 people in a company to avoid these situations. lots of tactics around that in this banger book: amazon.fr/JOLT-Effect-…/…/ref=asc_df_0593538102?mcid=78c8d2bbdabb3d06b6db…&tag=googshopfr-21&…
👀1
Brice E.
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That's really helpful, especially the distinction between 'not ready' and 'already chose someone else.' Those situations probably look very similar from the seller's perspective, even though they're completely different internally. Your point about engaging 5–7 stakeholders is interesting too—that seems like one way to reduce dependence on a single champion. I'll definitely check out The JOLT Effect. Thanks for sharing.
Sayanta G.
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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.
Brice E.
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Thanks, Sayanta. I really like your point about reminding buyers why they were interested instead of just asking for an update. One thing that also stood out is what you said about talking to the actual decision-maker versus someone managing the process. Out of curiosity, have you ever had a deal where you realized too late that the momentum had shifted away from your original champion? If so, what was the first sign you missed?

thomasmaitre
·
·
deals going silent are the worst, and it happens. multiple reasons:
champion got cornered, is tired, can't challenge the status quo
you're just there to roleplay, they already chose another solution
they're not ready
depending on the deal size, i would highly recommend talking to 5 to 7 people in a company to avoid these situations. lots of tactics around that in this banger book: amazon.fr/JOLT-Effect-…/…/ref=asc_df_0593538102?mcid=78c8d2bbdabb3d06b6db…&tag=googshopfr-21&…
👀1
Brice E.
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·
That's really helpful, especially the distinction between 'not ready' and 'already chose someone else.' Those situations probably look very similar from the seller's perspective, even though they're completely different internally. Your point about engaging 5–7 stakeholders is interesting too—that seems like one way to reduce dependence on a single champion. I'll definitely check out The JOLT Effect. Thanks for sharing.
Sayanta G.
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·
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.
Brice E.
·
·
Thanks, Sayanta. I really like your point about reminding buyers why they were interested instead of just asking for an update. One thing that also stood out is what you said about talking to the actual decision-maker versus someone managing the process. Out of curiosity, have you ever had a deal where you realized too late that the momentum had shifted away from your original champion? If so, what was the first sign you missed?