How to Approach Communication Slowdowns When a Promising Deal Suddenly Stalls

·Jul 02, 2026 06:06 AM·

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.

7 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&…
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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.
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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?
Ozan D.
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one signal I've learned to watch for: when the champion stops cc'ing new people. early in a deal they're pulling in stakeholders because they want buy-in. when that stops, either they've hit internal resistance they're not telling you about, or someone above them has quietly deprioritized it. the fix is asking directly: "has anything changed on your end about the timeline?" — most reps avoid that question because they're afraid of the answer, but it surfaces the real blocker faster than anything else
Brice E.
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Oz, the CC pattern is one of the clearest behavioral signals I've heard described and it's interesting because it's observable without the rep having to ask anything. The champion's behavior tells you what they're not saying directly. The question I'm sitting with from your observation: when you ask "has anything changed on your end about the timeline?" and the answer surfaces the real blocker what does that blocker usually turn out to be? Internal budget freeze, a competing priority that moved up the stack, or something else entirely? Curious whether there's a pattern in what's actually happening behind the silence.
Sayanta G.
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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.

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
👀1
➕1
🙌1
Brice E.
·
·
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.
👍1
Sayanta G.
·
·
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?
Ozan D.
·
·
one signal I've learned to watch for: when the champion stops cc'ing new people. early in a deal they're pulling in stakeholders because they want buy-in. when that stops, either they've hit internal resistance they're not telling you about, or someone above them has quietly deprioritized it. the fix is asking directly: "has anything changed on your end about the timeline?" — most reps avoid that question because they're afraid of the answer, but it surfaces the real blocker faster than anything else
Brice E.
·
·
Oz, the CC pattern is one of the clearest behavioral signals I've heard described and it's interesting because it's observable without the rep having to ask anything. The champion's behavior tells you what they're not saying directly. The question I'm sitting with from your observation: when you ask "has anything changed on your end about the timeline?" and the answer surfaces the real blocker what does that blocker usually turn out to be? Internal budget freeze, a competing priority that moved up the stack, or something else entirely? Curious whether there's a pattern in what's actually happening behind the silence.
Sayanta G.
·
·
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.