CLOSING
Turn Maybe into Yes ANDREW FRITTS
In sales, uncertainty can be more draining than outright rejection. A drawn-out “maybe” consumes resources, saps morale, and clouds the pipeline with false hope. Every hour spent chasing indecisive prospects is an hour not invested in winnable deals. For sales teams, sometimes the second-best answer to “yes” isn’t “let’s see where this goes” – it’s “no.” Knowing when to walk away can be a strategic move that saves time, money, and energy.
On the face of it, that may go against the grain of what sales teams set out to do. As a result, shifting focus from long-shot opportunities to winnable ones requires the right mindset – and the right tools. By centralizing information, analyzing buyer behavior, gauging sentiment, and identifying misalignment earlier, artificial intelli- gence can augment the sales journey
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and shorten the painful limbo of indecision. This isn’t about looking for ex- cuses to cut buyers off aggressively; it’s about building an equitable and accessible sales environment where both parties can operate intelligently and confidently. That way, resources on both sides can be reallocated to where they’re most likely to deliver
results, with senior sales executives spending less time engaged in hope- ful pursuits and more time on knowl- edge-sharing and active collaboration on live deals. In sales, a fast loss can still be a big win.
THE HIGH COST OF CHASING “MAYBE” Few things are more frustrating for sales teams than investing weeks – or even months – into a deal that ulti- mately goes nowhere. Indecision or a lack of readily available information can stall the process, leaving sellers in a holding pattern while resources are drained and other opportunities slip by.
These situations often stem from
misalignment: a lack of genuine need, insufficient buy-in from decision- makers, or unclear priorities on the buyer’s side because they don’t have the information or tools to commu- nicate effectively with stakeholders. Yet many teams cling to these deals, trusting that persistence will pay off. It isn’t just direct sellers who lose valu- able time; other team members, such as product experts, sales engineers, and customer service managers, may also play a key role in the sales cycle.
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