Who Gets My Best Leads

How top performers slow down conversations to speed up deals

How top performers slow down conversations to speed up deals

Read Time = 2 minutes

Working in partnerships, I see countless sales calls.

When I send referrals to different reps, the patterns become obvious fast.

Top performers, embrace tension instead of avoiding it.

Average reps, rush past uncomfortable moments to keep things positive.

Here's the thing:

I'm selfishly watching who closes my referrals and who doesn't. Over time, the best reps get the best leads.

And the best sales reps I’ve seen all do the same thing when prospects get uncomfortable — they slow down.

Here’s a few examples:

Most reps hit pricing resistance and immediately deflect:

"Let me send you our pricing sheet" or "We have flexible options."

Top performers do the opposite. They lean in:

"I'm sensing some hesitation. What were you expecting to see?"

Average reps hear confusion and dive deeper into features:

"Let me show you how the API integration works" or "Our technical team can explain the architecture."

Top performers pull back to basics:

"Let's zoom back out. What problem were we trying to solve originally?"

Most reps get excited about more people in the room:

"Perfect! Let's get everyone on the calendar" or "I'll send a meeting invite to the whole team."

Top performers prepare for landmines:

"Before we finish, what specific concerns do you think they might raise?"

Average reps rush past tension to keep deals moving.

Top reps deliberately pause at moments of disconnect.

Slow down the conversation. Speed up the close.

If you want to develop reps who handle tension like top performer -

I'd be happy to explore what that looks like for your situation.

Until next Thursday,

TSG

P.S. I reply to all emails.