What Happens When Decision Makers are Buried and Unreachable

There were tornado warnings – something we don’t usually see or hear in Massachusetts, never mind in June.

But instead of tornadoes, we received 10-minutes of torrential rain.

We have a small water feature with a waterfall and the next morning I noticed that water wasn’t flowing from it. I assumed the filter was probably clogged with leaves that dropped during the storm. When I got to the in-pond box that houses the pump, instead of leaves I found mulch. So – much – mulch! After 15 minutes of scooping out mulch, the water was still not flowing from the waterfall so I looked some more. Mud. So – much – mud! So I scooped mud for 10-minutes and the water was still not flowing from the waterfall. It turns out, the pump was buried under the mud. After I removed it from the pump box, cleaned it and reconnected it to the water line, BAM, I had water flowing down the stream bed.

Why am I writing this?

Why Sales Teams Are Like My Waterfall Pump

Consider the similarities.

A CEO, CRO or Senior sales leader reaches out and says that revenue isn’t flowing or growing as needed. I ask what they think the problem might be and get the equivalent of “leaves.” Later, we get to the equivalent of the pump being buried in the mud.

Consider the following comparisons:

It’s a lot like a rain-delayed baseball game. The storm hits, the field turns into a muddy mess, and no matter how talented the players are, they can’t perform until the grounds crew dries the infield, repairs the mound, and gets the field playable again. Your sales pipeline works the same way—surface issues hide the real problems buried underneath.

But why?

On the pond side of things, the root cause might be an insufficient pond pump box set up but when it comes to a company, there are many possibilities as to why their salespeople aren’t reaching decision makers and uncovering compelling reasons to buy.

Let’s consider the 21 Sales Core Competencies, plus strategy and 2 of the Sales Management Core Competencies. Together. I’ve placed them into five buckets, each with their own set of potential causes:

1. Will to Sell (Weak Will to Sell causes complacency)
   • Desire
   • Commitment
   • Responsibility
   • Outlook
   • Motivation
2. Sales DNA (Weak Sales DNA sabotages sales process, methodology, strategy and tactics)
   • Doesn’t Need to be Liked
   • Stays in the Moment
   • Supportive Beliefs
   • Comfortable Talking about Money
   • Rejection Proof
   • Supportive Buy Cycle
3. Strategic (With a weak or non-existent strategy, the tactical competencies operate without road signs or guardrails)
   • Positioning/Messaging
   • Value Proposition/ROI/Pricing
   • Targeting
   • Account Planning
4. Tactical (When tactical competencies are weak, sales get closed because of being in the right place at the right time)
   • Hunting
   • Reaches Decision Makers – This competency is a great example of what I’m writing about today. If the decision maker is buried (beneath layers of gatekeepers, influencers, managers, users, buyers, etc.) you may never unbury the compelling reason to buy from you and your value/ROI/lifetime cost may be meaningless. This is how even consultative sellers find themselves in transactional, price-based opportunities.
   • Builds Relationships
   • Consultative Sales Approach
   • Value Seller
   • Qualifier
   • Presentation Approach
   • Closer
   • Sales Process
   • Sales Technology
5. Sales Management
   • Coaching
   • Accountability

As you ask, “Why have so many pipeline opportunities stalled” or “Why aren’t we growing faster?” or “Why do we have so many delayed closings,” also ask “Which of the 21 Sales Core Competencies and which of the 2 sales management competencies I included could be to blame?

Nearly every competency listed above, and most of the attributes from each of those competencies, play a part. (You can see them all here along with scores and industry comparisons.) The only competency that can claim innocence, is Sales Technology. You can’t blame the tech stack! But if your salespeople don’t score 100 in each of the other 20 sales core competencies, there is a huge, relevant, important selling gap.

If 20 sales and 2 sales management core competencies are the pump motor of B2B sales, why is your pump buried in the mud?

Because it feels overwhelming. Scary. Like trying to navigate a dark, winding road at night with no lights, no map, and no idea where you started or where you’re going. That’s exactly what sales development feels like when you don’t know which hidden weaknesses are burying your results or how to fix them.

That’s why sales development is so difficult.

We can help – reach out to us here.

Image by Grok Imagine