What Buying Signal Did You Miss?
Successful sales professionals invest time preparing for prospect conversations. They refine their message, plan thoughtful questions, and rehearse responses to anticipated concerns. They practice, adjust, and practice again.
Preparation matters. But for many salespeople, it quietly becomes the very thing that undermines their success.
Here’s how it happens.
The salesperson enters the meeting confident and well-rehearsed. The message is polished. The flow is tight. But instead of paying attention to the buyer, the seller is mentally running through a checklist.
- Did I cover that point?
- What’s my next slide?
- When do I ask for the commitment?
Meanwhile, the buyer’s camera goes dark. Notifications pop up. A pause lingers a little too long after a key statement. The seller misses it.
At a carefully planned moment, the salesperson asks a pre-scripted commitment question. But rather than fully listening to the response, they’re already preparing for the objection they expect to hear. The buyer answers politely. The conversation ends with, “Let me think it over.”
The salesperson walks away frustrated. Convinced the meeting was a waste of time, they’re thinking:
- The buyer didn’t get it.
- They weren’t engaged.
- They failed to see the value.
What really happened is simpler and more uncomfortable.
The seller was so focused on delivering the message exactly as practiced that they stopped paying attention to the person in front of them.
- They missed the moment skepticism showed up.
- They didn’t notice when interest faded.
- When they realized it, the opportunity to recover was gone.
Preparation isn’t the problem.
Over-reliance on preparation is.
It’s smart to plan your meetings. Practice until your message, your insights, and the information you need to gather are fully internalized. Then, let go of the script.
Sales conversations rarely unfold the way we imagine. Buyers aren’t working from an outline. They’re reacting in real time based on what they hear, what they question, and what they care about in that moment.
When your message is internalized, you don’t have to perform it. You can listen. You can adjust. You can follow the buyer’s curiosity instead of forcing them through your agenda.
- That’s where real conversations happen.
- That’s where trust is built.
- And that’s where deals actually move forward.
After all, the buyer isn’t working from a script… and neither should you.
A Quick Reflection
If this article feels familiar, consider these questions:
- Are sales conversations sounding polished… but not progressing?
- Do sellers prepare more for what they want to say than for what they need to hear?
- Are deals stalling with “Let me think about it” more often than you’d like to admit?
- Is your team following the sales process—but missing the buyer?
If preparation is high but results are inconsistent, there's a skill gap.
Help your team effectively prepare and learn to recognize buying signals in real time. Contact us.
