Latest / Closing the Deal with Fexingo: Sales, Negotiation, and Revenue Conversations for Operators / How a Sales Rep Won a Deal by Letting the Buyer Walk Away
Transcript
- Lucas: There's a moment in almost every sales cycle where the rep has to decide whether to push harder or back off. And the instinct — especially when you're behind quota — is to push. Luna: Right. That pressure feels productive. You're keeping momentum, you're showing urgency. Lucas: Except sometimes pushing is exactly what kills the deal. Today I want to talk about a rep who won a seven-figure contract by doing the opposite: she told the buyer they should walk away. Luna: Wait — she literally said, 'You shouldn't buy this'? Lucas: Close. She said, 'It sounds like this isn't the right fit right now, and that's okay.' Then she offered to help them close out the evaluation process cleanly. Luna: That's terrifying if you're on commission. How did that not backfire? Lucas: Because the buyer wasn't actually ready to leave. They were stuck in decision paralysis. The rep's offer to remove the pressure forced the buyer to confront their own hesitation — and realise they actually wanted the deal. Luna: So it's a kind of reverse psychology. But it only works if the offer is genuine, right? If the rep is bluffing, the buyer will smell it. Lucas: Exactly. The rep I'm talking about — her name is Sarah, she sells enterprise HR software — she told me she was genuinely ready to walk. She had a full pipeline, so she could afford to lose one deal. But that's not the only scenario where this works. Luna: Okay, so let's break down what she actually did. What was the situation? Lucas: She'd been in a four-month evaluation with a manufacturing company. The procurement team was dragging its feet. Every week there was another internal stakeholder who needed a demo, another legal review. Sarah had done seven demos, sent fifteen follow-ups. Luna: Classic deal limbo. The buyer is interested but not committed. And every email from the rep feels like pressure. Lucas: Right. So in a call with the VP of HR — the champion — Sarah said, 'I want to be honest with you. We've been at this for four months. I'm not sure we're making progress. If this isn't the right time, let's just say that. I'd rather we part ways cleanly than drag this out.' Luna: And the VP didn't say yes immediately, I assume? Lucas: No. She was quiet for a moment. Then she said, 'I think we need this. The problem is our internal process. What if we set a hard close date?' So the buyer re-committed. They signed three weeks later. Luna: That's a great story. But I think a lot of reps would hear that and say, 'Easy for her — she had a full pipeline.' What if you're desperate for the deal? Lucas: That's the million-dollar question. And I think the answer is: you can still use the move, but you have to be willing to lose the deal. If you're bluffing, the buyer will sense it. The power comes from actually being okay with walking away. Luna: So it's not a tactic you can fake. You have to genuinely believe that losing the deal is better than winning it on bad terms. Lucas: Right. And sometimes that means you walk away and lose. But in Sarah's case, she won. And I've seen this work in smaller deals too. The principle is the same: when you remove the chase, the buyer has to decide if they want to catch you. Luna: I want to talk about the psychology for a second. Because I think there's a sunk cost thing happening. The buyer has invested four months of their time. If the rep says 'let's walk,' the buyer realises they'd lose that investment. Lucas: Exactly. Sarah's offer actually made the buyer confront their own sunk cost. They'd already put in the work. Walking away would mean starting over with a different vendor. So the rep's permission to leave paradoxically made them stay. Luna: There's also the trust element. By being willing to walk, the rep signals that she's not desperate. That she's putting the buyer's interest first. That builds credibility. Lucas: Yeah. And credibility is the currency of complex B2B sales. Once you have it, you can ask for things — like a hard close date — that you couldn't before. Luna: It's almost like the opposite of the 'always be closing' mentality. This is 'always be willing to not close.' Lucas: That's a great way to put it. And I think it's a healthier mindset, honestly. It takes the desperation out of the room. Luna: Before we go deeper, I want to mention something. We're able to have these conversations because we don't run ads on the show. No sponsors, no affiliate links. If you find these episodes useful and want to support that choice, you can do so at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. That's buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. And it genuinely helps keep this ad-free. Lucas: Yeah, we hear from listeners who say these episodes have changed how they sell. That's the whole point. So if that's you, thanks for being here. Luna: Okay, back to the walk-away move. One thing I want to dig into: the exact wording Sarah used. Because I think a lot of reps would say something like 'If you're not interested, just tell me' — which sounds passive-aggressive. Lucas: Right. The key is to make it about the buyer's best interest, not your frustration. Sarah said, 'I don't want you to make a decision you'll regret later. If the timing isn't right, let's respect that.' That's very different from 'Are you in or out?' Luna: So the language is consultative. You're acting as an advisor, not a closer. Lucas: Exactly. And that's the frame shift. You're not trying to win the deal; you're trying to help the buyer make the best decision, even if that decision is 'not now.' When you adopt that frame, the buyer relaxes, and the real objections come out. Luna: So what do you do when the buyer actually says, 'You're right, this isn't the right time'? Lucas: Then you walk. Gracefully. You say, 'I appreciate your honesty. If things change, please reach out.' And you leave the door open. And sometimes — not always — they come back. Because you were the one rep who didn't pressure them. Luna: But if you walk away and they don't come back, you've lost the deal. That's the risk. Lucas: It is. But the alternative is chasing them until they ghost you, which also loses the deal — and you waste more time. So the walk-away move is really about reclaiming your time and your dignity. Luna: Let's talk about when NOT to use it. Because I think some reps might overuse this. Lucas: Yeah. Don't use it early in the cycle. If you've only had one meeting, saying 'maybe this isn't right' just sounds like you're not interested. The move works when there's been enough investment — weeks or months of evaluation — that the buyer has something to lose. Luna: Also, don't use it if you're genuinely the only option. If the buyer has no other vendor they can switch to, the walk-away sounds hollow. Lucas: Good point. The move works best when the buyer has alternatives and is stuck in analysis paralysis. You're giving them permission to stop evaluating — but they have to decide whether to stop by signing or by leaving. Luna: So it's a forcing function. You're forcing a decision, but you're doing it by offering an exit, not by demanding a commitment. Lucas: That's exactly it. And there's research that backs this up. In negotiation psychology, the 'walk-away power' is one of the strongest sources of leverage. When you have a credible alternative, you negotiate better outcomes. But in sales, the alternative is often just 'I'll move on to the next prospect.' Luna: Which requires a full pipeline to feel credible. So maybe the real lesson here is: build your pipeline so you can afford to lose a deal. Then use that freedom to close more deals. Lucas: That's the paradox. The more you're willing to lose, the more you win. Because you're not acting from scarcity. You're acting from abundance. And buyers can feel that. Luna: I want to circle back to Sarah's specific approach. She didn't just say 'let's walk.' She offered to help them close out the evaluation process. What did that look like? Lucas: She offered to send a summary of their requirements and a list of other vendors they could evaluate. She basically said, 'I want to make sure you have everything you need to make a decision, even if it's with someone else.' That's next-level trust-building. Luna: That's incredible. She's essentially doing free consulting for a prospect who's about to walk. That's the ultimate signal of 'I'm not desperate.' Lucas: And it worked because the buyer realised no other vendor would do that. They were so impressed by her professionalism that they pushed internally to close the deal. Luna: So the takeaway? If you're in a stalled deal, try offering the buyer an elegant exit. Frame it as concern for their best interest. And mean it. Lucas: Exactly. And if they take the exit, you've lost a deal but gained a reputation. And that reputation will pay off in referrals or future opportunities. Luna: One more question. How do you know when the buyer is genuinely stuck versus when they're just not interested? Lucas: That's the art. Usually, if they're still taking meetings and asking questions after two months, they're stuck, not disinterested. If they're ignoring your emails, they're probably not interested. The walk-away move works best in the first case. Luna: Alright, so the move is: be willing to lose the deal to save it. Offer the exit. Build trust. And if they walk, walk gracefully. Lucas: That's the framework. And I think it's applicable across almost any sales context — from five-thousand-dollar SaaS to multi million dollar enterprise. Luna: Next time you're in a stalled deal, maybe try it. Worst case, you save yourself weeks of follow-up. Best case, you close a deal you thought was dead. Lucas: And that's the closing thought for today. Thanks for listening.