Latest / Closing the Deal with Fexingo: Sales, Negotiation, and Revenue Conversations for Operators / The Sales Rep Who Won by Asking the Buyer to Fire Them
Transcript
- Lucas: So there's this sales rep — let's call him David — selling a software platform to a mid-size logistics company. The deal is worth about $400,000 in annual recurring revenue. He's been at it for six months. Three demos, two executive briefings, a proof of concept that went flawlessly. And the buyer keeps saying, 'We're close, just need internal alignment.' Luna: The classic stall. 'Need more alignment' — that's code for 'I don't have the authority or the urgency.' Lucas: Exactly. And David had done all the standard things. He'd offered to meet with other stakeholders, provided ROI calculators, even suggested a phased rollout to reduce risk. Nothing worked. So on a Thursday afternoon call, he tried something completely different. Lucas: He said: 'Look, we've been at this for six months. You've seen everything. If this isn't a priority for you and your team right now, I want you to fire me. Tell me to go away. I'll stop calling, stop emailing, and we can revisit this when the timing is right. But I can't keep spinning my wheels — and more importantly, your team can't keep spinning theirs.' Luna: Wow. That is bold. Did the buyer actually fire him? Lucas: No. The buyer paused and said, 'No, I don't want to fire you. I want this. Let me make some calls.' And within 48 hours, the deal was signed. Lucas: Now, before we go deeper — if today's episode is moving your thinking forward in some small way, the reason these conversations stay ad-free is listener support. You can help keep that going at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. No pressure, just a way to say this is useful. Luna: Yeah, it's a simple gesture that genuinely makes a difference. We appreciate it. Lucas: Alright, back to David. What he did was force the buyer to confront the cost of inaction. By inviting rejection, he flipped the dynamic. The buyer had to either commit or admit the deal wasn't going anywhere. Luna: It's a great move, but it's also risky. If the buyer actually says 'fine, go away,' you've just killed the deal. Lucas: Absolutely. And that's why you only use this when you have real evidence that the buyer is genuinely interested but stuck. David had the proof of concept, the executive meetings — he knew the value was recognized. The blockage was purely internal inertia. Luna: So how do you know you've built enough credibility to pull this off? What's the threshold? Lucas: I'd say you need three things. One: the buyer has invested significant time — multiple meetings, custom demos, a pilot. Two: they've given you positive verbal signals — 'this solves our problem,' 'your product is better than the competitor.' Three: the deal size is material enough that walking away actually stings for both sides. Lucas: If those conditions are met, the 'fire me' line creates a moment of truth. The buyer realizes that if they lose you, they lose all the momentum and have to start over with someone else. Luna: That's the scarcity principle, right? People value things more when they think they might lose them. Lucas: Exactly. And it's more powerful than most sales tactics because it's honest. You're not manufacturing scarcity — you're stating a real consequence of their indecision. You can't afford to chase a deal forever, and they can't afford to let a good solution slip away. Luna: I'm curious about the alternative you mentioned earlier — inviting the buyer to reject you in writing. How does that work? Lucas: So there's a variant where you say something like: 'If this isn't going to happen in the next quarter, could you send me a brief email stating that? I need it for my pipeline reporting. It's just a formality.' That request seems small, but it forces the buyer to articulate the objection explicitly. And once they write it down, it becomes real. Often they'll realize the objection sounds weak when they see it in black and white. Luna: Right, because it's easy to keep saying 'we need more time' on a phone call. But writing an email saying 'we decided not to move forward because we can't align internally' — that feels different. It's a commitment. Lucas: Exactly. And sometimes the buyer will write the email and then delete it, and then call you back to say 'Actually, let's find a way to make this work.' The act of composing the rejection forces them to justify it to themselves. Luna: So the written rejection is lower risk than the oral 'fire me' because you're not threatening to walk away — you're just asking for documentation. Lucas: Lower risk, but also lower pressure. The 'fire me' line is nuclear. You use it when you're willing to lose the deal to save your time. The written rejection is a scalpel — you use it when you want to nudge the buyer toward clarity without burning the bridge. Luna: Have you seen cases where the 'fire me' approach backfired badly? Lucas: Yes. I know a rep who tried it on a deal that was much earlier stage — only two meetings and no pilot. The buyer was still evaluating options. The rep said 'if you're not serious, fire me,' and the buyer literally said 'Okay, consider yourself fired.' The rep lost the deal and his manager was furious. You can't use it as a shortcut. Luna: So the timing has to be right. It's a last resort, not an opening move. Lucas: Exactly. I'd put it at the point where you've done everything right and you still can't get a decision. It's for deals that are stuck, not deals that are dead. And you have to deliver it with the right tone — not aggressive, not frustrated, but genuinely respectful. Like, 'I care about your time as much as mine.' Luna: I think the key insight here is that buyers often need permission to make a decision — even if that decision is 'no.' By offering them an easy out, you paradoxically make it harder for them to take it. Lucas: That's exactly right. And it's a lesson that applies beyond sales. Any time you're in a stalled negotiation — whether it's a partnership, a job offer, a contract renewal — creating a clear, low-friction path to rejection can actually accelerate commitment. Luna: Alright, so practical takeaway for our listeners: if you've got a deal that's been dragging for months, and you know the buyer wants it but can't get internal alignment, consider offering them a way out. Either verbally — 'fire me' — or in writing — 'send me a note saying no.' It might just close the deal. Lucas: And if it doesn't, at least you'll have your answer and you can move on to the next opportunity. Either way, you win.