Latest / Closing the Deal with Fexingo: Sales, Negotiation, and Revenue Conversations for Operators / The Sales Rep Who Won by Asking for a Bad Review
Transcript
- Lucas: So there's a closing tactic I came across recently that on the surface sounds almost like self-sabotage. A rep asks the buyer for a bad review. Not a testimonial. Not a reference call. They literally say: 'Before we move forward, I'd love to hear what you think is the worst part of working with us.' Luna: Huh. That takes guts. Did the rep actually close the deal? Lucas: She did — a $2.3 million deal with a major logistics company. The buyer was a CTO named Linda Connors, and she had been dragging her feet for months. The rep, Sarah, had done all the standard stuff: demos, ROI calculators, executive alignment. Nothing moved. So she tried something different. Luna: What was the exact wording? Lucas: Sarah said: 'Linda, I know you've seen a lot of vendors. I'm not going to ask you to commit today. But I would love to know — if you had to give us a bad review, what would it say?' And Linda paused for a second, then laughed. She said: 'Okay, you really want to know?' And she gave her real objections. Luna: Which were? Lucas: Two things. First, she thought the onboarding timeline was too aggressive — Sarah's team promised implementation in six weeks, but Linda had been burned by that before. Second, she didn't fully trust the data migration process. Both of those had been lurking under the surface, but she'd never voiced them directly. She'd just kept saying 'we need more time.' Luna: So by asking for the bad review, Sarah got the real objections out in the open. That's brilliant, but it's also risky — what if the buyer just says 'I don't like your product' and walks away? Lucas: Right, and that's the fear. But here's the thing: if the buyer was going to walk away anyway, you haven't lost anything. And if they have unspoken concerns, this gives you a chance to address them. Sarah was able to say: 'Okay, on onboarding — let's extend the timeline to ten weeks, no penalty. And on data migration, I'll put you in touch with three customers who went through the same process.' Luna: And Linda agreed? Lucas: She signed two weeks later. The psychology here is interesting. When you ask for a bad review, you signal confidence. You're saying: 'I'm not afraid of your criticism, because I believe we can handle it.' That builds trust way faster than a polished demo. Luna: It also flips the power dynamic. Instead of you chasing the buyer, you're inviting them to be honest with you. That's disarming. Lucas: Exactly. And there's a cognitive dissonance element too. Once someone gives you a thoughtful criticism, they've invested in the relationship. They're no longer a passive observer — they're a collaborator. That makes it harder for them to walk away. Luna: I can see this working in renewals as well. If you're trying to upsell an existing customer, asking 'what's the worst part of working with us' could uncover exactly what's blocking the expansion. Lucas: Absolutely. I've seen reps use it in QBRs — quarterly business reviews — to get ahead of churn. One account executive I know asked a client that question, and the client said 'your support team takes too long to respond.' The rep fixed it, and the client doubled their contract. Luna: So the key is to ask it genuinely, not as a trick. The buyer can smell manipulation a mile away. Lucas: That's the whole thing. You have to mean it. You have to be prepared to hear something uncomfortable and actually act on it. If you just ask the question and then brush off the answer, you'll lose all credibility. Luna: Let's talk about the timing. When in the sales cycle should you pull this out? Lucas: Late stage, when the deal is stuck. If you've done multiple demos, sent proposals, and the buyer is still saying 'we need to think about it,' that's the perfect moment. Early in the cycle, it might come across as presumptuous. You need to have enough context that the buyer believes you can actually address their concerns. Luna: What if the buyer says 'I don't have any bad review'? Lucas: Then you've still won. They've essentially said they have no major objections. You can follow up with: 'That's great to hear. So what's holding us back from moving forward?' And now you're back to a standard closing conversation. Luna: I like that it forces the buyer to be specific. A lot of times objections are vague — 'we're not ready,' 'it's not a priority' — but a bad review is inherently concrete. It's about a specific thing you did or didn't do. Lucas: Right. And once it's concrete, you can solve it. The vague stuff is what kills deals. Let me give you another example from a different rep. He was selling marketing software to a mid-market company, and the VP of marketing kept saying 'we need to think about it.' He finally asked for a bad review, and she said: 'Your reporting dashboard is ugly and hard to read.' Luna: Ouch. Lucas: But he didn't get defensive. He said: 'You're right, our current dashboard isn't great. But we just launched a new one in beta. Can I show you?' He showed her the beta, she loved it, and the deal closed. If he hadn't asked, he would have lost to a competitor with a prettier interface. Luna: So the question works even if the criticism is about something you can't change immediately. Just acknowledging it and having a roadmap builds goodwill. Lucas: Exactly. And if you can't fix it, you can at least be transparent. 'We don't have that feature yet, but it's on our roadmap for Q4. Would that timeline work for you?' That's a much better conversation than letting the objection fester. Luna: I think a lot of reps are afraid to ask this because they think it'll open a can of worms. But the worms are already there — you just can't see them. Lucas: Right. And if the worms are bad enough, the deal is already dead. You might as well find out. There's a bigger point here, which is about vulnerability in sales. The old-school approach is to project confidence at all costs. But increasingly, buyers respond to honesty. They're tired of being sold to. Luna: You know, this reminds me of something you said in an earlier episode about asking for a 'no.' The same principle applies — you're willing to hear the negative because it clears the path to the positive. Lucas: Exactly. And look, if these conversations have moved your work forward in some small way, a couple of dollars a month is genuinely what keeps them going — buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo, if you've gotten something out of them. Luna: Yeah, it's a small thing that makes a real difference. Keeps the lights on and the episodes ad-free. Lucas: So back to the tactic — I want to give listeners a script they can use. Here's the exact language Sarah used: 'Before we move forward, I'd love to hear what you think is the worst part of working with us — or the worst part of what you've seen so far.' Luna: Simple, direct, no fluff. That's the kind of language that works. Lucas: Then, after they answer, you say: 'Thank you for being honest. Let me address each of those.' Then you do exactly that — no excuses, no spin. If you can fix it, tell them how. If you can't, tell them when you will. And if you can't fix it at all, say that too. Luna: And if they give you a criticism that's actually wrong — like a misunderstanding about a feature — you correct it gently, without making them feel stupid. Lucas: Right. 'I can see why you'd think that. Let me clarify how it actually works.' That keeps the relationship intact. The goal isn't to win an argument; it's to win a deal. Luna: I also think this tactic works because it shows you're listening. Buyers are used to reps who talk past them. When you ask for criticism, you're signaling that their opinion matters. Lucas: Exactly. And I want to emphasize one more thing: this isn't a silver bullet. It won't work on every buyer. Some people are naturally conflict-averse and will give you a non-answer. But for the ones who engage, it's incredibly powerful. Luna: So the takeaway: next time you're stuck in a late-stage deal, try asking for a bad review. You might be surprised by what you learn — and by how quickly the deal moves afterward. Lucas: That's the episode. Thanks for listening, and we'll see you next time.