๐ฌ Want to Lose a Deal in One Easy Step?
Hereโs a story I heard from a client thatโll stick with you.
๐ฏ The Setup: A Textbook Sales Cycle
A rep runs the process like a pro:
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Grinds through the early stages
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Builds a killer business case ๐ผ
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Earns full buy-in from the Head of Sales Enablement
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Locks in a true champion whoโs driving internal alignment ๐
Everythingโs in motion:
๐ Contract is out.
๐ Momentum is high.
๐ Everyoneโs excited.
And then… the deal dies. โ
๐ค What Went Wrong?
It wasnโt the pricing.
It wasnโt the product.
It wasnโt a sneaky competitor swooping in.
The deal died because the rep forgot who got them there.
Hereโs what happened:
As soon as the C-Suite started showing interest, the rep shifted focus:
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๐ต No more calls with the enablement lead
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โ No updates, no collaboration
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๐ When they booked a luxury suite at a football game, they invited the execsโฆ and left out the champion
Fast forward to game day.
The exec team casually asks the Sales Enablement lead:
โAre you going to the game too?โ
His response?
โI wasnโt invited.โ
๐ฅ Deal dead. On the spot.
๐ง Why It Really Fell Apart
Deals donโt always implode from massive mistakes.
Sometimes they collapse because of a broken trust signal.
This was one of those times.
The rep treated their champion like a stepping stone.
Once the power players entered the picture, they ghosted the person who got them there.
That single oversightโa missing inviteโsent a loud, clear message:
โIf this is how they treat internal allies now, what happens after the contractโs signed?โ
๐ Confidence shattered.
๐ง Trust gone cold.
๐ Deal over.
๐ก The Deeper Lesson: Sales Is a Loyalty Business
People remember how you treat them when theyโre no longer useful to you.
The swag you send, the thank-you notes, the check-ins, the event invitesโtheyโre not fluff.
Theyโre signals.
Signals of:
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Respect ๐ค
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Awareness ๐
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Loyalty ๐
When you treat a champion like a pawn instead of a partner, you donโt just lose this dealโyou lose:
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Future deals
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Referrals
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Internal influence
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Momentum that takes months to build
๐ฅ Final Take
Sales isnโt just a revenue game.
Itโs a relationship game. ๐ค
If you think you can discard your champion once the C-Suite shows up, youโre not just losing deals…
You’re burning bridges. ๐งจ
And burned bridges have a nasty habit of showing back up…
as lost opportunities you never even knew you missed. ๐
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