One risk of writing a newsletter like this is trying to share insight without sounding like a blowhard who has the sales game all figured out.
Because I don’t.
I make poor decisions.
I pursue deals I shouldn’t.
I waste valuable time—mine and my team’s—more often than I’d like.
What follows is a deconstruction of a recent sales loss: how it unfolded, why it happened, and what I learned from it.
My hope is that by walking you through a real failure, you can avoid making a similar one.
Inbound and Urgent
It started as an inbound inquiry through our website from a consultant working with a construction supply company.
We’ll call him Elliott because that’s his name.
Courtney, my colleague, handled the initial qualification before I even knew the opportunity existed. This form of delegation saves me hundreds of hours each year, and it only works because Courtney is great and we’re disciplined about finding fit.
The goal at this stage isn’t ABC—Always Be Closing.
It’s AWAF: Are We A Fit?
I’m not for everyone and neither are you.
Partnering with the wrong client drains energy, focus, attention—and makes me dislike my job. Our qualification process begins with six questions we send before any call:
1. What sales challenges or opportunities led you to reach out now?
2. How clear is the primary objective—and how will success be measured?
3. Who would be involved, and what roles do they play?
4. What’s your ideal timeline?
5. Do you have a budget allocated?
6. What tools or processes are currently in place?
About 10-15 percent of prospects never respond.
And we’re fine with that.
If they won’t invest the time to write thoughtful answers, we won’t invest an hour trying to extract them on a call.
Elliott responded within two hours.
His answers were thoughtful and detailed.
Courtney spoke with him the next day and sent me a summary:
- They have three divisions
- Loyal employees in their 50s; heavy tribal knowledge
- No documented sales process or pipeline
- Desire to define a sales process and track progress
- Growth targets of 10%, 25%, and 100% across divisions
- January start, 12-month engagement
- Budget exists, size undisclosed
Then she added: “He wants to speak with you today. The young owner, Buddy, loves Grant Cardone. Elliott wants to learn more so he can help you sell Buddy on working with us instead.”
The Red Flags
First, one consultant hiring another. It happens, but it often leads to added complexity, misalignment, and drama.
Second, urgency without commitment. It’s one thing when a prospect needs immediate help and is ready to move forward. It’s another when they demand immediate attention while still evaluating their options.
Third, an authority gap. BANT is a simple and useful mental model for qualifying a prospect, asking: Does this person have a Budget, the Authority, a Need, and a Timeline?
Through this lens, Elliott had a Budget, a clear Need, and a Timeline.
But not Authority.
Buddy had that.
And Buddy was enamored with Grant Cardone, the billionaire whose marketing often features slow-motion struts in front of private jets.
The Rush
It was Monday, December 15th.
Courtney told Elliott my schedule was full through year-end.
He pushed back.
We had to meet before Christmas so I could sell Buddy.
In the interest of time, I recorded a Loom video.
It’s fast, personal, and asynchronous.
It lets me be clear and candid without pretending I have availability I don’t. In the video, I explained:
- I didn’t have time for a live call before Christmas
- The outcomes a real sales transformation should produce for them
- That I respect Grant Cardone—and that if his approach resonated with Buddy and could deliver those outcomes, they should pursue him
- How we’re different: deep industry understanding and direct work with me
- That January made sense for a conversation
- And I wished them well regardless
Elliott watched it immediately and replied: “This speaks to me, but not Buddy. When can you get on Zoom with Buddy?”
At that point, I decided to just call Elliott.
He answered from the golf course.
What Wasn’t Being Said
“Level with me,” I said. “What’s driving the urgency here?”
To his credit, Elliott was candid.
He’d been hired a year earlier as a consultant. The VP of Ops had been fired. Elliott had been acting as interim VP since. They were trying to sell off part of the business, but there was no sales process. They needed one designed and implemented in 90 days to prove the operation wasn’t built on tribal wisdom.
Buddy loved Grant Cardone, but Elliott knew buying videos wouldn’t solve the problem. Buddy hadn’t read any of my work or listened to our podcast.
However, the budget was $25–35K—and for tax reasons, Elliott wanted to cut the check before year-end.
He sold me.
I moved things around and agreed to a 20-minute Zoom on December 23rd.
| Ghosted On December 23rd, Courtney and I logged on. No Elliott. No Buddy. So we waited. After fifteen minutes, Courtney emailed both of them. No response. An hour later, I emailed Elliott. “Hope everything is okay on your end—I know this was a high priority for you.” No reply. Not that day. And not since. On the scoreboard, it’s a giant L. Between Courtney and me, we spent about six hours—double that in opportunity cost, when you consider the time and attention we could have spent elsewhere. But it’s only a complete loss if you don’t learn from it. The After-Action Review Here’s what this experience reinforced for me: 1. Good process doesn’t guarantee good outcomes From inbound through qualification, I wouldn’t change our process. Discipline improves odds, but it cannot eliminate risk. 2. I lost control of the narrative I allowed Elliott to frame the decision as Cardone vs. Hartmann, instead of helping Elliott and Buddy envision their ideal outcome first—and then decide who was best suited to deliver it. 3. Urgency isn’t readiness “We need to cut a check this year” felt like commitment. It wasn’t. Urgency without the direct involvement of the decision-maker is just more noise, not signal. 4. Authority > Enthusiasm Elliott cared deeply, but he didn’t have the authority to buy. As the interface, he insulated Buddy from engagement—and my Loom may have made disengagement easier. I imagine Buddy saying, “Yeah, I watched the video. I feel like I know enough now. Cancel the Zoom.” 5. The ending was the most honest signal The ghosting felt disrespectful and unprofessional. However, it was also the clearest, most candid communication we received. In hindsight, it saved us from a far worse outcome, partnering with a poor fit client on a lengthy project. I view this loss as a form of tuition. I paid to learn something. This failure forced me to think about my thinking. It reminded me how easy it is to have my judgment clouded by the urgency of the moment and the desire to compete—and win. |
| My hope is that by deconstructing this situation, you can apply some aspect of it to your own sales process: qualifying more thoughtfully, discerning between what’s being said and what’s actually happening, and being more skeptical of urgency. And if I managed to do that while reinforcing that I’m not a blowhard and still a student of the craft, all the better. Thanks for reading. I’ll see you back here next Thursday. |
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Bradley Hartmann & Co.
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