Never Lose Another Deal to “No Decision”

David Svigel
Apr 14, 2015

2 mins

It’s every sales manager’s nightmare. While reviewing the sales team’s monthly sales forecasts, too many opportunities forecasted to close this month at 90% probability are deals that were previously forecasted to close at similar rates of probability. Why so little progress in closing these deals?

The product has all the “must have or we won’t buy” functionality specified. The prospects enjoyed multiple on-site sales calls and full-day visits at the seller’s headquarters. Yet despite all the time and money invested in closing these accounts, they continue to languish month after month with no conclusion in sight.

Many times the prospect decides to continue doing “business as usual” and pushes the purchase off for another month or two. Sales reps dutifully call back again and again, not recognizing that they have lost this opportunity to “no decision” and need to remove the prospect from the forecast.

In reality, a decision not to buy from you, now or next month, is a decision — just not the one you were planning for.

Turn “No Decision” into “Buy Now”

Prospects who put off making a purchase decision lose valuable resources such as time, money, and productivity with every minute they delay. And until they understand the cost to delay in dollars and cents, they have no urgency to move forward.

Conversely, prospects must understand the financial benefit your solution delivers in terms that reflect the buyer’s specific needs and situation (e.g., lower costs, cost avoidance, increased revenue, greater productivity). Presenting the expected Return on Investment (ROI) within a compelling business case is key is to instilling confidence that yours is the right solution for the prospect’s needs. A positive decision won’t be far behind.

Why ROI is So Important

Empower your team with an ROI calculator to strengthen your business case, accelerate decision making, and significantly improve your ability to close more business. It’s that important, and here’s why.

ROI demonstrates (in dollars) what your product or service is worth. This is perhaps the most important aspect of ROI because it turns “subjective” into “objective” and transforms “no decision” into a closed sale.
ROI helps you build stakeholder support in a complex sales cycle. Tying a dollar value to your product or service helps drive a “go/no-go” decision. Decision makers want to know this dollar value, which is difficult to provide without an ROI tool.
ROI uncovers additional benefits. The process of calculating ROI allows the sales person to uncover benefits that might not be obvious.
ROI leads to a higher purchase ranking. Once the decision has been made to purchase a solution, ROI determines ranking among other priorities. investments with a greater ROI are likely ranked higher and are purchased sooner.

Conclusion

If your prospects don’t see a clear financial impact, they won’t buy—it’s that simple. Without an ROI-driven business case, deals stall, priorities shift, and “no decision” becomes the default.

The solution? Use an ROI calculator to quantify the cost of inaction and the value of your solution. When prospects see the numbers, they move from hesitation to commitment.

This post was updated on January 31, 2025 to reflect the latest industry trends.