Google released Gemini 3 this past Tuesday.
NEWS TO KNOW
Most people initially thought Google would be disrupted by AI.
The opposite is proving true. It might be the best Enterprise model on the market now.
Even rival Sam Altman (OpenAI CEO) congratulated the team.
📚 – How to Go from SDR to AE
BEST FROM LAST WEEK
📝 – Sales Truth You May Not Want to Hear
💸 – Lessons From a Botched Exec Demo
Why Your Deals Die in the Final Mile (And the Fix)
Picture this: You’ve spent months nurturing a deal.
Multiple calls, demo after demo, pricing conversations.
Everything feels aligned. Then… radio silence. The prospect goes dark.
Sound familiar?
Here’s the thing: most deals don’t die because of price or product fit.
They die because momentum hits a road block at some point and status quo wins out.
You’re stuck in “checking in” purgatory while your champion loses steam and competing priorities take over.
The remedy? Always have a value-added next step ready to go.
The “Check In” Trap
We’ve all been there. You end calls with:
- “I’ll circle back next week to see how things are going”
- “Let me know when you’re ready for next steps”
- “Should we schedule a follow-up to touch base?”
This is deal death by a thousand cuts.
Every “check in” call moves you further from the sale and closer to the “we’ve decided to hold off for now” email.
Late-Stage Plays
Instead of generic follow-ups, build a menu of value-driven next steps you can pull from.
Here are some that work consistently:
Implementation Scoping Call: “Based on what you shared about your Q1 goals, I’d love to have our implementation team walk through exactly what the first 30 days would look like if we moved forward.”
Reference Call: “I have a customer who was dealing with the exact same challenge around data migration. Would it be helpful to have a quick call with their VP of Operations?”
Executive Alignment Session: “It sounds like getting Sarah’s buy-in is crucial. What if we did a 20-minute call focused specifically on the ROI model she cares most about? I’ll also loop in my CXO that went through this similarly.”
Customer Success Preview: “Our CS team has a framework for companies exactly your size. Want to see what your success plan would look like in the first quarter?”
Industry Event/Webinar: “We’re hosting a webinar next Tuesday with three other companies in your space discussing this exact challenge of _____. Interested in joining?”
Each of these moves the deal forward while adding genuine value.
No fluff, no filler.
The NSTW Framework That Changed Everything
At my last company, we were required to fill out a field “NSTW” prior to every call. Hated having to do the admin work.
But it trained my brain.
NSTW: Next Step to Win
This is your ideal outcome from the conversation, plus 1-2 backup options.
Now, I do it in every deal in my own notes and add it to a Mutual Success Plan.
I’ll jot out all steps we’ve done so far to show mutual time invested.
Then I’ll add the next 2-3 ideal steps in the process.
When I pull this up, I say: “Hey Shane, I spent some time last night building a mutual success plan to keep us fully aligned and wanted to get your thoughts on something if that’s cool.”
Plant this seed at the beginning of your call and come back to it at the end.
Critical: Do not show more than 2-3 next steps to avoid overwhelming.
It’s a compass for what success looks like, not a full roadmap.
Great backdrop (sharing your screen) for your discovery of their decision process too.
The Mutual Success Plan in Action
Here’s what this looks like in practice:
What We’ve Accomplished Together:
- Initial discovery call with you and the team (45 mins)
- Technical deep dive with your engineering lead (30 mins)
- Pricing discussion and custom proposal delivered (20 mins)
Next Steps to Success:
- Implementation scoping call with our delivery team (30 mins, this Friday)
- Reference call with similar customer (20 mins, early next week)
This visual reinforces momentum and creates urgency without being pushy.
You’re showing investment from both sides.
Your Action Plan
Starting this week:
- Build your menu: Write down 5-7 value-added next steps you can use in any deal
- Create your NSTW template: Before every call, identify your ideal next step plus 2 backups
- Start using mutual success plans: Even if it’s just in your own notes initially
The goal isn’t to complicate your process.
It’s to ensure every conversation moves toward a decision instead of just moving toward another conversation.
Your deals don’t have to die in the final mile.
Give them a clear path to the finish line.
Win the week!!!
