Closed Won

πŸ¦™ Slow Down, Speed Up

Brian LaManna

July 27, 2025

Read Time: 2 minutes

Search is being disrupted by AI.
​Few consumers click past Google’s AI Overview any longer.
You’d think it would be killing Google’s Ad Business.
But they just nailed Q2 earnings.
Something to watch.

NEWS TO KNOW

πŸ“š – Strategy used to land 3 of my top accounts​
πŸ“ – Sure you want ‘more’ accounts?​
πŸ’Έ – ‘Menu of Pain’ approach to discovery

NEWS TO KNOW

πŸ“š – Future of B2B sales with Anthropic: AI team selling (I joined, it’s on-demand)

UPCOMING (EVENTS, WEBINARS)

No Exec Alignment, No Trial

Never start a pilot (trial) without exec alignment.

Too many reps rush prospects into trials without a strong business case, a clear path to purchase, or executive alignment.

While pilots are a highly successful strategy to close deals, it’s usually best to “slow down, to speed up.”

If the pilot goes poorly, the deal is typically dead.

Plus, all the time investment that goes into it.

While every rep would love exec alignment, I’ve learned few are willing to make the tough ask.

They see it as potential friction and avoid it like the plague.

And if they do ask, they might get hit with “oh, they are relying on me to run this evaluation. They don’t need to be involved.”

Here’s how I combat that.

Talk Track to Steal

….and in the 10% chance they still say no….

What I’ve learned the hard way.

If the initiative isn’t valuable enough to loop in the right people, it’s best cutting things right then and there.

And when you hold your own and share β€˜why’ it is ok to part ways, suddenly, they’ll make it happen.

Better outcome than investing your time on the wrong partnership.

By the way – ‘never starting a pilot without exec alignment’ fits the 80/20 rule.

Meaning 80% of the time this is right, but there are always exceptions.

Use your best judgment too.

P.S. Here’s aΒ Mutual ​Success PlanΒ I built as a free resource, you can steal.

MEME SUNDAY

For all my sellers with EOQ next week….

GO MAKE IT HAPPEN!

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The CLOSED WON NEWSLETTER

Actionable sales tipsΒ (and some memes) delivered to your inbox every Monday. Trusted by 13,000+ sellers. Read in 2-3 minutes.