5 Ways to Maintain Deal Momentum

Prospects losing interest? Deals stalling out? As a frontline sales manager, you've seen it before—a promising opportunity slowly fizzles due to a lengthy sales process. Your team spends countless hours nurturing leads and building relationships, only to watch potential clients slip away at the finish line.

But what if you could keep deals on track and maintain momentum, even during complex, multi-stakeholder sales cycles?

In this article, we'll explore proven strategies to keep prospects engaged and align key decision-makers. 

What is Deal Momentum?

Deal momentum is the continuous forward progress of a sales opportunity through the various stages of the sales pipeline. It's the driving force that keeps a potential deal moving toward closure, maintaining interest and engagement from all parties involved.

When a deal has strong momentum, it involves:

• Regular, meaningful interactions between the sales team and prospect
• Timely responses and follow-ups from both sides
• Clear next steps and action items after each touchpoint
• Increasing buy-in from key stakeholders
• Steady progression through defined sales stages

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Why is Maintaining Deal Momentum Important?

Strong deal momentum increases conversion rates and shortens sales cycles. Unfortunately, 43% of sales leaders say sales cycle times have increased, while only 16% say they've decreased.

By maintaining momentum when prospects remain engaged, they're more likely to move swiftly through your pipeline.Consistent momentum builds deeper customer engagement. Regular, meaningful interactions build trust and show you're committed to helping them. This engagement often translates into stronger, longer-lasting customer relationships post-sale.

For your team, steady deal progress is a morale booster, providing tangible evidence of their efforts paying off and fueling motivation, which in turn boosts performance. Finally, the momentum you build during the sales process sets the tone for future interactions. Customers who experience a smooth buying process are not only more likely to become repeat buyers and advocates but also contribute to long-term business growth by sharing their positive experiences.

Signs a Deal is Stalling

How do you know if a deal is at risk of turning into a no? Research shows 44% of sales leaders say the percentage of opportunities lost to no decision has increased. Proactive management reduces the chances of that happening and involves watching out for these signs: 

• A once-responsive prospect suddenly takes days or weeks to reply to your messages, signaling a shift in priorities.
• Your follow-up emails, product demos, or proposal documents go unread or unacknowledged, indicating waning engagement with your offering.
• The prospect repeatedly reschedules or cancels important meetings, pushing back critical decision points and extending the sales timeline indefinitely.
• Conversations with the prospect become filled with ambiguous phrases like "we'll think about it" or "we'll get back to you," lacking a clear commitment or next steps you saw earlier in the process.
• The prospect raises concerns about budget constraints or asks for deep discounts that weren't previously discussed, hinting at a loss of perceived value.
• The prospect mentions competitor products or alternative solutions more frequently, suggesting they're exploring other options or using them as leverage.
• Your primary point of contact within the prospect's organization changes roles or leaves the company, leaving you without a champion to push the deal forward.
• Despite multiple conversations and exchanges of information, there's no progress in moving the deal through your sales stages. Key decision points remain out of reach.
• The urgency that once characterized your interactions fades, and timelines become increasingly flexible and open-ended.

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5 Ways to Maintain Deal Momentum

So you’ve identified some deals where progress is slowing down. How do you prevent that from happening? Follow these five tips:  

Develop Personalized Coaching Strategies

Developing personalized coaching strategies means creating custom plans for each AE, focusing on their strengths and areas for improvement. It moves away from one-size-fits-all training to give support that helps each person reach their potential and improve their sales effort.

Personalized coaching accelerates skill development, boosts confidence, and directly impacts deal momentum. Plus, sellers who report having an effective sales manager, regular coaching, and effective sales training are 63% more likely to become top performers.

With tailored guidance, AEs are better equipped to navigate complex sales, maintain prospect engagement, and close deals.

Start by using sales performance data and observational insights to identify each AE's strengths and areas for improvement. Use tools like Saleboat to analyze activity patterns, win rates, and deal speed, identifying areas for targeted coaching.

Create customized coaching plans that target specific skill gaps while reinforcing existing strengths. For instance, an AE struggling with objections could benefit from role-playing exercises and script development, while a top performer might need guidance on strategic account planning.

Implement a mix of one-on-one sessions, team workshops, and real-time deal coaching. Provide hands-on guidance during deal negotiations or objection handling, but also allow autonomy for AEs to develop problem-solving skills.

Or better yet, adjust the coaching method based on your rep’s skill level. For example: 

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Tailoring your approach to each AE empowers them to maintain strong momentum across their pipeline.

Set Clear Goals and Metrics

Break down your annual targets into clear, doable weekly or monthly goals. This strategy sets up a string of small, motivating wins that keep your team energized, driving short-term achievements that snowball into long-term success.

Implement a system of consistent check-ins to review key performance indicators (KPIs). Track essential metrics like lead conversion rates (to boost success), average deal sizes (for bigger wins), and pipeline velocity (to keep the momentum flowing).

Host bi-weekly or monthly reviews to zero in on key metrics, deal progress, and potential bottlenecks—keeping your team aligned and prioritizing deals effectively.

By setting clear goals and tracking progress, you’ll create a culture where accountability thrives and continuous improvement is the norm. This data-driven approach keeps deals moving and helps your team adjust strategies in real time so no opportunity is missed.

Focus on Value Delivery

Delivering value isn't just a strategy—it's the key to keeping your prospects hooked and improving your chances of closing more deals.

Value can mean different things for different prospects—whether it's helping them save precious time, boosting their revenue, or minimizing risks. The key is tailoring your message to what matters most to them.

This approach is crucial because it keeps prospects engaged by demonstrating that you understand their unique situation and have solutions that directly benefit them. Consistently delivering value builds trust and strengthens relationships. 

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It also gives you an edge over competitors who might be stuck taking a cookie-cutter approach that leaves prospects yawning.

To implement this strategy, start by conducting thorough discovery calls to uncover your prospect's key priorities and challenges. These calls are gold for learning the ins and outs of their business, so you can craft presentations that hit home by highlighting exactly how your solutions solve their toughest challenges.

Regularly share industry insights, case studies, and expert content that fits your prospect's situation. Use tools like Dock to track prospect interactions and preferences, ensuring every touchpoint delivers value.

Finally, make it a habit to share industry insights, real-world case studies, and expert content tailored to your prospect’s world. Keep prospects engaged and position yourself as a trusted advisor, ensuring they’re more likely to move forward with you as a partner.

Create a Consistent Follow-up Cadence

A smart follow-up cadence ensures no prospect falls through the cracks, keeps your solution top-of-mind, and opens up multiple chances to deliver value and tackle any concerns.

Lay out a clear, action-packed timeline for follow-ups shaped around your sales cycle and how your prospects typically behave. For example:

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Switch things up with a mix of communication channels to keep your outreach fresh, engaging, and impossible to ignore. This might include a combination of emails, phone calls, social media touches, and even personalized video messages.

Make every touchpoint personal—build on past interactions, shared content, and fresh insights into your prospect’s needs and challenges. Use automation tools to schedule routine check-ins, but always add a personal touch to your communications.

Fine-tune your cadence based on how your prospects respond—some will crave more frequent check-ins, while others may prefer a bit more breathing room.

Saleboat shines here. It flags stalled deals (deals with no next steps) and gives them momentum by bringing the highest potential one’s to a rep’s attention and creating tasks for them.

Build and stick to a personalized, consistent follow-up cadence that keeps the conversation alive and guides your prospects through every stage of the sales process.

Build Relationships

Focus on creating value, understanding needs, and positioning yourself as a trusted advisor rather than just a vendor.

Strong relationships lead to increased customer loyalty, higher retention rates, and a steady stream of referrals.

When you build solid relationships, clients are more likely to stick with you through challenges, provide valuable feedback, and become advocates for your brand. This keeps deals moving and also brings in warm leads through referrals.

Set up quarterly virtual coffee chats to discuss trends and upcoming projects or attend relevant industry conferences together. Use these touchpoints to offer insights, share relevant industry news, or simply listen to their concerns.

Show your commitment by going above and beyond occasionally—send a handwritten note once a quarter or share industry reports directly tied to a challenge they mentioned during your last meeting. For satisfied clients, don't shy away from asking for referrals. 

These relationships become your biggest asset, not just for closing deals but for securing long-term growth. 

Maintain Deal Momentum with Saleboat

By automatically flagging deals with no scheduled next steps, Saleboat makes sure no opportunity is missed. It goes a step further by creating tasks in your CRM, prompting timely follow-ups and maintaining engagement with prospects. Ready to ramp up your deal flow? Join Saleboat today and find new ways to close deals.