pipeline – James White https://www.jameswhite.business The Sales Expert Mon, 20 Jul 2026 11:24:24 +0000 en-GB hourly 1 https://www.jameswhite.business/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/James-Site-Favicon-100x100.webp pipeline – James White https://www.jameswhite.business 32 32 Let’s Talk After the Summer? Why MSP Prospects Delay Buying Decisions https://www.jameswhite.business/lets-talk-after-the-summer/ Sat, 11 Jul 2026 08:35:08 +0000 https://www.jameswhite.business/?p=25314

Executive Summary

Every summer, MSP salespeople hear the same response:


“Let’s pick this up after the holidays.”


It’s tempting to assume annual leave has killed the opportunity.
In reality, holidays are rarely the reason deals stall.
More often than not, prospects delay because they don’t yet feel enough urgency to act. If the business problem was significant enough, they would find the time before they went away.

In this article you’ll learn:

Every Summer, MSP Sales Pipelines Slow Down

July and August can be frustrating months for managed service providers.


Decision-makers disappear on holiday.


Projects pause.


Meetings get postponed.


Pipelines appear to grind to a halt.


After more than 30 years in B2B sales, I’ve noticed something interesting.


The businesses that continue winning work throughout the summer aren’t necessarily selling better services.

They're simply uncovering urgency better than everyone else.

Because holidays rarely stop people buying.
They simply expose a lack of urgency that was already there.

Why Do Prospects Say "Let's Talk After the Summer"?

This is one of the most common questions I hear from MSP sales teams.


Typically, the conversation has gone well.


An IT Director says they’re reviewing suppliers.


A Managing Director admits they’re unhappy with support.


Someone downloads your cybersecurity guide.


Discovery goes well.


Everyone seems positive.
Then comes the familiar response:


“Let’s revisit this after the holidays.”


Many salespeople immediately blame timing.


I think that’s the wrong conclusion.


Instead, ask yourself:

If ransomware hit their business tomorrow, would they still wait until September?

Probably not.
Urgency nearly always beats inconvenience.

Why MSP Prospects Don’t Buy (And Why You Usually Discover It Too Late)

A quote by James White: If the problem mattered enough, they wouldn't wait until September.

How Can MSP Salespeople Create Urgency Without Being Pushy?

One of the biggest misconceptions in sales is that urgency comes from pressure.

It doesn’t.

Pressure comes from the salesperson.

Urgency comes from the prospect recognising the cost of doing nothing.

Those are two very different things.

Good salespeople don’t invent urgency.
They help prospects discover it for themselves.

Why Prospects Don’t Buy: The 6 Hidden Reasons MSP Deals Stall

Help Prospects Visualise Life After the Decision

Rather than pushing harder, help them picture the benefits of making the decision before they leave.

Questions like these work well:

  • How would it feel if this was already underway before you returned?
  • Would September be easier if your new IT partner had already started planning the transition?
  • What would happen if this remained unresolved until October?

People naturally like clearing their desk before going away.
You’re simply helping them remove one more item from the list.

Read about The Value Gap

A quote by James White: Why Discounting Is Usually the Wrong Answer

Why Discounting Is Usually the Wrong Answer

Every summer I see MSPs making the same mistake.
They panic.
Then they discount.

Perhaps it’s:

  • Free onboarding
  • Reduced project fees
  • Lower monthly support costs
  • "Summer specials"

Please don’t.

The moment you reduce your price simply because it’s July or August, you’re telling the prospect your pricing wasn’t fixed in the first place.

That’s incredibly difficult to recover from.
Instead…
Increase value.

What Can MSPs Offer Instead of Discounts?

Value-added offers reinforce your expertise without reducing profitability.

For example:

Instead of Discounting

Add Value Instead

Reduced onboarding fee

Priority onboarding before September

Lower monthly support

Complimentary Microsoft 365 security assessment

Discounted project work

Cyber Essentials readiness review

Reduced consultancy

Staff cybersecurity awareness training

The investment stays the same.

The perceived value increases.

Everybody wins.

A quote by James White: Prospects rarely tell you why they won't buy. Great salespeople create conversations where they don't have to hide it.

Sometimes the Best Close Is Simply Being Honest

If you’ve built trust throughout the sales process, sometimes honesty is the strongest close available.

You might say:

“I’d genuinely love to help solve this. If we can get everything agreed before you go away, we’ll spend August preparing everything so you’re ready to hit the ground running when everyone returns. How does that sound?”

No pressure.
No manipulation.
Just a genuine desire to help.
Surprisingly often, that’s exactly what prospects need to hear.

My Experience Working with MSP Sales Teams

Across hundreds of sales conversations I’ve reviewed with MSPs, I rarely see deals lost because someone went on holiday.
Instead, opportunities usually stall because discovery didn’t uncover enough business impact.

The prospect liked the salesperson.
They liked the company.
They even liked the proposal.
They simply didn’t believe solving the problem today was significantly better than solving it in six weeks’ time.

That’s a discovery issue.
Not a holiday issue.

Why Most Discovery Calls Fail (And How I Run Mine)

One Final Thought

Don’t confuse timing with urgency.
Prospects don’t delay because it’s summer.
They delay because the pain of staying where they are still feels smaller than the effort of making a decision today.

Your role isn’t to create pressure.
Your role is to help them recognise the cost of waiting.
When you do that well, summer becomes far less of an obstacle than most MSP salespeople believe.

Why Most Discovery Calls Fail (And How I Run Mine)

Diary of an IT Sales Expert Podcast – How I Manage Long Sales Cycles

Frequently Asked Questions

Holiday periods can delay meetings, but they rarely stop important buying decisions. Businesses still make decisions when the need is urgent enough.

Generally, no. Discounting weakens your value proposition. It’s usually more effective to offer additional services or implementation benefits instead.

Focus on helping prospects understand the consequences of delaying their decision rather than trying to force them into making one.

Questions that explore business impact work well, such as:

  • What happens if nothing changes?
  • What’s the cost of waiting until September?
  • How would your business benefit if this was already underway?

Most delays happen because the perceived cost of staying the same is still lower than the perceived effort or risk of changing.

]]> it’s 3 or 4 https://www.jameswhite.business/its-3-or-4/ Tue, 28 Apr 2026 11:12:48 +0000 https://www.jameswhite.business/?p=24963

In today’s edition, we explore why you need more deals in your pipeline than you think to achieve your revenue goals—and what the implications are if you don’t have this in place. Let’s get to it.

We always need more than we think.

Especially in sales.

I was asked a question some time ago about how you can ensure you hit the targets that you have.

  • Do you need to be lucky?

  • Do you need to work incredibly hard?

  • Do you need to charge higher prices?

All these things help, but there is one simple way of hitting your targets, and that’s to build a pipeline full of leads.

So, what do you need in your pipeline? And what should a good pipeline look like?

I always work on a simple rule:

Ensure that your pipeline and the final stages of your sales process are a minimum of 3 (and ideally 4) times the value of the target you want to hit.

Let’s break it down a bit more.

A quote by Brian Tracy depicting the importance of continuous prospecting.

Let’s say your business wants to achieve a new
revenue target of £500,000 for the year.

You may have certain months that are stronger or weaker than others, but for the sake of this example, let’s say the target is spread across a 12-month period.

To achieve your target, you will need to hit a revenue of £42,000 per month.

So, to hit this number, what should the value of your pipeline be?

The answer is a minimum of £126,000, but ideally £168,000. Let me explain why.

There are two main reasons:

  1. We don’t win all the business that we have (or think we will)

  2. All too often, deals don’t come in when we want them to

I was once told some sage advice by an old Sales Director:

“Plan conservatively but execute optimistically.”

Put simply, don’t do what most salespeople do
and expect that everything will come in. Be realistic.

We always need more than we think.

We might have a good feeling about all the leads we have, but if you are converting more than 2 in 3 leads at the final stage of your sales process, then you are probably too cheap. Even the very best salespeople in the world wouldn’t expect to convert more than 2 out of 3 in the final stages.

In addition, even good deals that will happen often get delayed for different reasons. A person has left or just joined the business, a budget has been put on hold for a few months, or a bigger, more important priority has come up.

Whilst we always try to avoid these issues, they happen. It’s life.

What matters is that we don’t totally rely on them to achieve the targets we want. Doing this means we become prisoners of hope—and no one wants to be a prisoner of anything.

When our pipeline is the same as, or just over, the target, we also exude desperation—which is always a bad thing in a sales deal. We make rash decisions and push prospects to do things “just to hit the target,” and invariably that works against us.

Yet when we have a funnel full of leads that we are engaging with and having good conversations with, the pressure is off. That comes through in the way we work, and that “hidden 10%” is the secret to winning more.

The best way to see your pipeline is like people spinning plates. They continue to put plates up on tall needles and spin them so they can keep adding more. They keep an eye on each plate and give them a nudge now and again to keep them going—until the end of the act, when all the plates come down in an orderly way.

So, what is the best way to build up a 3 to 4 times pipeline?

ABP – Always Be Prospecting.

All too often, people do some prospecting, add some good deals to the pipeline, and then get overconfident. They assume that because they have £500,000 in their pipeline, the year is done. They relax. They take their foot off the gas—and when this happens, the car comes to a stop.

The way to avoid this is to put time aside daily for new prospecting.

Whether that’s contacting people through LinkedIn, sending prospecting videos, making calls, or another form of outreach—build it into your routine.

Make it a discipline. Set yourself mini targets: connect with 3 people a day, create 5 videos, or make 10 calls.

When you do this (alongside your existing sales work), you give yourself the best chance of adding new leads—and you also subconsciously take the pressure off the current deals in your pipeline.

What’s the worst that can happen?

  • You have too much business coming in?

  • You can choose who you work with?

  • You can raise prices due to demand?

None of these are bad outcomes.

So, work on the rule of 3 or 4.

Commit to doing something daily to build your pipeline.

You can never have enough leads—and when you have more than you need, good things start to happen, and targets start to get hit.

Try this out and let me know how you get on. A good starting point is to look at your current target, review your pipeline (especially the final two stages), and identify the gap. If it’s not 3 to 4 times the target, get to work.

Does this cover a challenging sales or business situation you’ve had?

If not, what would you like me to cover in a future newsletter?

Let me know. I read every reply, even if I can’t respond to them all.

Thanks, as ever, for being part of the community.

Have a brilliant sales week ahead, and remember: Eat or be eaten.

]]> Make December Count https://www.jameswhite.business/make-december-count/ Sat, 07 Dec 2024 09:13:40 +0000 https://www.jameswhite.business/?p=19243

Hello Reader,

 

2025 is around the corner. How are your sales this year looking? And more importantly, how does your pipeline for next year look?

If your pipeline isn’t where it needs to be right now, you’re leaving money – and momentum – on the table. December isn’t the time to wind down; it’s the time to gear up.

Many sales professionals see December as a dead month for prospecting, but that’s a mistake. In reality, it’s one of the most untapped opportunities of the year, as this period holds unique opportunities – if you know how to approach it strategically. Because while others are slowing down, you could be using this time to get ahead, secure leads, and position yourself as the front-runner for 2025.

Are you starting to see how December could be your saving grace?

It’s simple: the work you do now will determine how strong your start to the new year will be. Miss this chance, and you risk falling behind. But get it right, and you could set the stage for record-breaking results.

So, if you’re serious about making 2025 your best year yet, here’s how to maximise your December prospecting efforts:

 

1. Pave the way for 2025

December is a perfect time to lay the groundwork for January conversations. You can reach out to prospects to:

  • Gather insights about their priorities for the new year; and
  • Confirm follow-up meetings or check-ins for early January (you want to get in before your competition).
 

Remember that decision-makers often have two things on their minds this time of year:

  1. Wrapping up current initiatives; and
  2. Planning for the year ahead.
 

So this creates a window where they may be more open to discussing solutions that address their goals for 2025. And you can use this to your advantage by:

  • Framing your outreach around helping them prepare for the challenges or opportunities of the coming year.
  • Position your offering as a way to get ahead of their competition before January begins.
 

2. Laid-back leaders = easier to connect with

While some industries double down during December, many also slow down. This means many leaders will be a little more laid-back. Therefore, December is a great time to connect on a human level. Focus on relationship building as well, because your prospects might have more time to engage in meaningful conversations.

You can take this opportunity to:

  • Offer insights, free resources, or advice without expecting a sale. This positions you as a valuable partner rather than just another vendor.
  • You could also send thoughtful notes of appreciation to clients or prospects you’ve interacted with this year. This adds that extra touch of positioning you as a pleasure to work with.
 

3. Share a joke!

Generic outreach is always a no-go, but in December, it’s even more critical to tailor your messaging. It shows you’ve put some thought into reaching out to them, and they’re not just another number.

A great idea is to stand out with a creative approach.

Try using a little humour in your outreach. Share a joke that’s appropriate for them to tell at the table during the family lunch or dinner during Christmas.

You could say something like, “Oh, by the way, I heard this joke and thought you might like it for the dinner table at Christmas…” You’ll really stand out this way, plus you’ll be remembered.

4. When the competitors are away… You shall play

As I mentioned earlier, while December can be busy for some, many decision-makers experience fewer meetings and a quieter inbox toward the middle of the month. Use this to your advantage:

  • It’s a chance to stand out in their inbox through personalised messaging and build positive relationships.
  • It could be a chance to book calls or demos during these less hectic periods, even if it’s in advance for January.
 

Remember to follow up swiftly. Your responsiveness can make a lasting impression, showing that you’re available all year round.

 

5. Be mindful

While December offers opportunities, timing is key. Be considerate of:

  • Holiday closures or reduced availability toward the end of the month.
  • The fact that some prospects may be in a reflective or family-focused mindset.
 

A good cut-off time for calling would be 23rd December. Thereafter, I wouldn’t recommend calling. What you might want to consider instead, is simply advertising your services, for example, on social media.

Many sales professionals ease up on their efforts in December, but maintaining momentum can set you apart. It’s a great window of opportunity to show your prospects that you’re reliable and committed year-round.

So, if you use December to strategically build your pipeline, you’ll gain an edge and set the stage for massive sales success for 2025.

But if you feel like you aren’t quite ready to dive into “December prospecting” or that you’re not as confident as you want to be – yet… Then, here’s another tip:

Use December to review your skills and enhance them. Sharpen the blade of your “sales knife” – if you will.

And if you want help sharpening your “sales knife,” I’ve got two powerful resources designed to help you crush your 2025 sales goals, at a holiday-exclusive price:

1. Master Sales Qualification with BANT

Poor qualification of leads will result in poor sales. But you can learn to transform prospects into paying customers using BANT. In this course, you’ll unlock all you need to know about BANT through:

  • 10 specific videos, deep-diving into the BANT Sales Methodology
  • 8 downloadable resources with effective BANT techniques to use in your sales process
  • Questions that help uncover your prospects’ priorities, decision-making processes, and timelines.
 

2. Build the Ultimate Sales Foundation with TRACKFARE

Most people try to convert prospects into customers. But I believe in turning prospects into loyal customers. The method I use for this, has worked for me throughout all my years in sales.

I call it TRACKFARE. It equips you with the 9 essential characteristics for sales success. Trustworthy, Approachable, Knowledgeable, are the first 3, can you guess the other 6?

If you can’t, that’s okay, you’ll find them in the course, where you’ll also discover:

  • Actionable steps that are immediately implementable, so you can display these attributes in every interaction, and build your pipeline of loyal customers.
  • And you’ll have access to video content, plus practical checklists to turn theory into practice.
 

So here’s the deal:

Each course is usually £69, but I’ve dropped the price to £30 each for December only. So to get both these courses, you’ll normally pay £138. And now… it’ll cost you only £60!

BUT if you want BOTH paying & loyal customers, then I’ll give you both courses for just £50! That means you get £138 of value-packed teachings – for only £50.

That’s over 60% savings, or £88 OFF – think of all the curries you could buy with that!

But regardless of the savings, this is a deal designed to supercharge your 2025 sales.

And it’s only for December.

So if you want paying customers, loyal customers, or both – at a never-to-be-seen again discounted price – then go here to claim it for yourself now:

Get BANT
Get TRACKFARE
Get both for £50

Remember, as of today there are only 25 days to the new year. And if you aren’t where you need to be, something’s got to change.

Until next week, keep growing and stay focused.

James

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