๐ช๐ต๐ ๐ถ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐น๐น๐ถ๐ด๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐บ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐ด๐ป ๐ถ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ณ๐ฎ๐๐๐ฒ๐๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ผ ๐ถ๐บ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ถ๐ป ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐
On Wednesday, I wrote about why the first five minutes of most sales meetings are uncomfortable โ and how that discomfort quietly sets deals up to drift. Yesterday, I wrote about why meeting next steps default to demos and result in drift and low win rates.
Hereโs the part most teams miss:
Win rates donโt improve because sellers get better at persuasion.
They improve because meetings get better at helping buyers decide.
When meetings arenโt designed to advance a decision, sellers default to activity โ demos, proposals, follow-ups โ that create motion but not progress.
High-performing teams treat meetings as ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ป๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐, not conversations.
That one shift changes everything.
Instead of asking:
๐๐ฐ๐ธ ๐ฅ๐ฐ ๐ ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฎ ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ญ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ต๐ช๐ฏ๐จ?
They ask:
๐๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ค๐ช๐ด๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ด๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ญ๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ค๐ข๐ถ๐ด๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ฆ ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ต?
When meetings are designed this way:
โข Buyers understand why the meeting exists
โข Curiosity replaces pitching
โข Misalignment surfaces early
โข Bad deals exit sooner
โข Real deals gain momentum faster
Most importantly, buyers leave ๐ฐ๐น๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ โ even if the answer is โnot now.โ
This is why intelligent meeting design reliably improves win rates:
โข Fewer deals enter the funnel on hope
โข Fewer late-stage discounts
โข Less drift into no decision
โข More buyer-led momentum
The reality for CROs:
If your pipeline is full but outcomes are inconsistent, the issue is rarely volume or effort.
Itโs that meetings arenโt designed to move decisions forward.
Thatโs the lever.