What to Sell When the Market Stops Buying Growth

Something changed in B2B sales in Q2, and many sales teams have yet to get the message.

Research by Matthew Dixon and Ted McKenna found that 40% to 60% of B2B deals are now lost to customer indecision rather than because a competitor won the bid. And the hesitation only compounds: Forrester’s State of Business Buying found that 89% of B2B purchases now involve two or more departments, so every extra stakeholder is one more person who can quietly freeze the deal. This is occurring amid reports from The Conference Board that its Measure of CEO Confidence fell from 59 in Q1 2026 to 47 in Q2 – which is enough for anyone to expect only worse. When confidence drops that sharply, the caution spreads through every buying committee in the market.

As someone responsible for revenue at Sombra, I see this change practically every day. No longer does everyone ask me how much the deal will help to grow the business. Everyone now asks me how badly things could possibly go wrong if they sign on the dotted line. The tone of the very first call has shifted from ambition to self-protection.

This is an upside-down change and everyone should know how to adapt. Here is what has worked for us.

Stability Wins the Day

When the economy stalls, the companies stop focusing on “more” and turn to protecting what they currently have instead, including their margins, people, existing customer base, and cash flow. That presents an opportunity for those who are marketing to that economy, but only if the message fits the environment. The teams that keep selling yesterday’s story tend to watch their pipeline quietly stall.

Previously, our message was always about how a client could benefit from our solution. Today, our message focuses on what they will no longer lose. While we used to talk about growth, today we focus on waste, predictability, and the impact of doing nothing on their margin. When an economy is cautious, “this will make your quarter more boring and more predictable” is more compelling than “this will revolutionize everything.” Boring, in this market, has quietly become a genuine selling point.

Make the ROI Clear Prior to Signing, Not Afterwards

Feature tours are not that hot anymore. What people care about from the very first call is how this will change things for them when they sign. Will it protect their margin? Eliminate their cost center? Prevent an error they are currently making? If we walk away from a first call thinking we need to prove it to them – we have already lost ground.

This means that the ROI discussion takes place prior to any proposal discussion and ties to something that already exists on their financials, not just something we want to show off. If we cannot tie it back to something on the client’s bottom line, that’s the end of the discussion.

Show Them Themselves, Not Your Best Case Study

Everyone has a favorite child when it comes to case studies, but very few people actually care about the case study that you are presenting – at least in the way that you think they do. Looking nice with their logo on it, yes, but converting, no way. Relevancy is the key here.

We stopped leading with our best case studies and started leading with the most relevant ones – similar headcount, similar pressure, similar mess. As soon as you get the buyer to realize “hey this is just like us” you stop talking about how great you are and start talking about whether you can handle their stuff. Case study should be a mirror of some sort, not just a show-off.

Fear of Being Wrong Beats Desire to Be Right

Modern customers are more wary of getting the decision wrong than they are thrilled by the possible results. This shifts the sequence of events in the sales cycle. The upside never happens when the transaction is perceived as too risky/expensive to reverse even if it is extremely profitable, or when the customer cannot envision what might go wrong.

We start talking about the risks involved from the beginning – our rollout, first 30 days of working together, and how to remedy the situation if something is wrong, not IF. Only when the customer feels confident that the downside is low do they have the opportunity to get excited about the upside. Addressing the worst case out loud is what earns you the right to describe the best one.

Being Selective Is a Strategy, Not a Luxury

Budgets are tighter, which means companies want fewer vendors and better terms from each one. That’s a lot of pressure to say yes to everything that comes through the door, especially when the pipeline already feels thin.

But that does not mean every closed sale will be a good one. Some clients might come with low-profit margins, unclear objectives, or constant demands for customization that require much time, which you lack. Such deals can become costly to your firm and distract from other, better clients. Turning down the wrong deal is not about losing business – it is about preserving the resources to get the right one. Every yes you hand to a bad fit is a quiet no to a good one you have not met yet.

None of this is about giving up on growth. It’s about earning the right to talk about it. Prove you’re safe before you try to prove you’re exciting – reduce the risk, make the ROI obvious, show the buyer their own reflection, and be honest about which deals are actually worth chasing. Do that first, and growth stops being the hard sell. It becomes the easy next step.