Hey Niepodam,

December 18th.
Rep: “He said it’s not a priority this quarter.”
Me: “Did you ask why?”
Rep: “…he said budget’s frozen.”
Me: “Did you ask if that was real, or just the easy out?”

Silence.

Here’s the thing: Most “not now” responses in December aren’t real objections. They’re deflections.

Why? Because your buyer’s burned out.

They’ve got 13 tabs open, 6 internal fires, and 1 CFO breathing down their neck.

So they default to the easiest excuse: “Let’s circle back in January.”

But January never comes.

Here’s the mindset shift I coach reps on:

Your job isn’t to convince.
It’s to clarify.

Most end-of-year deals die because the rep accepts vague pushback at face value.

• “Budget’s frozen”
• “Reorg coming”
• “Need to align internally”

Okay: With who? When? Why now versus Q1?

Here’s the exact play I teach:

When a buyer stalls, say this:

“Totally fair. I know things get messy in December. But just to help me understand, is this a ‘not now’ because the timing’s off, or more of a ‘not ever’ because priorities shifted?”

Then stop talking.

Let the silence work for you.

If they say “Not ever,” you’ve got clarity. Close the loop.

If they say “Not now,” follow with:

“Got it, so if budget was magically freed up or we made the rollout easier, this would still be a priority?”

Now you’re back in the game.

Bonus tactic: The Fast Forward Close

If they’re still dodgy, I use this:

“Let’s say it’s Feb 15th, budget’s live, team’s less swamped. Would this be back on your radar?”

If yes → schedule a forward commit + pre-kickoff plan.
If no → disqualify and move on.

Takeaway:

End-of-year deals don’t die from objections. They die from ambiguity.

Push for clarity, not pressure.

You’ll either save the deal, or save your time.

Alan "Modern Seller" Ruchtein.

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