Return-Path: Delivered-To: andrew@sterlingcal.com Received: from reseller401.webserversystems.com by reseller401.webserversystems.com with LMTP id gGzGOP8Xu2itPg4AchKAPA (envelope-from ) for ; Fri, 05 Sep 2025 12:03:59 -0500 Return-path: Envelope-to: andrew@sterlingcal.com Delivery-date: Fri, 05 Sep 2025 12:03:59 -0500 Received: from o170.ptr9231.mail.beehiiv.com ([159.183.140.172]:5088) by reseller401.webserversystems.com with esmtps (TLS1.2) tls TLS_ECDHE_RSA_WITH_AES_128_GCM_SHA256 (Exim 4.98.1) (envelope-from ) id 1uuZqx-00000003vCz-0Cki for andrew@sterlingcal.com; Fri, 05 Sep 2025 12:03:59 -0500 DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=mail.beehiiv.com; h=content-type:date:from:mime-version:subject:reply-to:list-unsubscribe: list-unsubscribe-post:to:cc:content-type:date:from:subject:to; s=s1; bh=5irlc//n/FgrDPtgqG9xID3TEayFxBFozijgRw6aNFc=; b=Ia4M75in7uCX+CMa1lW/uc3CObOzlHvjA42C/GvsnwzwYFsMAJHJxBzHDGPHNHK7H3Or E6xaJoECFm9EYY62Q3r0axDsmk7I0YEwMWgMEydGk7bFXYhCU20nUMH9ne91C7MHdhvJb8 M0qUPXMqdS+fIMnd53iGV/J1+0vHwoAuDE2zgTkRFXh4Xwig2645DatIxLg7GIjjgnRzlI Gq7t6h9JobQeXB6fQN00c1wtN15dwS3phnG4SXpQaCF0NOlUtNzV+tNjjgR5DItAAg9l01 A9/O5NNltNIU745NYc3yE8GBM9J8Ay/1uLzgzR6S0coJogutSitwcvHzOovYmqXQ== Received: by recvd-7487445b-hfp5q with SMTP id recvd-7487445b-hfp5q-1-68BB17CE-188 2025-09-05 17:03:10.820061414 +0000 UTC m=+8036335.366025676 Received: from NDAyMzQxODk (unknown) by geopod-ismtpd-10 (SG) with HTTP id gNxjtNmER_m8kmhVCyjYVA Fri, 05 Sep 2025 17:03:10.749 +0000 (UTC) Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary=45c2a6608739d88cf116e91eb2f3f9e9bb49e52a9af97344cb805702d08a Date: Fri, 05 Sep 2025 17:03:47 +0000 (UTC) From: Collin Stewart Mime-Version: 1.0 Message-ID: Subject: What to Do When Your Pipeline Goes Cold Reply-To: Collin Stewart Feedback-ID: =?us-ascii?Q?07629a20-0460-46c2-a704-73dac3ee518e=3Anewsletter=3A3c5b97ff-00a9-?= =?us-ascii?Q?4acc-916d-c137bca24b1d=3A23270855726497d?= List-Unsubscribe: =?us-ascii?Q?=3Cmailto=3A3c5b97ff-00a9-4acc-916d-c137bca24b1d+1d17dc26-c1df-44e?= =?us-ascii?Q?0-812a-883b6ad5b6bc+07629a20-0460-46c2-?= =?us-ascii?Q?a704-73dac3ee518e=40unsub=2Ebeehiiv=2Ecom=3E=2C?= =?us-ascii?Q?_=3Chttps=3A=2F=2Ffoundersedition=2Eco=2Funsubscribe=2FeyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbG?= =?us-ascii?Q?ciOiJIUzI1NiJ9=2EeyJzdWJzY3JpYmVyX2lkIjoi?= =?us-ascii?Q?MWQxN2RjMjYtYzFkZi00NGUwLTgxMmEtODgzYjZ?= =?us-ascii?Q?hZDViNmJjIiwicG9zdF9pZCI6IjA3NjI5YTIwLT?= =?us-ascii?Q?A0NjAtNDZjMi1hNzA0LTczZGFjM2VlNTE4ZSIsI?= =?us-ascii?Q?mxhc3RfcmVzb3VyY2VfZ3VpZCI6IlBvc3Q6MDc2?= =?us-ascii?Q?MjlhMjAtMDQ2MC00NmMyLWE3MDQtNzNkYWMzZWU?= =?us-ascii?Q?1MThlIn0=2Ee1me=5FnT2Iwe41MzLnRREsrvvIcuwxh?= =?us-ascii?Q?-lAIbww7Dyjd0=3E?= List-Unsubscribe-Post: List-Unsubscribe=One-Click sId: 3c5b97ff-00a9-4acc-916d-c137bca24b1d x-beehiiv-ids: =?us-ascii?Q?{=22account=5Fname=22=3A=22https=3A=2F=2Ffoundersedition=2Eco=2F=22=2C=22campaign=5Fid=22=3A=220?= =?us-ascii?Q?7629a20-0460-46c2-a704-73dac3ee518e=22=2C=22c?= =?us-ascii?Q?ategory=22=3A=22newsletter=22=2C=22email=5Fgenerated=5F?= =?us-ascii?Q?at=22=3A1757091790=2C=22user=5Fid=22=3A=223c5b97ff-00a9?= =?us-ascii?Q?-4acc-916d-c137bca24b1d=22}?= x-beehiiv-type: newsletter x-list-id: 3c5b97ff-00a9-4acc-916d-c137bca24b1d x-list-owner: x-newsletter: https://foundersedition.co/p/what-to-do-when-your-pipeline-goes-cold x-newsletter-id: https://foundersedition.co/ x-newsletter-signup: https://foundersedition.co/subscribe X-SG-EID: =?us-ascii?Q?u001=2E7ozyt+tmjDsHnEocxX8pymFA2v5OOh2V4Pdr6hGVjZo99sLHT4OeEg7as?= =?us-ascii?Q?oEFtQzIa0qAOkk1QezFA4qrCcff9558yNK8x6zQ?= =?us-ascii?Q?0aLhxDCyAuB9kgcSLas3IIKR+fvCUJBB3q+e3tp?= =?us-ascii?Q?w4JQMDF8Klx6D8bxGnvXnzSb2s6Rh6=2F7K6=2Ff1vF?= =?us-ascii?Q?t6yKPi6AIvr8crnnhNEv8ROKti0dvFE3zKA1o7P?= =?us-ascii?Q?tud=2F8AFb25MseaCh4Ir4F72lWCN34uDKPOQSo1+?= =?us-ascii?Q?2E82EJR6y73l=2FORXbYEd6=2F5Ot6LfPqR1WB6tZJz?= =?us-ascii?Q?2c1ceNz8=3D?= X-SG-ID: =?us-ascii?Q?u001=2ESdBcvi+Evd=2FbQef8eZF3BpTL9BgbK5wfSJMJGMsmprD1ZcmFObA4po1bG?= =?us-ascii?Q?aUE6gycJ+LfRoc8X0Wm0MSorFVcoWHrIixZYD9z?= =?us-ascii?Q?w25Z143eglkAJWbQrLxndYtch6lhNuMZAjzTdhS?= =?us-ascii?Q?+p7WkO424Ipk13O34SdX8bx0Vq1+NisSaeD1YZS?= =?us-ascii?Q?egv=2F7JGTGiKGQ=2FpdGDImbkF1tvgRAS1+jRwOCTl?= =?us-ascii?Q?NqbeFCkbjVBK=2FAsPCRVkksHnSdZnXtg0MY9RUgh?= =?us-ascii?Q?hDn2v3GtbOYuGah=2F6youeTx5GhBBMRKX3vnYA1T?= =?us-ascii?Q?gaBfIzSfZKdfsvVO+RW8Bd2k9PO=2FAzpGXt9z2N7?= =?us-ascii?Q?Tu+Q7+NVEZCMSsSJKq6DZbJrdMXZjOipesXxFi+?= =?us-ascii?Q?zNkL2IyyaUVH67K?= To: "andrew@sterlingcal.com" X-Entity-ID: u001.RuZ2+X9IBGtjUb8qq3teHQ== X-Spam-Status: No, score=-0.6 X-Spam-Score: -5 X-Spam-Bar: / X-Spam-Flag: NO --45c2a6608739d88cf116e91eb2f3f9e9bb49e52a9af97344cb805702d08a Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8 Mime-Version: 1.0 Hello Andrew,=20 _**Book update**__: The Founder Sales Guide has helped push pre-sales to 17= 7! Huge thank you to everyone who has already pre-ordered. If you haven=E2= =80=99t yet, just email me your receipt and I=E2=80=99ll make sure you=E2= =80=99re added to the presale benefits doc. _[_Barnes and Noble_](https://w= ww.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-terrifying-art-of-finding-customers-collin-stew= art/1146718244)_ is having a sale this week and today (Friday) is the last = day, use the code: PREORDER25 for 25% off. _ **_Pre-Sale Club_**_: Next Friday at 9:30am PT I=E2=80=99m hosting a Q&A fo= r anyone who=E2=80=99s pre-ordered the book. We cover everything from outbo= und sales, to closing deal tactics, to the dirty sales tricks that are work= ing for me right now but I don=E2=80=99t want to share too widely. Send me = your _[_receipt_](https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-terrifying-art-of-fi= nding-customers-collin-stewart/1146718244)_ and I=E2=80=99ll add you to the= invite. _ **_Youtube_**_: I also recorded this one for Youtube - _[_check it out here= _](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DAPVCIQRyW7I)_._ I remember staring at our forecast in January '22. It said we were on track= to lose nearly $300k over the next three months. As a bootstrapped busines= s, that would put us into the earth and leave me in personal debt forever. Our forecasted losses were $100k per month on $300k of revenue.=20 "Hello rock, meet hard place." My board members were telling me I needed to get prospecting, uncovering ev= ery rock in our pipeline, whatever we could do to hit our numbers. My exec = team was looking for revenue everywhere. Our sales team was scouring their = pipeline for deals to help us through. What did I do? A fun little dance I call the **freeze then thrash**. **First, I froze.** I did nothing for about a week, like this forecast was = the T-Rex from Jurassic Park=E2=80=94if you don't move, it can't see you. I= can still feel that cold blanket of anxiety wrapping around me as I write = this. Well, turns out that's no way to escape a T-Rex or an equally terrifying fo= recast. **Then, I thrashed.** With less time to accomplish my goal, I started doing= everything: cold email, cold LinkedIn, working my network, crazy prospecti= ng ideas so bad they don't deserve a mention. So at first I did nothing. Then I did everything. Did either one help? Not really. They were both panic-induced reactions. The first was the freeze=E2=80=94if I ignore it, it can't hurt me. The seco= nd was the thrash=E2=80=94if I don't stop working, I won't feel the stress. Both were wrong. ## Why We Thrash (And Why It Backfires) When deals stall and your pipeline feels cold, your instinct screams: _Do s= omething. Do everything._ You start thinking about firing your agency and h= iring another one. You consider spinning up 10 new prospecting campaigns ov= ernight. Your finger hovers over the "email all LinkedIn contacts" button. = Maybe you need to rebuild your deck, slash pricing by 50%, launch a referra= l program, or pivot your entire go-to-market strategy. This is thrashing. And it rarely works. Here's what I've learned from watching hundreds of founders go through this= cycle: thrashing leads to burnout, broken processes, and scattered signals= to your market. When you're desperately trying everything at once, you act= ually stop doing what was working. You abandon the activities that got you = this far because they don't feel fast enough, dramatic enough, or comprehen= sive enough to solve your immediate crisis. In trying everything, you lose the one thing you needed=E2=80=94consistency= . Your team gets confused by constantly shifting priorities. Your prospects= get mixed messages about who you are and what you do. Your existing custom= ers wonder if you're stable enough to bet their business on. Most dangerously, thrashing causes **commission breath**=E2=80=94that despe= rate energy prospects can smell from a mile away. Commission breath kills d= eals faster than bad product-market fit because nobody wants to buy from so= meone who seems like they might not be around to support the purchase. Your buyers need you to be the steady hand in their decision process, not a= nother anxious vendor pushing for a close because you need the revenue _now= _. They're already nervous about making the wrong choice. The last thing th= ey need is a salesperson who seems more worried about their own problems th= an solving the customer's. ## The Anti-Thrash Framework Instead of panicking, I learned to use what Richard Rumelt calls "good stra= tegy" thinking. This method came from his book "Good Strategy Bad Strategy,= " and it's saved my sanity more times than I can count. ### 1. Define the Situation Write it down=E2=80=94literally write it down: What's happening? What's bad= ? What's not so bad? ### 2. Diagnose the Problem Why are we in this situation? Is it timing? Process? Market conditions? Tea= m execution? Competitive pressure? ### 3. Choose Your Guiding Policy The guiding policy looks at the diagnosis, picks the hardest part of the pr= oblem, and prescribes a way through it. Do you need to cut expenses, raise = debt, or find more revenue? All will depend on how you diagnose the problem= . ### 4. Take Coherent Action This is the plan=E2=80=94the steps that organize and focus the team around = solving the actual problem, not just throwing resources at symptoms. ## Three Rules to Avoid Thrashing ### Rule #1: Trust Your Playbook Stay cool. Panic causes commission breath, and commission breath kills deal= s. Stick to your process=E2=80=94follow your playbook, ask the timing question= , don't shortcut discovery. Work every deal like you're the advisor helping= them decide, not someone who needs their signature to make payroll. ### Rule #2: Focus on What's In Your Control Most founders blame external factors when deals slip: the market, pricing, = marketing, competitors. Focus on what you control: your conversations, follow-up, discovery process= , and ability to identify decision-makers. Channel your energy toward activ= ities that actually move the needle. ### Rule #3: Add Calmly, Not Chaotically Launch new initiatives one at a time, like experiments. Give each one time = to work before adding the next. Companies that survive revenue dips make calm, measured adjustments=E2=80= =94not blow everything up and start over. ## The Free Money Most Founders Miss Here's something most founders don't think to look for when revenue gets ti= ght: there's often free money sitting in your CRM. I'm talking about deals you, or your team, have already worked=E2=80=94oppo= rtunities where you've invested time, built relationships, done discovery. = Deals that went quiet or got a "not now" but didn't slam the door shut. These aren't cold prospects. These are warm relationships where you've alre= ady established trust and identified pain. If you spoke with them 6-12 mont= hs ago, chances are their circumstances have changed. They may not be ready= to buy today, but they might. I like to do "Follow-Up Friday": I block an hour every Friday and send 10 f= ollow-up emails to deals from the past 12 months. Not pushy sales emails=E2= =80=94genuine high context follow ups asking how things have evolved since = you last spoke. _(See =E2=80=9CMastering High Context Follow-Ups section _[= here](https://foundersedition.co/p/how-to-master-the-next-action)_)._ This is often the highest-converting activity you can do, and most sales te= ams completely ignore it. ## Why This Actually Works Every salesperson has felt this empty, concerning feeling when deals slip. = It's part of the game. The difference between companies that survive revenue dips and those that d= on't isn't how they avoid the dips=E2=80=94it's how they respond to them. Winners stay steady. They trust their process and work existing relationshi= ps systematically. The market doesn't owe you revenue on your timeline, but= if you stay calm and focus on what's in your control, you'll come out stro= nger. _What's your biggest temptation when deals slip? Hit reply and let me know= =E2=80=94I read every response._ Collin=C2=A0 PS - got my first review=E2=80=A6 thanks Dad! He powered through it in a da= y=E2=80=A6 but not until after he saw my mom was already =E2=85=93 of the w= ay through it. It=E2=80=99s obvious where my competitive streak comes from.= =C2=A0 PPS - If you _really _want to help out, ordering a copy from [Barnes and No= ble](https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-terrifying-art-of-finding-custome= rs-collin-stewart/1146718244) this week is one of the best ways. Apparently= they use this sale as a strong signal for whether or not to buy hard copie= s for their stores.=20 View image: (https://media.beehiiv.com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=3Dscale-down,forma= t=3Dauto,onerror=3Dredirect,quality=3D80/uploads/asset/file/b8f35858-b891-4= 357-9ed5-29d294adf7e3/image.png?t=3D1757022320) Caption:=20 =E2=80=94=E2=80=94=E2=80=94 You are reading a plain text version of this post. For the best experience,= copy and paste this link in your browser to view the post online: https://foundersedition.co/p/what-to-do-when-your-pipeline-goes-cold --45c2a6608739d88cf116e91eb2f3f9e9bb49e52a9af97344cb805702d08a Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Type: text/html; charset=utf-8 Mime-Version: 1.0 What to Do When Your Pipeline Goes Cold
A founder's guide to staying calm when deals slip and revenu= e stalls  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌&= #160;‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ̴= 4; ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ &#= 8204; ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ = ;‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌&#= 160;‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌= ; ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ = 204; ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ = ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌= 60;‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌=  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ R= 04; ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ &= #8204; ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌= 0;‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌&= #160;‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ̴= 4; ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ &#= 8204; ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ = ;‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌&#= 160;‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌= ; ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ = 204; ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ = ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌= 60;‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌=  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ R= 04; ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ &= #8204; ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌= 0;‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌&= #160;‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ̴= 4; ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ &#= 8204; ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ = ;‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌&#= 160;‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌= ; ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ = 204; ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ = ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌
=

September 05, 2025   |  = ; Read Online

What to Do When Your Pipeline Goes Cold

A founder's guide to = staying calm when deals slip and revenue stalls

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= <= /tr>= <= tr><= td id=3D"three-rules-to-avoid-thrashing" class=3D"dd" align=3D"left" valign= =3D"top" style=3D"color:#2A2A2A;font-weight:normal;padding:0px 15px;text-al= ign:left;">

Three Rules to Avoid Thra= shing

<= /tr>= <= tr><= td class=3D"dd" align=3D"left" style=3D"padding:0px 15px;text-align:left;wo= rd-break:break-word;">

These aren't cold prospects. These are warm= relationships where you've already established trust and identified pa= in. If you spoke with them 6-12 months ago, chances are their circumstances= have changed. They may not be ready to buy today, but they might.

Hello Andrew,

: The Founder Sales Guide has helped push pre-sales to 177! Huge thank you= to everyone who has already pre-ordered. If you haven=E2=80=99t yet, just = email me your receipt and I=E2=80=99ll make sure you=E2=80=99re added to th= e presale benefits doc. <= a class=3D"link" href=3D"https://link.mail.beehiiv.com/ss/c/u001.UY7-jEMcRL= Z5W6M0bzLpm-JfHcCsqeI-hAXvK7eYEslCoZA4bSDN8lr8-xxOkuPYkjXez7NS90EOfKdxag092= j4lCiPhG8fGJ-9Dq2J1--sOhCNcR9-uJYLMivk2yqSk5LH-OwRiQUj4nLL15zTf5bgTig9zfLhr= 2Xpw9TEsWhojaEKfsOABntvOOyyETtqsN1EJv2HTmCDzdXfRWZdym7BGJuQj-nKEMbhTBDmfTJM= 1ocx35AoGq3YRsH1xt8vNVROZixur9tU8SdPxYy1S1yrMh8S9FpCDe5iBTMun4xXdwUD-UPRPeB= xCys7bkMbm-u6JGaIlMApEP8sJJbQ5K5IHtwycj6mOFEIJcDaG95g/4jn/TZ9ohUreSS2ZtbsYx= c3LQA/h5/h001.daTib-TuQ6lRC8Ek688gSSUWgDYRJ0g0-P5UvTj-M8I" target=3D"_blank= " rel=3D"noopener noreferrer nofollow">Barnes and Noble= is having a sale this= week and today (Friday) is the last day, use the code: PREORDER25 for 25% = off.

Pre-Sal= e Club: Next Frida= y at 9:30am PT I=E2=80=99m hosting a Q&A for anyone who=E2=80=99s pre-order= ed the book. We cover everything from outbound sales, to closing deal tacti= cs, to the dirty sales tricks that are working for me right now but I don= =E2=80=99t want to share too widely. Send me your r= eceipt and = I=E2=80=99ll add you to the invite.

Youtube: I also recorded this one for Youtube - check = it out here= .

I remember starin= g at our forecast in January '22. It said we were on track to lose near= ly $300k over the next three months. As a bootstrapped business, that would= put us into the earth and leave me in personal debt forever.

= Our forecasted losses were $100k per= month on $300k of revenue.

"Hello rock, meet hard place."

My board members were telling me I needed to get pr= ospecting, uncovering every rock in our pipeline, whatever we could do to h= it our numbers. My exec team was looking for revenue everywhere. Our sales = team was scouring their pipeline for deals to help us through.

What did I do? A fun little dance I= call the = freeze then thrash.

First, I = froze. I did nothing for = about a week, like this forecast was the T-Rex from Jurassic Park=E2=80=94i= f you don't move, it can't see you. I can still feel that cold blan= ket of anxiety wrapping around me as I write this.

Well, turns out that's no way to escape a T= -Rex or an equally terrifying forecast.

Then, I thrashed. With less time to accomplish my goal, I star= ted doing everything: cold email, cold LinkedIn, working my network, crazy = prospecting ideas so bad they don't deserve a mention.

So at first I did nothing. Then I did e= verything.

Did either o= ne help? Not really. They were both panic-induced reactions.

<= span style=3D"color:rgb(44, 62, 80);">The first was the freeze=E2=80=94if I= ignore it, it can't hurt me. The second was the thrash=E2=80=94if I do= n't stop working, I won't feel the stress.

Both were wrong.

Why We Thrash (And Why It= Backfires)

When deal= s stall and your pipeline feels cold, your instinct screams: Do something. Do everything.<= span style=3D"color:rgb(44, 62, 80);"> You start thinking about firing your= agency and hiring another one. You consider spinning up 10 new prospecting= campaigns overnight. Your finger hovers over the "email all LinkedIn = contacts" button. Maybe you need to rebuild your deck, slash pricing b= y 50%, launch a referral program, or pivot your entire go-to-market strateg= y.

This is thrashing. A= nd it rarely works.

Her= e's what I've learned from watching hundreds of founders go through= this cycle: thrashing leads to burnout, broken processes, and scattered si= gnals to your market. When you're desperately trying everything at once= , you actually stop doing what was working. You abandon the activities that= got you this far because they don't feel fast enough, dramatic enough,= or comprehensive enough to solve your immediate crisis.

In trying everything, you lose the one th= ing you needed=E2=80=94consistency. Your team gets confused by constantly s= hifting priorities. Your prospects get mixed messages about who you are and= what you do. Your existing customers wonder if you're stable enough to= bet their business on.

Most dangerously, thrashing causes commission breath=E2=80=94that desperate energy prospects can smell from a= mile away. Commission breath kills deals faster than bad product-market fi= t because nobody wants to buy from someone who seems like they might not be= around to support the purchase.

Your buyers need you to be the steady hand in their decision proc= ess, not another anxious vendor pushing for a close because you need the re= venue now. They're already nervous about making= the wrong choice. The last thing they need is a salesperson who seems more= worried about their own problems than solving the customer's.

The Anti-Thra= sh Framework

Instead o= f panicking, I learned to use what Richard Rumelt calls "good strategy= " thinking. This method came from his book "Good Strategy Bad Str= ategy," and it's saved my sanity more times than I can count.

1. Define th= e Situation

Write it = down=E2=80=94literally write it down: What's happening? What's bad?= What's not so bad?

2. Diagnose the Problem

Why are we in this situation? Is it timing? Process? Mar= ket conditions? Team execution? Competitive pressure?

3. Choose Your Guiding = Policy

The guiding pol= icy looks at the diagnosis, picks the hardest part of the problem, and pres= cribes a way through it. Do you need to cut expenses, raise debt, or find m= ore revenue? All will depend on how you diagnose the problem.

4. Take Coherent Acti= on

This is the plan=E2= =80=94the steps that organize and focus the team around solving the actual = problem, not just throwing resources at symptoms.

Rule #1: Trust Your Playbook

Stay cool. Panic causes commission breath, and commission breath= kills deals.

Stick to = your process=E2=80=94follow your playbook, ask the timing question, don'= ;t shortcut discovery. Work every deal like you're the advisor helping = them decide, not someone who needs their signature to make payroll.<= /p>

Ru= le #2: Focus on What's In Your Control

Most founders blame external factors when deals slip: = the market, pricing, marketing, competitors.

Focus on what you control: your conversations, follow= -up, discovery process, and ability to identify decision-makers. Channel yo= ur energy toward activities that actually move the needle.

Rule #3: Add = Calmly, Not Chaotically

Companies that survive revenue dips make calm, measured adjustme= nts=E2=80=94not blow everything up and start over.

The Free Money Most F= ounders Miss

Here'= s something most founders don't think to look for when revenue gets tig= ht: there's often free money sitting in your CRM.

I'm talking about deals you, or your tea= m, have already worked=E2=80=94opportunities where you've invested time= , built relationships, done discovery. Deals that went quiet or got a "= ;not now" but didn't slam the door shut.

I like to do "Follow-Up Fr= iday": I block an hour every Friday and send 10 follow-up emails to de= als from the past 12 months. Not pushy sales emails=E2=80=94genuine high co= ntext follow ups asking how things have evolved since you last spoke. (See =E2=80=9CMastering High Co= ntext Follow-Ups section here).

This is = often the highest-converting activity you can do, and most sales teams comp= letely ignore it.

Why This Actually Works

Every salesperson has felt this empty, concerning feeling when= deals slip. It's part of the game.

The difference between companies that survive revenue di= ps and those that don't isn't how they avoid the dips=E2=80=94it= 9;s how they respond to them.

Winners stay steady. They trust their process and work existing rela= tionships systematically. The market doesn't owe you revenue on your ti= meline, but if you stay calm and focus on what's in your control, you&#= 39;ll come out stronger.

Collin=C2=A0

PS - got my first review=E2=80=A6 thanks Dad! He powered through = it in a day=E2=80=A6 but not until after he saw my mom was already =E2=85= =93 of the way through it. It=E2=80=99s obvious where my competitive streak= comes from.=C2=A0

PPS= - If you really want to help out, ordering a copy = from Barnes and Noble this week is one of the best ways. Apparently they u= se this sale as a strong signal for whether or not to buy hard copies for t= heir stores.

3D""
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