What a Sales Speaker Can Teach Sales Teams About Using Feedback to Overcome Buyer Indecision
In the fast-paced world of B2B sales, every customer interaction can either build momentum or stall progress. While most sales teams focus on pitching, closing, and managing objections, one critical element is often overlooked: feedback.
According to renowned sales speakers Matt Dixon and Ted McKenna, feedback is one of the most powerful — and underused — tools in modern sales. Whether a deal is won, lost, or stuck in limbo, feedback provides the insight needed to understand buyer behavior, improve conversations, and tackle customer indecision head-on.
The Real Impact of Feedback in Sales
Customer indecision is more than just a delay — it's often the silent killer of otherwise promising deals. Matt and Ted, co-authors of The JOLT Effect, emphasize that uncovering why a sale didn’t move forward is just as important as celebrating a win. But this requires more than guesswork — it demands direct, structured feedback from buyers at every stage of the journey.
How to Collect Feedback That Drives Improvement
In B2B environments, the most common forms of feedback collection include Net Promoter Score (NPS) and Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) surveys. These are often triggered after a purchase — or when a customer has gone quiet for too long.
To make feedback actionable, sales organizations should build consistent systems around it:
Schedule regular survey cadences
Target the right stakeholders in the buying group
Monitor response rates and trends over time
Even though survey responses are declining across industries, thoughtful outreach still provides valuable insights, especially when designed to feel personal and relevant.
Turning Win-Loss Analysis Into Sales Intelligence
Feedback shines brightest in win-loss analysis. Was the deal won because of a standout product feature? Was it lost because the competitor undercut on price? Or was the experience with the salesperson a key factor?
Matt Dixon and Ted McKenna teach sales teams to dig deeper — not just to analyze outcomes, but to identify the subtle signals of buyer indecision. Their framework encourages teams to separate surface-level objections from deeper issues like confusion, risk aversion, or fear of making the wrong choice.
Identifying the Blind Spots: Stalled Deals and Indecision
One major challenge in feedback analysis is that not all losses are clear-cut. Many stalled deals are simply marked “closed lost” in the CRM with no explanation, even when the buyer never officially declined.
This is where a feedback loop can uncover critical blind spots. A customer might have gone quiet due to budget shifts, internal politics, or even FOMU — the “fear of messing up,” a concept explored deeply by Matt and Ted. Without outreach, those insights remain hidden.
How to Re-Engage Cold or Stalled Buyers
For deals that have gone dark, sales teams can still pursue meaningful feedback, and potentially revive interest, by:
Reaching out after 2x–3x the length of the typical sales cycle
Positioning the outreach as a genuine interest in learning and improving
Offering a simple, non-intrusive way for the buyer to respond (short survey, quick call, or email)
Even going back 1–5 years into past opportunities can provide insights that strengthen future sales approaches.
Empowering Sales Teams to Ask for Feedback
Matt Dixon and Ted McKenna stress that feedback shouldn't just come from automated emails or post-sale surveys. Salespeople should be trained and encouraged to ask for feedback in real time, especially after a deal is lost.
This human touch shows buyers that your team is invested in growth, open to critique, and focused on delivering a better experience. It also positions the seller as someone who cares about the long-term relationship, not just the immediate sale.
Final Thoughts: Feedback Is a Strategic Advantage
Most organizations focus their feedback efforts on customers who buy, but that leaves a massive blind spot. There’s as much to learn (if not more) from the deals that don’t close. And in many cases, the issue isn’t price or product — it’s buyer uncertainty.
Matt Dixon and Ted McKenna, as trusted sales speakers, have helped countless organizations turn buyer indecision into an opportunity for deeper engagement, smarter selling, and long-term growth. Their research-backed approach to sales training and buyer psychology gives teams the tools they need to uncover what really drives decisions — and how to help buyers get unstuck.
Bring Matt Dixon and Ted McKenna to Your Next Sales Event
Are you looking to inspire your team and gain practical tools to overcome buyer indecision?
📩 Reach out to stephen@thekirkpatrickagency.com to request a speaking engagement with sales speakers Matt Dixon and Ted McKenna.
To explore their programs and insights, visit www.jolteffect.com.