Why Most Sellers Are Already Too Late
Hot Take: Most sellers aren’t losing deals- they’re walking into ones they never had a shot at.
Note:
If you’ve been receiving this newsletter under the name RPG frwd, you’ll notice a small shift- starting this week, we’re calling it Priority Pulse. Same voice, same POV, just a name that better reflects what we’re really here to talk about: how to move upstream, create urgency, and win where the decision actually happens.
And - a warm welcome to the many new readers joining us from North Carolina this week. Glad to have you in the conversation.
The Takeaway
Most sellers don’t lose because of the product or offering.
They lose because they were never in a position to win.
Too many teams are showing up after the problem’s been defined, after the budget’s set, after the competition framed the decision.
By that point, it’s not a sales opportunity.
It’s a quoting exercise.
If you’re not in early shaping the narrative, you’re already behind.
The Real Lesson
The Sprint to the Summit
Our latest position paper unpacks one of the most overlooked realities in B2B sales-
Only one seller gets in early enough to shape the problem, influence the success criteria, and earn the right to define value.
Everyone else is just pitching into someone else’s language, logic, and limitations.
This is the One Seller Rule.
It’s how you win margin, protect position, and avoid competing on price.
Try This
In your next pipeline review, go beyond “stage” and ask:
“Who’s actually defining the problem here?”
“Are we anchoring the internal story or reacting to it?”
“What was the very first conversation this account had… and were we in it?”
If you can’t answer confidently, you’re probably too late.
In the Wild
Over on LinkedIn, we’ve seen a steady stream of posts that all point to the same issue: most sellers are missing the moment that actually drives the deal.
RFP ≠ exploration. Multiple posts made this clear: by the time the RFP hits your inbox, the story’s already written. The seller who helped write it? They’re not worried about the proposal.
First impressions matter more than pitch decks. One sales leader shared how they almost killed a deal because the initial rep came in junior, underprepared, and low-level. Lesson: The moment you show up is the moment the buyer starts deciding what tier you belong in.
AI won’t save poor positioning. Automating faster only helps if your message lands. Otherwise, you’re just speeding up the noise.
These aren’t isolated rants. They’re signals from the field.
If you want to join conversations, follow Bryan on LinkedIn:
It’s where we pressure test ideas, challenge assumptions, and sharpen the thinking behind The Priority Sale.