Your Pipeline Isn’t Broken - Your Linear Sales Process Is

At Fraymwerk, we spend a lot of time speaking with CEOs and sales leaders in B2B and B2G companies, and one line keeps coming up:

“We just need more deals in the pipeline.”

It sounds reasonable. It feels right. More pipeline = more sales.

But there is often a more pressing issue: bad and unattentive deal handling!

Perfectly good deals get lost, ignored, or written off as “stalled” simply because they’re not moving in a straight line. That’s not a pipeline issue, but a design issue.

Sales systems are built on the idea of a linear buying process: discovery → demo → proposal → close. But real buying processes don't act like that. They loop. They pause. They restart.

In fact, research from Selling Power found that 72% of new B2B opportunities stall in the middle or late stages of the pipeline.

And it is time to start designing for that.

At Fraymwerk, we have spent years helping B2B and B2G sales teams design systems that don't collapse when buyers act like humans.

From this, we have collected six main insights to use for designing your sales system for the loop, not the line.

1. Do not mistake silence for ghosting

Your champion gets pulled into something else. Budgets shift. Priorities change. Internal selling drags out.

Very seldom is anyone deliberately trying to ghost you - they like just don’t have news to share.

The real problem isn’t the silence itself. It’s that the conversation has come to a halt. There’s nothing left to talk about except commercial terms and internal approvals, which your champion might not even be equipped to push through.

Unless you change that.

How to Handle Lack of Response

Let's start with what not to do. Refrain from sending that “Just checking in” email, and do not share that unrequested discount. They are both very likely to add zero value and not yield the reply you are after.

Instead, keep bringing insight. Share something about their market. Bring a new idea to life. Spark a conversation they can use internally. Give them a reason for keeping the conversation alive.

Deals don’t need chasing - they need gravity.

“Hey George. I hope you're well. I just had an idea (or just thought) on x,y,z, that I think could be relevant for you. I would love your take on it. Got time Tuesday at 13:00?”

…will always beat…

“Hey George, just following up.”

Tools to support your team: Mid-funnel insights library and consultative selling training.

2. Never stop doing discovery

Too many teams treat discovery and showcasing ad demo as a phase - a box to tick before the proposal.

But great sellers know: discovery is permanent, and showcasing value should go on until long after the signature hits paper.

Even during proposal or contract stages, you can still learn, teach, and expand the problem space. The deeper your curiosity, the longer you stay relevant.

That’s what keeps buyers engaged until pen on paper.

Tools to support your team: A well-implemented Meddicc framework and implemented structures for mutual success plans.

For more inspiration, also read 5 Steps to Run a Successful Sales Discovery Process shared by Mixmax.

3. Get your drumbeats in order

Everyone loves the idea of “shorter sales cycles", but chasing speed often does the opposite - it burns energy and leads to thin wins.

What actually builds consistency is rhythm.

A steady drumbeat for how deals are reviewed, coached, and moved. Weekly check-ins. Clear stage definitions.

Shared understanding of progress. It sounds simple, but maintaining this requires discipline.

Tools to support your team: Structured pipeline cadence, clear stage rules, and regular deal-movement reviews.

4. Coach patterns, not people

If three reps hit the same wall, that is likely not an AE problem - more likely it is a system problem.

Too many leaders focus on the personalities in their sales team instead of fixing the process they operate under.

Look for recurring friction:

• Deals dying after demos

• Delays in legal or procurement

• “No decision” outcomes piling up

Those are not individual mistakes and delays. They are likely process design flaws in your process, and needs attention.

Tools to support your team: Transparent metric dashboards showing win rate, deal velocity, cycle time, and pipeline health.

5. Trade your leverage at the right time

Most sellers trade away leverage too early or a too low of a cost.

They rush to show what the product does, how it works, and what it costs - before the buyer has needs and can properly consume the insights.

When that happens, everyone loses, and urgency often disappears.

Hold something back until there’s real engagement. Trade value for value. Your insight for their access.

That’s how both sides stay invested.

Tools to support your team: Well-defined stage-entry criteria, pipeline discipline and continuous training on consultative selling.

6. Don’t overengineer – Have a conversation

Experienced buyers can smell an overengineered sales process a mile away, and inexperienced sellers get anxious and suspicious of the flow.

Instead, set a transparent frame for every call: what is to be discussed, why it matters, and what happens next.

Be honest. You’re both there to see if it is a fit — and if it is not, say so.

A well-structured process should feel like a good conversation - not an interrogation.

Tools to support your team: ongoing situational sales training focusing on discovery and showcasing value/demoing.

But bad deals do still exist

They do, so let's clear up some of the objections we sometimes face when sharing the insights above with CxO's, sales leaders and AE's.

“So, should we keep every deal alive?” Of course not. If it’s outside your ICP, or 40–50% older than your average closed-won deal, it’s probably gone. Use your metrics to benchmark.

“We don't want a pipeline full of zombies.” Agreed. You want to win fast – or lose fast. But don’t confuse inactive with impossible. A good deal can often be reactivated with new value.

“Won’t that mess up our sales cycle numbers?” Only if you let it. Design around it. Track conversion and stage length properly. If your process today is just two “check-in” emails before you close the deal out, you’re losing real opportunities because of unattentive deal handling.

A structured, value-adding mid- and lower-funnel approach doesn’t slow you down. It just gives you a more honest picture of what’s really happening, and in the end, makes your deal move faster.

The ultra short version

1. Your pipeline isn’t broken. But your deal handling might be.

2. Stop trying to make deals move in straight lines. They don’t.

3. Bring value. Stay curious. Keep rhythm. Fix patterns. Use leverage. Talk like a human.

That’s how you build a sales system that survives reality – not just PowerPoint.

From Insight to Action

Start implementing change today.

Fraymwerk helps B2B and B2G sales organisations turn sales theory into practice - designing systems that reflect how real buyers actually behave.

We help leaders and teams build clarity, rhythm, and control into their commercial process through:

• Real-world process design and pipeline architecture

• Consultative selling and MEDDICC-based training

• Deal coaching and sales rhythm implementation

If your sales process feels built for the ideal buyer instead of the actual client, it’s time to redesign it.