The Five Easiest Ways to Lose Your Deal

Let’s be honest: most deals don’t fall apart at the end—they were doomed somewhere in the middle. Or worse, the very beginning.

We lose deals not because we’re incapable sellers, but because we assume. We rush. We skip steps. And the cost? A “pipeline” full of ghosts, stalled deals, and embarrassing post-mortems.

Here are the five easiest ways to lose a deal—paired with real-world examples of how they happen—and how the MEDDIC framework is designed to protect you from every one of them.

1. Not Identifying the Economic Buyer

Why it kills the deal: If you don’t know who holds the purse strings, your champion might get vetoed—and you’ll never see it coming.

Example: At a fast-growing FinTech company, a sales rep was working a six-figure deal with the Head of Operations. They were aligned on the problem, had run a successful pilot, and even started discussing onboarding plans. Everything looked green. But when the quote was sent to procurement, it was forwarded to the CFO—who had never heard of the vendor and was furious about an unapproved expense.

The CFO quickly shut it down: “This isn’t budgeted. We're consolidating vendors. Why am I hearing about this now?”

The deal died within 48 hours.

What went wrong? The rep never asked who the final signer was. The Head of Ops sounded like the Economic Buyer, but wasn't. If the CFO had been engaged earlier, the proposal could have been structured to match budget priorities—or at least received a fighting chance.

MEDDIC Fix: You must confirm the Economic Buyer—the one who can say yes with budget and authority. Don’t settle for “I’ll get this approved.” If you’re not in the room (or on the call) with the EB, you’re not in control.

2. Ignoring the Real Pain

Why it kills the deal: If your solution doesn’t solve an urgent, painful problem, your deal will slowly drift into “nice to have” territory—and eventually disappear.

Example: A SaaS rep selling a workforce scheduling platform spent weeks working with an HR team at a regional healthcare chain. They loved the interface, praised the mobile app, and even requested a few feature tweaks. But after the demo, things went quiet. The HR team kept pushing meetings, and then… radio silence.

After three weeks, the rep finally got a reply:“Appreciate your time, but we’ve decided to hold off for now. Budget’s tight and this isn’t a top priority.”

Turns out, the real pain point wasn’t employee scheduling—it was reimbursement delays from insurance claims. The company was bleeding cash flow, and the CFO had mandated that all budget must go toward improving billing systems.

MEDDIC Fix: Identified Pain is the engine of urgency. Go deeper. Why now? What’s broken? What happens if nothing changes? If the pain isn’t big, urgent, or tied to business outcomes, your deal is vulnerable.

3. Weak Metrics or Business Case

Why it kills the deal: You can have the slickest demo in the world—but if you can’t prove ROI, budget holders will hit pause every time.

Example: A marketing technology company was trying to land a deal with a Fortune 1000 client. Their platform promised better segmentation and personalization. The CMO loved it. The head of digital marketing loved it. Everyone emotionally bought in.

But then came the finance review.

The proposal had phrases like “improved campaign performance” and “higher engagement,” but no metrics. The CFO asked, “How will this reduce CAC? By how much? What does a win look like in dollar terms?”

Nobody had a solid answer.

The deal was pushed to the “next budgeting cycle” and eventually forgotten. Another vendor with a clear ROI model won the deal six months later.

MEDDIC Fix: Don’t wait until the proposal to define Metrics. Quantify the impact of your solution in their terms—before finance ever sees the deal. Metrics build internal justification and help your champion sell when you’re not in the room.

4. No Clarity on the Decision Process

Why it kills the deal: Deals die in the fog. If you don’t understand the approval path, you’ll get blindsided by delays, surprises, or silent kills.

Example: A mid-market CRM vendor thought they had the deal won. They were working with the VP of Sales, who was pushing hard to replace their old system. They agreed on pricing, ran a successful pilot, and got a verbal yes. The rep confidently forecasted it for Q2 close.

Then… nothing.

Turns out the company had a mandatory InfoSec review process for all SaaS tools. The vendor hadn’t filled out the questionnaire. Worse, the internal IT team had been burned by shadow IT purchases before—and decided to stall until Q3. By the time the CRM vendor completed the process, a competitor had already gotten through security and legal.

MEDDIC Fix: Clarify the Decision Process early. Who’s involved? What steps are mandatory? Is there a purchasing committee? Quarterly capex approval calendar? Any red tape you haven’t been warned about? Surprises are avoidable—if you ask.

5. Champion Without Power

Why it kills the deal: You’ve got a fan, but not an advocate. A spectator, not a player.

Example: A rep at an AI document automation company found a super-engaged legal analyst at a major law firm. The analyst loved the product, raved about the time savings, and even presented it in a team meeting. The rep felt great—he had a champion!

But when the deal hit the CIO’s desk, it was denied. The CIO had a separate plan for consolidating vendors and was already in discussions with another solution that covered multiple needs—not just document automation.

The analyst was devastated. “I tried to push it forward, but I just don’t have the influence.”

MEDDIC Fix: A Champion isn’t someone who likes you—they’re someone who can sell internally, navigate the politics, and has something personal to gain. If they can’t get a meeting with the EB or influence IT, they’re not a true champion.

Final Thought: Win with Precision, Not Hope

Deals are not won with charm, product features, or good vibes. They’re won with clarity, structure, and insight.

The MEDDIC framework doesn’t eliminate risk—but it illuminates it. It turns fog into a map. It exposes cracks before they break. And it gives you the power to inspect rather than assume.

Stop blaming timing, pricing, or procurement if you consistently lose deals late in the cycle. The truth probably lies upstream, hidden in one of these five easy-to-miss pitfalls.

MEDDIC doesn’t make selling easier. It makes selling smarter.

Want help embedding MEDDIC discipline across your sales team? Let's talk.