Your deals aren't different. You are.

“Deals are just harder to close this year.”

“I’m getting way more soft commitments than I used to, too.”

“Something’s definitely different in the market.”

“Yeah, seems like deals are stalling out a lot more this year.”

These are real things four MSP sellers said—back to back—on a recent coaching call.

By the time the fourth one finished, I could see exactly what was happening. Everyone was going around the room reinforcing each other’s beliefs about why their pipeline was stuck. Why deals were stalling in negotiation. Why post-proposal deals were going dark.

And if you’re in a slump right now and looking around for reinforcement on why… stop. Because that conversation is what’s making the problem worse.

I’m in front of about 100 MSP sellers every Tuesday. I work with outside reps through my fractional sales management program. I speak at MSP events, coach owners, and listen to discovery calls, proposal calls, and closes across dozens of different markets, offers, and team sizes.

And yes—I see some real friction right now. More deals stalled in negotiation than six months ago. Pipelines that are moving slower. Sales cycles that are getting longer.

That’s real.

But I also see something else: a whole lot of MSP sellers absolutely killing it. Same market. Same economy. Same conditions. And I get to watch this ebb and flow across individuals all the time.

Wherever there’s someone struggling, there’s someone else winning. That’s always the case. In every industry I’ve ever worked in.

So I jumped in on the call.

“Listen—I get it. This feels real to you. But the last thing you want to do is look for validation that reinforces a limiting belief and prolongs the actual problem.”

Here are the three things I told them.

This isn’t an MSP-wide thing. It’s not happening to everyone. I’ve got just as many sellers closing the same or more right now as I have sellers who aren’t. I watch this ebb and flow across individuals constantly—the trend isn’t the market, it’s you.

Maybe it’s your own mindset as a seller. A change you made to your process or offer. Or a change you didn’t make to your process or offer. Or something else.

But it’s not a market-wide wave you’re being forced to ride. There are plenty of winners in the market right now. I promise you. I work with them. So, reject the premise and don’t allow yourself to internalize a fictional story.

Let’s say I’m wrong. It is true. Every MSP seller in the country is having the same problem. Even if that’s the case, the last thing you want to do is accept it. Because if you accept it, you’re a victim.

You’re the victim of an economic trend. Of an industry shift. Of something completely outside your control.

That might make you feel better in the moment. But it’s terrible for your psychology and what you do every single day. Who the hell wants to succumb to something they can’t control? Not me. Especially when my paycheck depends on it. 

I learned this in political fundraising, where I hit increasingly difficult goals every year — for 15 years in a row. Every year there was a reason it should have been hard. Election cycles. Economic slumps. Political controversies. Internal issues becoming nationwide headlines.

Every year, people around me explained why they weren’t hitting numbers. And why we wouldn’t hit ours.

And every year, I refused to accept the premise, made adjustments, and hit the damn number.

Because even if the naysayers WERE right—so what? What was I going to do? Sit around and wait for it to get easier? I had numbers to hit and bonuses to earn.

Being right about the circumstance doesn’t help you. The only question that helps is the one that gets you back into solution mode.

When you reject the premise, you go from victim to driver. You say, “Bullshit—somebody else is winning. I want to know what they’re doing.” And now you’re back in the game.

This one’s the most important, and the most subtle.

When you walk into your next sales call thinking, “Deals are harder than they’ve ever been, the market’s off, something’s different this year”—that self-doubt is changing your behavior in ways you don’t even realize.

It shows up in your tonality. Your body language. Your micro-expressions. Your word choices. Tiny shifts that don’t project confidence. And in sales, confidence is contagious. So is the lack of it.

This is how good sellers talk themselves into a hole. Not in one big moment—in a hundred tiny ones.

If you record your sales calls—and you should be, if you’re not, start now—go back and pull five wins from when you were on a hot streak.

Listen to the words you used. The timing. The pieces of your process that may have quietly faded out without you noticing. Listen to yourself when you were winning. When you were projecting confidence.

Do it right before your next call. On the drive there. Whatever it takes.

That confidence is what creates the spiral up.

A sales trainer buddy of mine has a line I think about often: the most difficult territory to manage is between the ears.

So if you’re in a slump and looking around for external reasons why—stop. Reject the excuse. Reject being a victim. Take back control.

Then go remind yourself of when you were kicking ass.

And go kick some more.

Adios,

Ray