Have you ever found yourself in a situation where a potential client challenges your sales proposal or key pitch points? I experienced exactly that today—and it served as a reminder that constructive dialogue and healthy debate around a product, service, or proposal are not only normal but also valuable parts of the sales process.

I had submitted a well-crafted proposal for the services I offer totally in line with all the information they shared about their product, their expectations and their scope of works. After several follow-up attempts and a period of silence, the client finally responded with a request to meet and discuss the proposal. Naturally, I was optimistic.

During the meeting, however, they went straight to criticism. They felt the proposal wasn’t fully aligned with their industry context, that the pricing exceeded their expectations, and that the scope didn’t quite match their needs.

I could have just become absolutely devastated about it. But instead, I chose not to be. Instead, I chose to defend my proposal with dignity and respect for them as potential clients.

I think it depends on your sales mindset how you react and act upon the client’s criticism. It is important to know your proposal 100% and being able to bounce back on their points if they are not fair but by staying calm and respectful to the clients. It is also important to have business owner mindset.

What is business owner mindset? It is a set of skills which helps you to respect your time, your client’s time, your product and the client’s opinion. I teach at my Bright Taurus Academy how to obtain this mindset. It helps to be certain in your words, your pitch and your explanation of the points the client objected on.

I listened attentively and respectfully, allowing them the space to express their concerns in full. Once they had shared their feedback, I responded with thoughtful counterpoints.

I explained that the proposal appeared higher than anticipated because it included an additional service they had previously requested—a significant component with associated costs. I reassured them that if this element was no longer necessary, we could remove it to better align with their budget.

I also clarified that the proposal was indeed tailored to their industry. In fact, we had delivered three similar projects within the same sector, ensuring consistency and relevance in our approach. Regarding the scope, I highlighted that our proposal had been based on the original specifications they provided. If their scope had since evolved, we would, of course, be happy to revise the proposal and pricing accordingly. It was no issue at all.

Being calm and friendly but still firm with your counterpoints is important

As you can see, each objection was addressed and diffused effectively—because I approached the conversation with a business owner’s mindset. I wasn’t intimidated by their concerns, as I was well-versed in the details of my proposal and fully prepared to stand behind it.

At the same time, I respected their perspective and responded without defensiveness. I focused on creating an open, constructive dialogue, encouraging a collaborative tone throughout the conversation.

We ended the meeting on a very positive note. They acknowledged the need to refine their scope and agreed to send over an updated version, so I can revise the proposal accordingly.

I have a compelling example that highlights the importance of consistent lead generation. Early in my career, when I had just started as a Sales Executive, I joined a team working on sponsorship sales for an oil and gas conference.

At the time, I was on probation, and the stakes were incredibly high. As a Russian national without a UK passport, I was in the country on a work visa. For me, passing probation wasn’t just about securing a job—it was about securing my future in the UK. Living and building a career here had long been a dream of mine, and I was determined to do whatever it took to make it a reality.

When I started, I was assigned one of the least profitable projects—most of the high-potential opportunities had already been taken by more established team members. The pressure was immense, but I made a commitment to myself: I would achieve what seemed impossible and prove I belonged in this role.

The bosses made a very poor decision of putting three new and unexperienced sales execs to the least successful project. But I didn’t care, I didn’t even get that the project was a failure, I wanted to close as many deals as possible. So I started making 120 cold calls every day, prospecting, sending emails, not having lunches, staying overtime to do more research.

Two of my team members didn’t do as much research, although one of them seemed to have a very big deal coming up. He was bragging about this deal. This was just one client who promised him he will close the deal with my colleague any day now.

My colleague was confident that the deal was almost secured, so he relaxed and didn’t invest further effort in researching new prospects. He was certain that the client would come through.

In contrast, I had already identified a few potential clients who had shown interest in purchasing a sponsorship package. While each of them seemed promising, I knew I couldn’t fully rely on them just yet. So, I continued my research, actively seeking additional prospects to ensure a steady flow of opportunities.

One day the potential client stopped responding to my colleagues calls and emails, and started ghosting him. The colleague was still sure that the client will buy very soon.

The client refused to buy from my colleague.

At that moment, my colleague was left with no backup, and ultimately, he came up empty-handed. Meanwhile, I successfully closed several deals because my sales pipeline was bigger than my target. His reliance on a single client was a risk I didn’t take. You can’t truly trust a deal until the funds are in your company’s account. The key to consistent success is building a pipeline that’s four times larger than your sales target—only then will you reliably meet your goals.

Even if a potential client promises to sign the deal tomorrow, don’t place all your trust in that assurance. I’ve had experiences where clients disappeared after making such promises, and I’ve seen cases where negotiations seemed solid, only for the board to change direction, resulting in the deal falling through. That’s why I never trust a deal until the money is in hand.

It’s a harsh reality, but once you accept it, you can continue to treat clients with professionalism and respect. You must honour their reasons and decisions, but always remember to maintain a pipeline four times the size of your target… just to be on the safe side.

In the previous post, I discussed the importance of developing a huge pipeline, four times more your sales target.

Why so much?

The promises made by potential clients often don’t materialize, which is why it’s crucial to secure your position with a broader range of opportunities. For instance, if your annual sales target is £800,000, your pipeline should ideally be £3.2 million, especially if you’re operating in a new market or offering new services. If you’re working in an established market with well-known services, a pipeline three times your target should suffice.

Why such a large pipeline?

The reason is simple: sales statistics show that a significant percentage of deals are ultimately declined. Clients often say “No” more frequently than “Yes.” The reasons vary: lack of budget, management not approving the purchase, a change of heart when a competitor offers something more appealing, or simply the decision to hold off on buying altogether.

In order to be sure that you will hit your quota, you should protect yourself from these refusals by generating more leads.

How to achieve a big pipeline?

1. Make sure you are calm and have business owner’s mind set. I teach this at my Sales Academy.
2. Do prospecting daily i.e. find new clients and offer them your product daily. Set a target for researching three new potential clients a day, and send them 5 personalised cold emails per each company to the right people with right positions who might be interested in your product. Make notes about every email and every call, and every company in the excel file or your CRM. Otherwise you will forget what you discussed.
3. Work for 2 hours and then have a 15 min break to stretch your back and legs and unwind – this will help you to stay focused for longer during a day and will help you to be less stressed out
4. Drink water regularly – this will help you to be less stressed because water it’s essential for hydration, supporting various bodily functions. It helps with fluid balance, digestion, and waste removal. Still water also delivers vital minerals that the body needs
5. If you feel stressed out by anything related to work or not, have a Stress container exercise where you can write down all your stressors and then decide how to mark them i.e. the ones you can solve – go and solve them, the ones you can’t change – accept them and stop stressing out about them. I teach about the stress container tool at my sales trainings in more details.
6. Make follow up calls regularly – not in annoying way, but in a curious and excited to work with you way. Allow one week between the follow up calls to the same person to avoid being annoying and always be friendly and don’t ever point out that the client didn’t reply on the day they were supposed to as this will make them less like you.

 You should be able to build a great sales pipeline is you work hard but also take care of yourself. Make loads of meaningful calls to your potential clients for follow up, do loads of cold emails to the right people and stay calm and hydrated, and you will be fine!