--- title: 11 Ways You Give Up Control of the Sales Conversation | The Sales Blog description: In The Lost Art of Closing, I wrote about the ten commitments you need in a typical B2B sale. In that book, I identified two rules to acquire these commitments, the first of which is that you must trade enough value to create an imbalance in your client’s favor (they gain from the meeting, even if […] image: https://www.thesalesblog.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/shutterstock_301775756.jpg --- ### [Now booking SKO meetings for 2026/27! 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In that book, I identified two rules to acquire these commitments, the first of which is that you must trade enough value to create an imbalance in your client’s favor (they gain from the meeting, even if they never buy from you). The second rule is that you need to control the process (the sales conversation). Here are eleven ways you give up control. [Win customers away from your competition. Check out *Eat Their Lunch*![Eat Their Lunch](https://www.thesalesblog.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/eat-their-lunch-cover2-Jun-11-2021-02-59-03-24-PM.jpg) ](https://www.amazon.com/Eat-Their-Lunch-Customers-Competition/dp/0525537627) 1. **Avoiding conflict over next steps**: Your client may not want to do what they need to do next. They may not want to bring in other parties. They may not want to commit to a meeting with your operations team. They may not want to let your legal team hash out an indemnification clause with their legal team. When these commitments are necessary, avoiding the [difficult conversation](https://www.thesalesblog.com/blog/difficult-conversations-are-growth-opportunities) to gain the commitment can levy a hefty penalty of your conflict-aversion of your lack of diplomacy. 2. **Failing to trade enough value for the commitment you want**: If you can’t tell your client precisely what they gain from the meeting you are trying to schedule, they are right to refuse it. They need to know how they benefit from agreeing to the meeting. No value, no commitment. 3. **Allowing clients to determine what comes next when it is the wrong decision**: Sometimes a client will tell you something that sounds positive, like “Go ahead and get us a proposal and pricing.” But if you haven’t done the work to be able to provide what they are asking for, you have to do what is right instead of [what seems easy](https://www.thesalesblog.com/blog/how-you-lose-deals). 4. **Not knowing what commitment you need**: It’s possible that you don’t know what commitment you need. Because the sales conversation is [nonlinear](https://www.thesalesblog.com/blog/controlling-the-nonlinear-sales-conversation), it is easy to find yourself outside of your sales process and in a place where turn-by-turn directions are not available. Even if you have to guess, and even if you are wrong, you need a commitment that moves the opportunity forward. 5. **Failing to identify the next best commitment**: Sometimes the commitment you need is difficult to gain. If you don’t have a backup commitment, something you can ask for that, while not being optimal, still moves your forward. Something is almost always better than nothing. 6. **Not asking**: If you don’t ask for the commitment you need, you are not going to acquire that commitment. [Ask](https://www.thesalesblog.com/blog/ask-sometimes-the-answer-is-yes)! ###### Tags: [Sales](https://www.thesalesblog.com/blog/tag/sales) [2019](https://www.thesalesblog.com/blog/tag/2019) Post by [Anthony Iannarino](https://www.thesalesblog.com/blog/author/anthony-iannarino) on February 16, 2019 Written and edited by human brains and human hands. ![Anthony Iannarino](https://www.thesalesblog.com/hubfs/ai-blog-profile-crop.jpg) Anthony Iannarino is an American writer. He has published daily at [thesalesblog.com](https://www.thesalesblog.com) for more than 14 years, amassing over 5,300 articles and making this platform a destination for salespeople and sales leaders. Anthony is also the author of four best-selling books documenting modern sales methodologies and a fifth book for sales leaders seeking revenue growth. His latest book for an even wider audience is titled, The Negativity Fast: Proven Techniques to Increase Positivity, Reduce Fear, and Boost Success. Anthony speaks to sales organizations worldwide, delivering cutting-edge sales strategies and tactics that work in this ever-evolving B2B landscape. He also provides workshops and seminars. Connect with Anthony on LinkedIn, X or Youtube. You can email Anthony at [iannarino@gmail.com](mailto:iannarino@gmail.com) [Follow me on my website](https://www.thesalesblog.com/anthony-iannarino) [Follow me on Facebook ](https://www.facebook.com/thesalesblog) [Follow me on LinkedIn ](https://www.linkedin.com/in/iannarino/) [Follow me on Twitter ](http://www.twitter.com/iannarino) [![AISA-square-ad-SKOs-26-27](https://www.thesalesblog.com/hs-fs/hubfs/AISA-square-ad-SKOs-26-27.jpg?width=400&height=400&name=AISA-square-ad-SKOs-26-27.jpg)](https://www.thesalesblog.com/authority) [![ai-cold-calling-video-sidebar-offer-1](https://www.thesalesblog.com/hs-fs/hubfs/ai-cold-calling-video-sidebar-offer-1.jpg?width=318&height=179&name=ai-cold-calling-video-sidebar-offer-1.jpg)](https://www.thesalesblog.com/free-cold-calling-video) ![salescall-planner-ebook-v3-1-cover (1)](https://www.thesalesblog.com/hs-fs/hubfs/salescall-planner-ebook-v3-1-cover%20(1).jpg?width=768&height=994&name=salescall-planner-ebook-v3-1-cover%20(1).jpg) ### Free Sales eBook: Sales Call Planner Planning your sales call improves the likelihood of making a successful call, and it demonstrates to your dream client your professionalism. 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What we’re doing right now **is working**, even in this challenging economy. **Would you like some help?** [![Solve for Sales](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/2922376/d3a4938b-2008-4a27-8b44-7b2223f6d035.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/2922376/d3a4938b-2008-4a27-8b44-7b2223f6d035) ### Join my Weekly Newsletter for Sales Tips Join 100,000+ sales professionals in my weekly newsletter and get my *Guide to Becoming a Sales Hustler* eBook for FREE! --- ```json { "@context" : "http://schema.org/", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Anthony Iannarino" }, "dateModified" : "2023-02-08T7:16:48 AM", "datePublished" : "2019-02-16 19:31:43", "description" : "In The Lost Art of Closing, I wrote about the ten commitments you need in a typical B2B sale. 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