They Never Wanted You to Win That Deal
Here’s the harsh truth about losing in B2B sales:
If your rep hears after the decision, “We really liked you, but we went another direction,” the deal was likely lost long before the final call.
In complex print sales — commercial, packaging, wide format — buyers don’t surprise vendors they truly want to win. If they’re struggling with price, internal resistance, or a long-standing incumbent relationship, they bring that concern forward before awarding the business. They ask for help justifying the premium. They strategize around the detractor. They collaborate.
If they don’t? You were never the front-runner.
Two common post-loss explanations in print sales are:
- “You were more expensive.”
If you position yourself as a premium provider — better service, tighter quality control, stronger project management—you must address price early. Set expectations. Ask whether paying more for reliability and expertise will be a problem. If it’s going to derail the deal, find out upfront.
- “Someone else on the team preferred the incumbent.”
In print, there are almost always multiple stakeholders — think about a wide format purchase for a customer trade show display. There are many people who can say “no” to your solution, even if only one can say “yes.” There are marketing/brand managers, event coordinators, finance, purchasing, and legal. Your champion isn’t enough. You must ask: Who else weighs in? What objections will they raise? How will this be justified internally?
When objections surface at the end, they were missed upstream.
For sales leaders, this is a coaching opportunity. Teach your team to qualify deeper, surface hidden resistance, and pressure-test internal alignment early.
Because in B2B print sales, you don’t lose at the close, you lose in qualification.
The preceding content was provided by a contributor unaffiliated with Printing Impressions. The views expressed within may not directly reflect the thoughts or opinions of the staff of Printing Impressions. Artificial Intelligence may have been used in part to create or edit this content.
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- Business Management - Marketing/Sales
Emily Yepes is a powerhouse sales trainer and revenue producer who lives at the intersection of sales theory and real-world execution. What sets her apart isn’t just her deep knowledge of sales doctrine —it’s that she’s still in the trenches, consistently ranking in the top 5% of over 400 Sandler sales executives worldwide. She brings that same performance-driven mindset to every training room she enters. Emily coaches the sales teams of printing and packaging industry leaders, including JS McCarthy Print+ Packaging, The Packaging School, Canadian Printing Industries Association, Norkol, ImageMark, and Sonoco on everything from prospecting and consultative selling to negotiation and account management. Her average training score? A near-perfect 4.9 out of 5—proof that her clients don’t just learn from her, they love learning from her. She doesn’t deal in hype. Emily brings a practical, psychology-based framework to sales, helping professionals rethink the way they approach buyers, conversations, and themselves. Her philosophy is clear: great salespeople aren’t born—they’re trained. With the right mindset, anyone can learn to breakdown buyer resistance and build real trust that lasts. Approachable, direct, and refreshingly honest, Emily’s training style resonates with sales teams at every level. Her sessions leave people not only inspired—but equipped to sell more and sell better.
