Building and Maintaining Momentum in B2B Sales: A Strategic Approach

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B2B sales is challenging, now more than ever. Tightening budgets, economic uncertainty, and an increasingly competitive landscape mean sales teams must be more strategic than ever in how they generate and sustain momentum. In a recent Cyber Runway session, Tom Glason, CEO of ScaleWise, shared insights on optimizing B2B sales strategies. With over 20 years of experience in B2B tech and leadership roles across startups and scaleups, Tom provided a roadmap for improving sales processes, from effective discovery calls to engaging product demos.

For B2B cybersecurity startups, sustaining sales momentum is one of the biggest challenges. During a Cyber Runway: Scale session, Tom Glason of ScaleWise shared key strategies for managing long sales cycles, enterprise procurement, and relationship-driven deals. Hosted by Plexal with support from the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology, the discussion focused on aligning sales and marketing, handling objections, and securing repeat business. I attended on behalf of Cyber Tzar, the Enterprise Supply Chain Risk Management platform, to gain insights into scaling B2B sales effectively in a competitive cybersecurity landscape.

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Table of Contents

ScaleWise Executing on Leads 9th January 2025

This video is publicly available on the Plexal YouTube playlist for the Cyber Runway programme.

Where B2B Sales Go Wrong

Most sales teams spend significant time chasing deals that ultimately won’t close. The statistics are sobering:

  • 60% of lost deals are due to the prospect deciding to stick with the status quo rather than moving forward with a new solution.
  • 54% of forecasted deals never actually close, and only 28% close on the predicted date (CSO Insights).
  • 79% of sales teams consistently miss their forecast by more than 10%.

The reality? Sales teams waste time on deals that lack urgency, clear business impact, or strong internal sponsorship.

So, how do you avoid this common pitfall? The answer lies in the discovery process.

The Power of Effective Discovery

According to Tom, most sales problems can be traced back to a poor discovery phase. If your deals are stalling or failing to close, it’s likely because you haven’t uncovered enough about the customer’s real pain points or business drivers.

Why Discovery Matters

Good discovery ensures:

  • A clear understanding of the customer’s motivations for change.
  • Awareness of whether the problem is a minor inconvenience or a “hair-on-fire” issue that needs urgent attention.
  • Insight into the business impact of the problem and how it affects KPIs.
  • Knowledge of who the key stakeholders are and the internal decision-making process.

Without deep discovery, you risk:

  • Running product demos that don’t resonate.
  • Investing time in deals where there’s no urgency.
  • Losing momentum due to lack of clear next steps.

How to Do Discovery Well

Tom recommends an hourglass approach to discovery:

  1. Start wide – Ask open-ended questions about the customer’s challenges, processes, and roadblocks.
  2. Narrow it down – Identify the top one to three pain points that are mission-critical.
  3. Go deep – Dig into the financial and operational impact of those pain points.

Key Discovery Questions

  • What’s driving the need for a solution now?
  • What happens if you don’t solve this problem in the next 3–6 months?
  • How does this issue affect key metrics, teams, or revenue?
  • Who else in the organization cares about solving this?
  • How are you currently addressing this challenge, and what are the limitations?

Action Point: Review your current deals and assess whether you’ve done a deep enough discovery. If you can’t clearly articulate the customer’s pain, urgency, and decision-making process, go back and ask more questions.

Keeping Deals Moving: The Power of BAMFAM

One of the simplest yet most effective sales techniques Tom shared is BAMFAM – Book A Meeting From A Meeting.

This principle is critical to maintaining sales momentum. Every interaction with a prospect should end with a scheduled next step. If you don’t secure a follow-up before leaving a call, getting back on the calendar becomes exponentially harder.

How to Implement BAMFAM Effectively

  1. Before ending a call, confirm the next step – This could be a follow-up meeting, a demo, or a check-in to review progress.
  2. Use the “Day – Morning/Afternoon – Time” method:
    • “Would Tuesday or Wednesday work better for our next discussion?”
    • “Would you prefer morning or afternoon?”
    • “Okay, let’s lock in 10 AM on Wednesday. I’ll send the calendar invite now.”
  3. Send the calendar invite immediately while still on the call.
  4. Ensure clear action items before the next meeting so that both sides are aligned.

Why This Works:

  • It reduces the risk of ghosting and dropped deals.
  • It ensures consistent engagement and deal progression.
  • It signals professionalism and leadership in the sales process.

Action Point: Review your pipeline and identify deals without a scheduled next step. Implement BAMFAM as a non-negotiable part of your sales process.

Delivering High-Impact Product Demos

Many sales teams overestimate the role of the product demo. A great demo won’t fix a weak sales process, but a bad demo can certainly kill a deal.

Common Mistakes in Product Demos

  1. Feature Overload – Trying to show every feature rather than focusing on the prospect’s specific pain points.
  2. Unstructured Flow – A disjointed demo without a clear narrative.
  3. Over-Talking – The salesperson talks too much and fails to engage the prospect.
  4. Lack of Personalization – Using a generic demo that doesn’t address the customer’s industry, role, or priorities.
  5. Demoing Too Soon – If you haven’t done proper discovery, your demo will lack relevance and impact.

How to Structure an Effective Demo

A narrative-driven demo creates a story around the customer’s pain points and how your solution solves them.

Key Steps:

  1. Start with a recap of their pain points – “From our last conversation, I understand that [X pain] is costing you [Y impact]. Here’s how we solve that.”
  2. Use real-world personas – Show the product from the perspective of a key user within their business.
  3. Keep it under 15 minutes – A first demo should be short and impactful.
  4. Incorporate their data or examples – The more tailored the demo, the more relevant it will feel.
  5. Engage with questions throughout – Don’t wait until the end to ask for feedback.

Action Point: Review your demo strategy and ensure it is narrative-driven and pain-focused. Cut out unnecessary features that don’t add immediate value.

Final Takeaways

  1. Master the Discovery Process – Understand the real pain points, urgency, and decision-making process before presenting a solution.
  2. Use BAMFAM Relentlessly – Keep deals moving by always scheduling the next step before leaving a meeting.
  3. Deliver Impactful, Narrative-Driven Demos – Customize your product demos to align with the customer’s pain points and desired outcomes.
  4. Think Like a Trusted Advisor, Not a Salesperson – Position yourself as someone solving real problems rather than just pushing a product.

By applying these principles consistently, sales teams can increase conversion rates, reduce time wasted on dead deals, and build predictable revenue growth.

Need Help Optimizing Your B2B Sales Process?

ScaleWise specializes in helping B2B startups accelerate growth by optimizing their go-to-market strategy. If you need guidance on sales process improvements, reach out to Tom Glason at tom@scalewise.com.

By implementing strong discovery, structured follow-ups, and engaging demos, you can close more deals faster and build lasting relationships with customers. Now go and turn your sales pipeline into a predictable revenue engine!