The biggest revenue leak isn't lead volume. It's "No decision."
Most pipeline doesn't die because you lost. It dies because nothing was decided.
"No decision" is when a deal stalls indefinitely—no meeting booked, no decision date captured, no clear next step. The call felt productive, but weeks later you're still "following up" with a prospect who's gone dark.
What stalling looks like on calls
You probably recognize these endings:
- "Let me think about it and circle back next week."
- "Send me some more information and we'll reconnect."
- "I need to talk to the team—I'll reach out once we've discussed."
- "This sounds interesting, let's stay in touch."
The rep logs "positive call" in the CRM. The prospect goes into "follow-up" mode. And the deal quietly dies in "no decision" territory—not a loss, not a win, just... gone.
Why stalling is rational for buyers
Here's the uncomfortable truth: buyers default to "no decision" because it's the safest option.
- Risk avoidance: Doing nothing is safer than making the wrong choice.
- Budget uncertainty: They're not sure they can justify the spend right now.
- Competing priorities: Something else is more urgent this quarter.
- Internal politics: They need buy-in from stakeholders who weren't on the call.
And what does your rep do? They accept "let me think about it" as a reasonable next step. No calendar invite. No decision date. No concrete commitment. Just a vague promise to "reconnect soon."
That's wrap-up drift—and it's costing you deals.
The fix: enforce the next step before hang-up
The only way to fix "no decision" is to stop accepting vague endings. Here's the mechanism:
How next-step certainty works
1. Wrap-up drift detection
Detects vague endings in real time ("circle back," "send info," "think about it") and prompts you to lock commitment before hang-up.
2. Next-step lock
Forces a concrete next step: meeting booked OR decision date + owner. No call ends without a scheduled event or explicit timeline.
3. Proof metrics
Track Next-Step Set Rate (NSR), Time-to-Next-Event, Stalled/No-Decision share, and stage hygiene. Prove the lift in 14 days.
How to measure it
If you can't measure "no decision," you can't fix it. Here's what to track:
Next-Step Set Rate (NSR)
% of calls ending with a scheduled next event or explicit decision date. Target: 70%+ for discovery, 85%+ for demos.
Time-to-Next-Event
Days from call to next scheduled meeting/decision. Longer = higher stall risk. Target: 7 days for early stage, 14 days for later stage.
Stalled / No-Decision share
% of opps with no next event within 7 days. These deals are at risk. Target: keep below 15%.
Stage hygiene / forecast integrity
Pipeline quality and forecast accuracy tracking. Are deals in the right stage? Are close dates realistic?
14-Day Certainty Sprint
Want to prove the lift? Run a 14-day sprint:
Week 0: Baseline
Track your current Next-Step Set Rate, Time-to-Next-Event, and Stalled share for one week. No changes to behavior—just measure what's happening today.
Days 1-14: Enforce next-step lock
For every call, enforce the rule: no hang-up without a booked meeting OR explicit decision date + owner. Use wrap-up drift detection to catch vague endings before they happen.
Review proof metrics
Compare Week 0 vs. Days 1-14. You should see NSR increase by 15-30 points, Time-to-Next-Event drop by 2-4 days, and Stalled share decrease by 10+ points. That's the lift.
What happens when you fix "no decision"
Here's what changes when you enforce next-step certainty:
- Pipeline velocity increases: Deals move faster because you're not waiting for prospects to "circle back."
- Forecast accuracy improves: You know which deals have real momentum vs. which are stalled.
- Reps stop chasing ghosts: Fewer "follow-up" emails to prospects who never respond.
- Close rates go up: Deals with scheduled next steps close at 2-3x the rate of deals without them.
The biggest revenue leak isn't lead volume. It's deals dying in "no decision" territory because reps accept vague next steps.
Stop the leak. Enforce the next step before hang-up.
Stop 'circle back.' Lock the next step before hang-up.
Join pilot users testing next-step certainty (wrap-up drift detection → next-step lock → proof metrics).
Learn more: Sales Teams · Pricing