Executive Coach or Business Coach? Know the Difference Before You Pay

Sunday, October 18, 2026

An executive coach develops you as a leader. A business coach works on the business itself. Here is how to tell which one an NZ SME owner needs before paying for either.

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You didn't lose that deal to the competitor down the road. There's a good chance you didn't lose it to anyone. LinkedIn's 2026 B2B research found 40 percent of deals in a typical pipeline end in "no decision" rather than a loss to a rival, meaning the buyer simply never acted. If your close rate feels stuck even though your pitch is strong and your pricing is fair, the real opponent in most of your deals isn't the competitor. It's inertia.

You've Been Fighting the Wrong Enemy

Most sales training points you at the competitor: sharpen your positioning, handle objections, win the comparison. But LinkedIn's 2026 research on B2B buying found "no decision" beats every named competitor as the actual reason deals stall. Most CRMs don't even have a proper "no decision" closed-lost reason, which is precisely why most SME owners under-diagnose this. You can out-position a rival. You cannot out-position silence, and silence is what's actually eating your pipeline.

Why Buyers Freeze Instead of Choosing

Doing nothing feels safer than being the person inside the business who championed a purchase that didn't pan out. That's status quo bias, and it's a stronger force in most B2B decisions than price or competitor comparison. Here's how to work against it in your own process:

  • Build in a real deadline — tied to something true, like end-of-quarter pricing or limited onboarding slots, never a fake countdown timer.
  • Name the cost of doing nothing, before the proposal — ask directly what happens inside their business if they do nothing for six months, so inaction has a visible price.
  • Shrink the first yes — a smaller, lower-risk starting commitment beats a big proposal that needs a committee's blessing to move.
  • Follow up with the cost of delay, not a check-in — "still interested?" invites silence; "here's what waiting another month costs you" invites a decision.

"Kevin doesn't just present — he electrifies the room and drives massive, real-world value! He drops game-changing insights and actionable shortcuts that show businesses exactly how to turn everyday customers into raving, loyal fans — and acquire new ones faster than ever thought possible."

— Gareth Bayliss, Sales Manager, The Icehouse

Why Salespeople Avoid Naming the Deadline

Pushing for urgency feels pushy, so most owners and salespeople quietly soften the ask instead, and the deal drifts into "no decision" by default rather than a conscious choice either way. Naming the cost of inaction isn't pressure, it's clarity, and buyers generally respect a seller who makes the real stakes visible rather than leaving them to guess. This is exactly the conversation Simple-Growth practises live with clients, until naming the deadline feels natural rather than scripted.

Key Takeaways

  • 40 percent of B2B deals end in "no decision," not a loss to a named competitor — LinkedIn's 2026 research.
  • Most CRMs don't track "no decision" properly, so most SME owners underestimate how much revenue this actually costs them.
  • A real deadline and a smaller first commitment beat a bigger, slower-moving proposal.
  • Naming the cost of doing nothing is a service to the buyer, not a pressure tactic.

If "they went quiet" describes half your pipeline, you can fix that first. Be the owner whose buyers decide, instead of drifting away in silence.

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