B2B sales have never had more tools, more automation, or more ‘quick fixes’ on offer – but many teams are still missing the basics that actually win complex deals.
In this post, Scaled Senior Partner, Richard Marriott, Senior Partner, explains why fundamentals like listening, objection handling and relationship-building matter more than ever – especially in longer, multi-stakeholder buying cycles.
There’s a lot of noise in B2B sales right now, in fact, more than I can ever remember. It’s almost become a ‘cheat-code’ approach, whether that’s AI prospecting, new outbound tools, heavier or RevOps stacks.
For founder-led SaaS, PE-backed scale-ups, and service-based SaaS businesses, the promise is usually the same: add more tech and short-term performance will follow.
The problem with this is that there are many assumptions about a ‘quick fix’ for sales or lead generation, but in practice, what I see delivering the most opportunity is often the opposite.
I’m not saying the tech doesn’t work either, but we’re leaning too heavily into it and forgetting basics such as objection handling, building relationships and listening!
As buying cycles get longer and more complex, sales has to change, especially for more complex sales cycles and service-led businesses, meaning it’s not just the sophistication of the product that decides whether deals close. It’s whether the fundamentals are being executed properly.
A few years ago, SaaS and service deals could be driven by a single senior buyer who was often the CMO or functional lead. That’s far less common now, which we talk about with our clients week in, week out.
Today, that same CMO might initiate the conversation, but the decision is shaped by finance, procurement, revenue leadership, IT, data, security, and a CEO or sometimes a PE sponsor. The economic buyer can change mid-cycle, and internal scrutiny tends to increase the closer a deal gets to sign-off.
This changes the role of sales.
Sales isn’t just there to convince the original buyer. It’s there to help the buyer win their internal sale.
That only works when listening, objection handling, and relationship building are treated as core deal mechanics and not just soft skills.
Listening – Allowing you to discover the pain and any deal risk
Most sales conversations still focus on what the buyer says they want to fix. In complex SaaS and service-based SaaS deals, that’s rarely where deals fall over.
The real risk usually sits elsewhere, whether that’s internal alignment, previous failed initiatives, fear of being challenged by finance, or uncertainty about delivery and ownership, and understanding the whole buyer committee.
You only surface that by listening properly.
I often see this in conversations where a buyer says something like, “This all makes sense, but we’ll need to get sign-off.” Too many reps treat that as a polite stall and move quickly to the next steps.
The stronger approach is to stay with it and get curious.
Who needs to sign it off? Who tends to be sceptical? What usually gets challenged at that stage?
Those questions don’t slow down deals; they surface the real economic buyer and prevent nasty surprises later and make a sales interaction more collaborative.
Objection Handling – Really About Internal Exposure
In modern SaaS and service-based SaaS sales, objections are rarely about the product itself.
Price objections, timing concerns, and “we need to think about it” responses are usually signals that the buyer is anticipating internal pushback. They’re thinking ahead to finance, procurement, or leadership scrutiny and they’re unsure how exposed they’ll feel defending the decision.
Handled badly, objection handling turns into persuasion, but handled well, it turns into enablement.
When a buyer says, “Finance might push back on this,” the instinctive response is often to justify the price, but the more effective response is to understand what that pushback normally looks like and help the champion prepare for it.
Relationships Are What Keep You Front of Mind
In long-cycle SaaS and service-based SaaS sales, relationships aren’t about rapport or just ‘check-in’ emails. They’re about earning the right to be part of the decision when timing changes.
One of the biggest mistakes teams make is assuming every engaged prospect is ready to buy.
When relationships are managed correctly, and a prospect eventually becomes in-market, the difference is obvious. You’re not reintroducing yourself; you’re already trusted and have provided value for several weeks, months, or even years.
In reality, buying cycles are shaped by budget windows, internal projects, leadership changes, and shifting priorities. Prospects move in and out of market, often for reasons entirely outside your control. But what is controllable is how you show up while they’re not ready.
Teams that obsess over forcing momentum tend to damage trust, but teams that focus on being useful stay relevant and front of mind.
That relevance comes from understanding the buyer’s world, sharing insight that actually helps, and building a relationship that isn’t conditional on an immediate deal. This is also where sales teams need to work more closely with internal marketing teams to ensure they have the right collateral to nurture and add value for prospects.
Execution Still Matters When the Moment Comes
Now I may be completely contradicting myself here, but we have to be realistic that trust alone doesn’t close deals.
When timing aligns, buyers expect sales to help them move quickly and confidently. That means having clear, buyer-ready collateral, commercial narratives that stand up to finance scrutiny, and a business case built collaboratively with the champion to help enable the wider buying committee.
By this stage, the buyer isn’t asking, “Should we buy this?” They’re asking, “Can I defend this decision internally?”
Sales that have listened properly and handled objections early are in a much stronger position to help.
Why Fundamentals Scale Better Than Frameworks
Sales fundamentals aren’t outdated, but often fall short due to too much of a focus on tech and a lack of training for less experienced salespeople. However, the highest-performing SaaS and service-based teams I work with lean into the tech but focus on something simpler…
They execute the fundamentals exceptionally well.
They listen for what isn’t being said. They treat objections as signals. They build relationships that reduce internal risk for the buyer.
