#1 problem in sales processes (even if you're generating revenue!)

You might be following a proven sales process, you might even be generating consistent revenue. But if you are not building in a regular strategic thinking space, your sales results are almost certainly not as strong as they could be and they are more fragile than you realise.

In this episode of the Selling to Corporate® podcast, Jess Lorimer addresses one of the most common and costly problems she sees across the sales processes of coaches, consultants, trainers, speakers, and done-for-you service providers: the failure to stop, think strategically, and work on the process rather than just in it. Jess explains why this matters whether your sales are going well or badly, what specifically goes wrong when strategic thinking space is absent, and what you need to do differently in the second half of 2026 to make September and Q4 the most productive quarter of your year.

Who This Episode Is For

• Coaches, consultants, trainers, speakers, and done-for-you service providers selling to corporate clients

• Anyone who feels busy in their business but is not seeing the sales results they expected

• Those who have invested in a sales strategy or programme but are not consistently reviewing whether it is working

• Business owners who are generating some revenue but want to make the second half of the year significantly stronger

• Anyone who has been experimenting with different sales approaches and wondering why nothing is gaining traction

• Service providers who want to understand why their sales process is difficult to troubleshoot or improve

Questions This Episode Answers

• What is the number one problem in B2B sales processes, even for people already making sales?

• Why does testing and experimenting with sales strategies cost more than buying a proven one?

• What does strategic thinking space mean in a sales context, and why does it matter?

• What are the three specific problems that arise when coaches and consultants skip strategic thinking in their sales process?

• Why does a lack of specificity in B2B sales make everything harder?

• How do I know whether my sales process is working or whether I am working around its gaps?

• What should I focus on in the second half of 2026 to have a stronger September and Q4?

Key Takeaways

1. The Number One Problem Is Not the Market. It Is the Absence of a Proven Process.

Jess opens this episode with a direct challenge to one of the most common narratives she hears from coaches and consultants in 2026: that the market is slow, budgets are frozen, and decision makers are not signing things off. Her clients are signing 40k, 60k, and six-figure retainers. People are charging over 3,000 pounds for a 45-minute corporate session. First-time corporate workshop sales are happening every week.

The difference between those results and the experience of people who feel stuck is not the market. It is whether or not they are using and consistently implementing a proven sales process. If your sales are not producing the results you want, the answer is not to wait for the market to improve, jump to a new specialism or test a new strategy. It is to implement something that is already proven and implement it properly.

2. Experimenting With Your Own Sales Strategy Is More Expensive Than Buying a Proven One

One of the patterns Jess challenges directly in this episode is the tendency among intelligent, cost-conscious business owners to build their own sales strategy using AI tools, borrowed frameworks, or pieced-together advice, rather than investing in something with a verified track record.

When you test an unproven strategy, you have no baseline for what results to expect, no reliable metrics to monitor and no way to troubleshoot what is or is not working. That means that when it does not produce results, you cannot tell whether the strategy failed, whether you executed it incorrectly or whether you simply did not give it enough time or volume.

The real cost of testing unproven strategies is not the time spent on the activity itself. It is the confidence lost when nothing works, the motivation that erodes and the months or quarters where no revenue is generated because the strategy was never set up to succeed in the first place. A proven strategy removes that uncertainty and gives you something concrete to follow, measure, and improve.

3. Strategic Thinking Space Is Not Procrastination. It Is a Sales Action.

The central concept in this episode is what Jess calls strategic thinking space: the deliberate practice of pausing to assess, analyse, and plan before and during sales activity, rather than simply executing tasks and hoping they produce results.

Strategic thinking space is not sitting still, overthinking decisions, or using reflection as a reason to avoid action. It is the opposite: it is taking calculated, informed action rather than reactive, rushed action. In sales, speed and volume matter, but they only produce results when they are applied to the right activities with the right foundations in place.

4. Three Specific Problems Arise When Strategic Thinking Space Is Missing

Jess identifies three concrete ways that the absence of strategic thinking space damages a sales process:

Problem One: Jumping Into Activity Without Laying the Foundations

The most common version of this is outreach. A business owner decides to do email outreach, sends 10, 20, or 50 emails, receives little or no response, and concludes that email outreach does not work. What they skipped was the foundational thinking: who specifically to target, what messaging would resonate with that person commercially and how to position themselves as a credible and relevant resource worth speaking to.

The task was completed. The foundations were not. Without the foundations, the activity produces poor results, the person loses confidence in the method, and they move on to the next thing, repeating the same pattern.

Problem Two: Lack of Specificity

Without thinking space, most coaches and consultants default to broad, generalised positioning: their services work for any organisation, at any level, in any industry. They are afraid to narrow down because it feels like ruling people out. In reality, the absence of specificity makes everything harder.

Lead generation becomes unfocused. Sales calls lack the diagnostic depth that comes from specialised expertise. Proposals feel generic rather than tailored. And when a genuine specialist appears in the same shortlist, the generalist loses.

Specificity is not a limitation on who you can help. It is what makes it possible to identify the right people, ask the right questions and create offers that convert because they speak directly to a defined problem in a defined context.

Problem Three: Troubleshooting Becomes Impossible

For those operating a proven sales process, strategic thinking space is what makes it possible to spot early warning signs that something needs adjusting, before the problem becomes a crisis. Without that thinking space, you remain in constant doing mode, unable to step back and assess whether the activity is producing the right indicators at the right volume.

The risk is that you miss early signals that something is working exceptionally well and could be scaled, or that something is underperforming and needs to change. Both missed opportunities cost revenue. For those not yet on a proven process, troubleshooting is even harder because there are no established benchmarks to compare against.

5. Corporate Clients Want Specialists, Not Trend-Followers

Jess addresses a temptation she sees frequently in the online business space: when sales slow down, pivot to something new. Launch a different course, rebrand to a different specialism, or chase whatever appears to be gaining traction in the market right now.

She is clear about why this does not work for people selling to corporate clients. Organisations are not buying generalists or people who shift their positioning with market trends. They are buying specialists: people who have depth, consistency and a track record in a specific area. Changing specialism under pressure signals exactly the opposite of what corporate buyers are looking for.

The answer to a difficult market is not a new direction. It is a more focused, better-executed version of the proven process you already have, or one you should be implementing.

Key Quotes 

“The market is not the problem. The people I work with are signing 40k, 60k, six-figure retainers right now. The difference is that they are using a proven system and following it properly.”

“Not allocating thinking space is a real problem in sales. Thinking strategically and allowing yourself that time and energy to do so is an action in sales.”

“In being valuable to everybody, your offer is valuable to absolutely no one. Strategic thinking space gives you the specificity that then lets you action every other part of your sales process effectively.”

If you've enjoyed listening to #1 problem in sales processes (even if you're generating revenue!) Check out these episodes.

• STC176: The Most Important Skill Professional Salespeople Have (and How You Can Use It!) https://sellingtocorporate.com/podcast/the-most-important-skill-professional-salespeople-have-and-how-you-can-use-it/

• STC177: 3 Important Sales Actions to Complete Before Summer Starts https://sellingtocorporate.com/podcast/3-important-sales-actions-to-complete-before-summer-starts/

• STC171: The Simple Sales Technique I Use to Sign Corporate Clients Every Month https://sellingtocorporate.com/podcast/the-simple-sales-technique-i-use-to-sign-corporate-clients-every-month/

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Content Disclaimer

The information contained above is provided for information purposes only. The contents of this article, video or audio are not intended to amount to advice and you should not rely on any of the contents of this article, video or audio. Professional advice should be obtained before taking or refraining from taking any action as a result of the contents of this article, video or audio. Jessica Lorimer disclaims all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on any of the contents of this article, video or audio.