Words to Live By: "Time Kills All Deals"

They’re simple. Memorable. Effective. Not controversial. And far easier said than done.

This is our next blog in the Words to Live By series, where we explore phrases and philosophies we’ve seen change behavior inside PE-backed companies. From our experience, when teams truly live by them, execution improves and outcomes follow.

Time Kills All Deals

Not because the calendar moves.
Because momentum dies.

And when momentum dies, that means other things have taken priority. Once a deal has been “backburnered,” it’s generally dead.

Momentum > Time

When we think about this phrase, it’s less about elapsed days and more about lost urgency.

Deals rarely die suddenly. They decay.

Activity can masquerade as progress for a long time. Meetings happen. Emails flow. The illusion of progress sets in.

But underneath?

No executive urgency. No quantified value. No reason to act now.

Reps convince themselves and often their managers that deals are pacing when in reality they’re drifting.

And when deals drift, only bad things happen: Executive turnover, new strategic imperatives, M&A transactions, etc.

The Data Doesn’t Lie

In one scaling environment, we saw an average enterprise sales cycle of roughly 150 days with an ASP around $150K.

Once deals crossed ~200 days, they were as good as dead.

Sure, there were occasional exceptions, but even those required full requalification and effectively became new opportunities.

Far too often sellers grew complacent. Not wanting to “annoy” the prospect or seem too salesy, they waited.

In complex sales, days become weeks. Weeks become months. Momentum evaporates quietly. Then deals die.

Never lose urgency.

Good Deals Move Forward or They Stall

Legal and procurement often get blamed for slowing deals.

But when the business case is urgent, and tied to an executive priority, those groups move.

When they don’t, it’s usually a signal the deal wasn’t as strategically important as believed.

Deals stalling with legal or procurement is a business alignment problem first.

Great Sellers vs. Average Sellers

When deals stall, the gap widens fast. How do sellers respond to delays?

Great sellers:

• Re-engage creatively (happen to be “in town,” handwritten notes, etc.)
• Add value every touch (proactive referrals, thought leadership, new insights)
• Leverage champions and triangulate information
• Proactively bring new perspectives

Average sellers:

• “Just checking in”
• Generic follow-ups and marketing fluff
• Repeat unanswered asks for time and a “quick call”

One creates momentum.
The other documents decay.

Why Sponsors Should Care

This isn’t just a sales leadership problem. It’s a value creation issue.

Cycle time isn’t just a sales metric.

It impacts:

• CAC payback
• Forecast accuracy
• Growth rates
• Capital efficiency

And when managed well, we’ve seen:

• ~20% reduction in cycle time
• ~33% improvement in win rates

Pipeline velocity ultimately shows up in enterprise value.

The Operator Takeaway

Deals rarely die suddenly. They decay.

Manage momentum. Maintain urgency. Control the process.

Or don’t.

Just remember…

Time kills all deals.