They’re not moving? Here’s how to spot who’s ready to buy

Hi there,

Ever had that one thing on your to-do list that you keep ignoring because, honestly, it's not causing you a major issue?

Last year, the dentist told me to get a loose crown sorted; I risked my gum getting infected, she said. 

And you know what… It’s still hanging in there. Why?  Because it's just not causing me any real grief. 

I keep pushing it down the priority list.

And this got me thinking, this is exactly how a lot of potential customers think about the solutions we offer them.

You know the type. Prospects who nod along in calls, seem interested, even watch and download your content. Yet weeks later they’re still “thinking about it.” They’re not moving.

Meanwhile, your pipeline’s looking super healthy on the surface, but not actually converting to new customers.

The truth is not all pain is created equal.

Some customers are carrying what we call latent pain; the crown that’s loose but not hurting yet. Others are carrying urgent pain; the toothache that gets them on the phone today.

In sales and marketing, your job is to spot the latter.

Because until you can tell the difference, you’ll waste cycles chasing deals that were never going to move in the first place.

How to spot urgency

This growth edge isn’t about more leads. It’s about knowing which needs are simmering versus burning, and building your funnel to qualify accordingly.

Take a client we worked with: their CRM was full of stalled deals.

When we dug into the context behind each opportunity, we realised most were “crown cases”. Mild discomfort, no urgency.

By layering in engagement signals (feature use in trials, response speed to sales outreach, mentions of cost vs ROI in calls) and running a simple MQL lead scoring experiment, they cut 40% of dead weight from the pipeline.

The remaining prospects had urgent needs to solve, and close-rate increased 3x.

Qualifying for urgency

Here’s a test you can run on your own pipeline.

In the next 10 sales calls or research interviews, watch for these signals that separate “just browsing” from “ready to move”:

• What’s 'technically' working, but quietly frustrating them? Note the “workarounds” they’ve built or the 'solutions' they're living with. Latent pain lives here.

• Why do they keep deferring? Track phrases like “next year” or “next quarter” in call notes or email replies. Flag these as low-priority deals in your CRM.

• What’s the cost of inaction?  Build a simple model: “If they don’t adopt your solution in 6 months, what’s the financial, time, or team impact?” If it’s high, that’s urgency.

Overlay those signals with your lead scoring and you’ll start spotting which prospects are actually in-market, and which are just filling space in your pipeline.

So, next time you’re staring at a pipeline that looks great on paper but isn’t moving, don’t ask “how do I push harder?” Ask: “who’s really in pain right now?” 

That’s where growth lives.

Speak soon, 

Peter

P.S. No shortcuts here - just consistent process and rigorous qualification. But do that, and your pipeline will actually shift.