Shaping Decision Confidence and Overcoming Customer Indecision with Nikhil Sarma

Jan 5, 2026

Nikhil Sarma, founder of GTM Solutions Consulting and a presales leader with over 20 years of experience, dives into the complex world of customer indecision. He reveals how economic pressure and a crowded marketplace heighten buyer caution. Nikhil discusses the crucial differences between value clarity and organizational issues. He emphasizes the need for financial fluency among presales teams and advocates for de-risking implementation as a key to closing deals. Practical strategies like collaborative whiteboarding to build consensus also take center stage.

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INSIGHT

Why Buying Has Become Hyper-Conservative

Economic pressure and rising stakeholder counts make enterprise buying more conservative and political.
Multiple plausible vendors and feature parity push buyers toward the status quo or smaller pilots.

ADVICE

Make Discovery Business-First

Start discovery by deeply understanding the customer's business and strategic goals, not just product fit.
Translate technical capabilities into how they help the company compete, operate, or control risk.

INSIGHT

Value Clarity vs. Organizational Friction

Value clarity issues differ from organizational and political barriers inside buying committees.
Gartner found 74% of buying teams experience unhealthy conflict unrelated to product fit.

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In this episode, Jack Cochran and Matthew James are joined by Nikhil Sarma, Founder of GTM Solutions Consulting, to explore why customer indecision has become one of the biggest challenges in enterprise sales. They discuss the factors driving buyer hesitation, how to diagnose value clarity vs. organizational issues, and practical strategies for helping customers build the confidence to move forward. Nikhil shares frameworks for understanding stakeholder dynamics, the importance of financial fluency for SEs, and why de-risking the implementation is often more important than the technology itself.

Thank you to Storylane for sponsoring this episode. Get more information at https://www.storylane.io/

Connect with Jack Cochran: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jackcochran/
Connect with Matthew James: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewyoungjames/
Connect with Nikhil Sarma: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikhilsarma/

Links and Resources Mentioned

Join Presales Collective Slack: https://www.presalescollective.com/slack
GTM Solutions Consulting: https://www.gtmsolutions.co/
The Jolt Effect Book: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61418641-the-jolt-effect
The Challenger Sale Book: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11910902-the-challenger-sale
Gartner Research on Buying Team Conflict

Key Topics Covered

The Factors Driving Customer Indecision in 2025
Value Clarity vs. Organizational Issues
Understanding Stakeholder Levels (Operational, Manager, Executive)
Discovery as a Two-Way Learning Process
Diagnosing and Building Consensus Across Buying Teams
De-risking Implementation as a Differentiator
Financial Fluency for Presales Professionals

Timestamps

00:00 Welcome 04:45 What's Changed about Customer Buying Behavior 09:50 The Jolt Effect and Challenger Sale Frameworks 13:56 Value Clarity Problems vs. Organizational Issues 20:03 Collaborative Whiteboarding for Discovery 25:17 De-risking Implementation Wins Deals 28:50 How to Connect with Nikhil