The gap between buying and starting is where deals still fail

4 days ago
3 min read

Updated: 2 days ago

Introduction

Somebody agrees to the work in March and the job is scheduled for May. Between those dates nothing happens. No message, no confirmation, no contact of any kind, because from your side the sale is complete and the work has not begun. From their side, they committed money to a business that has since gone silent.

This gap exists in almost every business that cannot deliver immediately, and it is the least managed part of the whole relationship. Cancellations, renegotiations and the quiet erosion of goodwill all happen here. Nothing in the funnel records it, because the funnel ended at the sale.

The remedy is unglamorous and almost free: a few pieces of contact, planned in advance.

1. The gap between buying and starting is a real stage

The recognition.

It has a length, a set of things the customer experiences, and a failure rate. Treating it as dead time is what leaves it unmanaged. Put it on the map. Give it a name so people can talk about it.

2. Measure how long it is

The first step.

Median days between agreement and start, taken from your own records. Most owners underestimate it substantially. The number is usually enough to prompt action on its own. Check the longest cases separately from the median.

3. Confirm immediately and in writing

The first contact.

Same day, restating what was agreed, what happens next and when. This converts a verbal yes into something solid. It also prevents most of the misunderstandings that surface later. A short template covers almost every job.

4. Give a date, even an approximate one

The uncertainty problem.

Not knowing when something will happen is worse for a customer than a distant date. A range with a promise to confirm is acceptable. Silence is not. Give the date you will confirm by, and keep it.

5. Contact them in the middle

The gap filler.

One message halfway through, however brief, resets the relationship. It need not contain news. Its function is to demonstrate that they have not been forgotten. Two sentences is enough.

6. Use the gap for anything you need from them

The productive use.

Information, access, decisions, measurements. Collecting these during the wait removes delay from the start of the work. It also gives the contact a natural reason. Ask early rather than the week before.

7. Tell them if the date moves

The trust point.

A delay disclosed early is manageable; one discovered by the customer is not. Most damage here comes from the lateness of the news, not the delay. This is the single most important behaviour in the stage.

8. Say what to expect on day one

The preparation.

Who arrives, at what time, what they need to do beforehand. Uncertainty about a first appointment produces disproportionate anxiety. Two lines resolve it.

9. Count the cancellations that happen here

The measurement.

Any agreement that dissolved before starting belongs in its own category, and the count is usually a surprise. It tells you whether the stage needs work. Most businesses record these as lost sales and never look at the timing.

Be careful about filling the gap with marketing. This is the wrong moment for offers or newsletters; the customer is waiting on the thing they already bought, and anything that is not about that reads as a business with the wrong priorities.

Conclusion

Treat the wait between agreement and delivery as a managed stage with planned contact.

Measure its length from your own records, confirm the agreement in writing the same day, give a date or a range rather than leaving it open, send one message partway through, use the wait to collect whatever you need from the customer, disclose any slippage as soon as you know, describe what will happen on the first day, and count the agreements that dissolve before work begins.