The Sale That Never Happened: How a Lack of Awareness Lost the Deal
By Rich Galgano
March 17, 2025
In this episode of My Two Cents, I recount a sales interaction that started off promising—I truly believed the woman I was dealing with was situationally aware. But just as she had me on the hook, she made a fatal mistake: she started telling me what to do, completely losing all awareness in the process. The deal was dead on the spot. If she had followed my Doctrine of Code Yellow, the outcome could have been very different. Tune in to hear how a single misstep can cost you a sale—and how staying aware can make all the difference.
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Most sales conversations fail long before anyone raises their voice or digs in their heels. Not because people disagree. But because they are talking about different things. That distinction matters more than most people realize. When a conversation breaks down, the assumption is usually conflict. Objections. Resistance. Pushback. In reality, what is happening far earlier and far more often is misalignment. One person is thinking about price. Another is thinking about career risk. Another is thinking about internal politics. Another is thinking about timing. No one is wrong. No one is arguing. They are simply operating on different mental maps. And when people are navigating different terrain in their heads, communication breaks without anyone noticing why.
How metaphors orient people, reduce resistance, and create movement without pressure in sales and decision-making.
Most sales conversations fail from misalignment, not disagreement. How metaphors create shared understanding and coordination.
People do not resist ideas. They resist what those ideas imply. Why metaphors lower resistance and create movement.
Why metaphors are a practical tool for situational awareness, judgment, and decision-making in sales.
The single question elite operators ask to see situations clearly and move people toward outcomes with judgment and awareness.
Why “Always Be Closing” fails and how Code Yellow replaces force with awareness, timing, and disciplined thinking.
Reading the room is not a talent. It is earned intuition built through preparation, observation, and awareness under pressure.
Code Yellow is not hype, pep rallies, or positive thinking. It is real-time awareness under pressure and knowing when to act.
Most salespeople don’t fail because they’re “always trying to close.” That’s a lazy diagnosis. Most of them don’t even know how to close. They fail for a more fundamental reason: They have no idea what pitch is coming.
