The Death of the Order-Taker: Why Being Liked Doesn’t Close
- Matthew Earle
- May 30
- 3 min read
The Death of the Order-Taker: Why Being Liked Doesn’t Close
The Selling Collective Manifesto, Part 2 - Part 1 "Stop Selling, Start Solving."
Deals are 258% more likely to close when reps ask 11–14 discovery questions. (Gong, 2021)
“People buy from people they like.”
That’s the line we've all heard since time immemorial.
The line still echoed in sales training rooms, team huddles, and pipeline reviews, as if rapport is the reason deals move.
But here’s the uncomfortable truth:
Being liked isn’t enough.
And if your team is confusing likability with influence, you’re not building pipeline, you’re building false confidence.
53% of customer loyalty is driven by the sales experience — not brand, product, or price. (CEB/Gartner: The Challenger Sale)
How you sell matters more than what you sell
The Myth of Relationship Selling
Only 22% of B2B buyers say salespeople understand their business problems. (Forrester, 2022)
Relationship sellers don’t push.
They don’t challenge. They wait for internal champions, timing alignment, budget shifts. They rely on the comfort of the relationship to carry the deal.
But here's the problem:
Comfort kills urgency. It creates long-lingering maybe’s. It avoids friction. It avoids truth.
And buyers? They don’t need another friend. They need clarity.
“People don’t buy from salespeople they like. They buy from those who understand their problems.” Neil Rackham (Author, SPIN Selling)
Order-Taker Behaviours That Quietly Kill Pipeline
Let’s make it plain.
If your team is doing any of this — they’re not advising, they’re accommodating:
Skipping hard discovery so they don’t "rock the boat"
Pitching early because “the buyer seems ready”
Avoiding pushback when the buyer's logic is flawed
Letting contacts go cold because they “didn’t want to chase”
Waiting for the buyer to “get back to them” instead of leading next steps
These reps aren’t solving. They’re hoping. They’ve become professional validators, not problem solvers.
“The best salespeople don’t just build relationships — they challenge their customers’ thinking.” Brent Adamson (The Challenger Sale)
Trusted Advisors Do the Opposite
They ask the hard questions.
They dig into risk. They explore consequences — not just features.
They understand that trust isn’t built through pleasantries.
It’s built through clarity, consistency, and control of the process.
“A trusted advisor earns the right to challenge. An order-taker waits for permission.”
Want to Know If You’re an Order-Taker? Ask Yourself:
When was the last time you made a buyer pause and think?
Have you ever asked a question that made them uncomfortable?
Did you challenge the first “problem” they gave you — or just run with it?
Have you diagnosed their pain before proposing a solution?
If not, you might be order-taking in a slightly nicer shirt.
Stop Pitching. Start Prescribing.
The best sellers don’t close deals by being agreeable. They do it by understanding what’s broken, and then becoming the buyer’s guide to fixing it.
That’s what we train at The Selling Collective:
Be Curious: Understand, don’t assume
Be Trusted: Earn influence through clarity, not charm
Be a Solver: No pain = no proposal
“The most effective persuasion is the kind that doesn’t feel like persuasion at all — it feels like understanding.” Dr. Robert Cialdini (Influence)
Final Thought
“A trusted advisor earns the right to challenge. An order-taker waits for permission.” The Selling Collective Manifesto
Buyers don’t need more friends.
They need advisors who understand what’s at stake.
If you’re serious about moving from being liked to being trusted — we should talk.
Ready to Transform Your Sales Strategy?
If you’re serious about improving your team’s performance, The Selling Collective can help. Our problem-centered sales training equips B2B teams to build trust, generate pipelines, and close more deals.
Check out our free course, The Art of Problem-Centered Selling: Unlocking Sales Success or book your free sales audit to identify gaps holding back your sales team — and discover ways to fix them.
Connect: LinkedIn – The Selling Collective
Stop wasting your first meetings. Start solving. Build Problem Focused Pipeline Generation Strategies.
Comments