Issue #110

How to Stop New Wins from Wilting

The brain loves novelty. A new customer, a new product, a new strategy, it all feels electric.

Everyone’s fired up, buzzing with ideas, convinced this is the thing that will change the game.

But the problem is that high doesn’t last. Neurologically, the dopamine spike from novelty burns off in days or weeks, not months.

Once it fades, reality sets in: calls don’t get returned, deals drag, and the team slips back into old routines.

That’s why so many big wins die quietly after the champagne is finished and the bonus cheque spent.

You can stop that happening, and that’s what I’m talking about this week. Here are five ways to ride the highs and keep the benefits permanently.

1. The Surge: Use the High

When the new win lands, enthusiasm is at its peak. Everyone wants in. This is the moment to lock momentum in place.

Don’t waste it on “all-hands” parties or endless planning decks. Use the surge to create the first visible steps and lock them into place.

• If it’s a new customer, agree on the initial deliverables within a week.
• If it’s a new product, get it in front of a customer, even if it is not quite ready.
• If it’s a new strategy, assign owners and timelines immediately, get into the detail of reality.

Example: A founder signs their first enterprise logo. (They must be one of my subscribers.)

Instead of celebrating for a fortnight, they schedule an exec sponsor review inside 48 hours and publish the first 90-day plan to the board and set up a joint session with the customer.

2. Stretch the Spark: Manufacture Small Wins

Once the novelty wears off, motivation dips unless you feed it. The key is breaking the big initiative into small, winnable milestones that deliver fresh proof points.

Instead of a thermo-nuclear explosion, think endless fireworks display.

Celebrate those wins loudly. A case study, a testimonial, a first renewal, a joint press release, each one extends belief. Each one is a new story for the team.

(You can find out more about "pulling your own strings" and changing for the better, click here.)

Example: A sales leader launching a new go-to-market doesn’t wait for full-year results. They celebrate the first pilot deal, circulate a win story, and turn it into a playbook for the rest of the team to test.

3. Anticipate the Drop: Build Guardrails

Every sales campaign hits the wall eventually. Calls get harder to book, budgets stall, and the team starts muttering about going back to the old way.

This isn’t failure, it’s biology. Without novelty, the brain defaults back to energy conservation mode.

The leaders who succeed are the ones who know this is coming and prepare for it.

Example: A VP of Sales rolls out an account-based strategy. Before the high wears off, they’ve already set monthly review cadences with marketing and customer success.

When enthusiasm leaks, the rhythm keeps everyone moving. Each new step is a novelty now.

4. Exploit the Window: Replace Feelings with Systems

Motivation isn’t a long term strategy, there are just too many boring Tuesdays for that to work.

Once the surge has gone, execution runs on process. That means codifying the new way of working:

• Standardise the sales playbook,
• Add new categories to the CRM,
• Appoint executive sponsors on both sides,
• Automate reporting so progress is visible whether anyone feels excited or not.

Example: A founder launches an enterprise tier product.

Instead of relying on their personal energy, they create a dedicated pipeline stage, build tailored messaging, and run coaching and training sessions.

Now the sales team owns it, not just the founder.

5. Identity Shift: Make It “Who We Are”

The final step is embedding the new initiative into the team identity.

If it stays as “the exciting new thing,” it dies as soon as attention shifts. If it becomes part of “the way we sell,” it endures.

That means training every new hire on it, baking it into leadership reviews, and aligning incentives so it feels like part of culture.

Here's a 6 minute video that tells you more about how to manage your energy to maximise your success in selling:

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Example: A CRO shifts the team focus from transactional deals to multi-year strategic partnerships.

At first it’s framed as a new push. Within a quarter, it’s part of the sales training deck, the board dashboard, and every quarterly review.

It’s no longer optional. It’s who they are.

Bottom Line

The brain gives you a burst of energy when something is new, but it won’t carry you to results. Your job as a founder or sales leader is to

• Exploit that burst to lock in early momentum,
• Stretch it with small wins,
• Anticipate the inevitable dip, and then
• Replace chemistry with systems

...until the new way of selling becomes your team identity.

(Find out why identity beats incentives all day long click here.)

That’s how you turn new customers, products, or strategies into lasting revenue instead of fading memories.

If you want to get your team trained up in the basics of enterprise sales, get my course.

You'll find a range of 5 to 10 minute videos that take you and your team through the foundations of enterprise sales.

Integrate them into your team meetings to coach your team to excellence, step by step.

They'll think you're a genius and recommend you for the Nobel prize.

Email or DM (Linkedin) me if you want to discuss coaching or consultancy for you or your team.