Our marketplace is always evolving, and B2B selling organizations cannot afford to rely on a one-size-fits-all approach to pipeline generation.
Two sales motions are particularly critical to understand: deal manufacturing and deal intercepting.
While both require strong business cases, trusted advisor skills and differentiation, the paths to winning look quite different.
WHAT IS DEAL MANUFACTURING?
Deal manufacturing is the proactive, often uphill battle of creating demand where none yet exists. In this scenario, the buyer likely has no formal initiative underway, including no allocated budget, no executive mandate and no external catalyst adding urgency.
It falls on the seller to:
- Present the catalyst: Help the buyer recognize why the status quo is no longer acceptable. Give them a “why.”
- Build urgency: Answer not just “Why do something?” but “Why do something now?”
- Shape the vision: Guide the buyer to see the problem, the value of solving it and the path forward with you as their trusted advisor.
For example: Imagine an executive team casually discussing operational inefficiencies but pushing off action until “next year’s budget cycle.” A skilled seller can manufacture urgency by quantifying the opportunity cost: “Every month you delay, your margins erode another 2%. If we start in June, you’ll see measurable impact before December year-end.”
When you successfully manufacture a deal, you often gain a natural edge. Because you sparked the initiative, you have differentiated not through features but through insight, partnership and foresight. Even if procurement requires an RFP, you are likely the favored choice because you helped the buyer see and prioritize the problem in the first place.
The differentiator here? You win by breaking the status quo and serving as the trusted advisor who compels action.
WHAT IS DEAL INTERCEPTING?
Deal intercepting, on the other hand, is when you step into an opportunity already in motion. An initiative exists. Budget may be allocated. Leadership has already identified a pressing catalyst — often triggered by external forces such as new regulations, tariffs, market shifts or competitive threats.
Here, the buyer is already moving. Your challenge shifts:
- Differentiate against competitors: You often are one of several vendors under consideration.
- Elevate your value proposition: The buyer already believes in doing something. Now you must prove why your solution delivers greater ROI than the others. A variation that may present itself here is a need to “re-calibrate” the buyer on their problem and the attributes they are looking for in a solution.
- Win on “why us?”: The business case is less about justifying action at all and more about justifying why you are the best choice.
For example: A company faces tariffs disrupting its supply chain. Leadership launches a project to relocate distribution. Vendors are called in. You are not convincing them to act — you are convincing them to act with your solution.
The differentiator here? Trusted advisor relationships built over time can pay off. If you have provided value in the past — even outside of formal engagements — you may be the first selling organization they call when an initiative kicks off.
If no previous relationship exists, your sellers need to bring their differentiation game with clear, compelling value that sets you apart and above the others.
LETTING THE DEAL SHAPE YOUR APPROACH
Understanding whether your team is in a manufacturing or intercepting motion should shape:
- Go-to-market strategy: Are your offerings positioned as “must-have” solutions tied to pressing catalysts, or do they require you to build the business case from scratch?
- Revenue enablement: Manufacturing demands challenger skills: insight-driven conversations, ROI quantification and urgency-creation. Intercepting demands competitive differentiation, proof points and ROI comparisons.
- Marketing alignment: Campaigns should anticipate which catalysts matter most in your buyers’ industries. For example, if tariffs are looming, have messaging ready to intercept. If budgets are frozen, arm sellers with insights to manufacture urgency.
- Talent development: Not every seller excels in both motions. Coaching must reflect the different skills required: breaking status quo versus outpacing competitors.
BUT MAKING THE BUSINESS CASE IS ALWAYS CENTRAL
Whether manufacturing or intercepting, the business case is non-negotiable.
- In manufacturing, the business case primarily answers: Why do anything at all, and why now?
- In intercepting, the business case answers: Why choose us over alternatives, even if we cost more?
In both, trusted advisor behaviors amplify the impact. Sellers who consistently Seek to Serve™ — guiding buyers with insight and credibility — are more likely to be the partner of choice when the moment arrives.
FOSTER A TEAM FLUENT IN BOTH DEAL MANUFACTURING AND INTERCEPTING
Rarely will your pipeline consist of just one or the other. Different industries, offerings and geographies may call for different motions simultaneously.
The sellers who succeed will be those who know when they are up against the status quo and when they are up against competitors — and adjust their approach accordingly. In B2B, winning is never just about having the best solution. It is about knowing how to create and capture the opportunity in front of you.
Amplify your sales force’s skills to meet deals head-on with The Complete Revenue Accelerator Guide.
For more sales messaging and skills, enablement, and organizational alignment, reach out to our revenue experts here.