Software Deals Rarely Die on a No. They Die on a Stall.
Chris Sund keynotes sales kickoffs for SaaS and tech sales teams: AEs, SDRs and CSMs. He is COO of Nebula, an AI-powered talent sourcing platform that sells software into healthcare staffing, and he keynoted the Definitive Healthcare sales kickoff for 800+ sellers of a healthcare data product. Your reps leave with two frameworks for the objections and stalls that end software deals.
Why Do SaaS Deals Stall?
Most software deals do not end with a clear no. They end with “we’re happy with our current vendor,” “there’s no budget this year,” or “just send me a proposal,” followed by silence. The champion liked the demo. Someone else on the buying committee did not, and nobody on your side knew which condition was missing.
Chris teaches reps to treat those lines as information. LOCKS tells them which of five buying conditions is missing, and for which stakeholder. LAARC is the conversation that follows. CSMs use the same two tools on renewals and expansion, where the objection is often unspoken until the renewal date.
- LAARC on the three objections every software seller hears: the incumbent vendor, no budget, and send me a proposal
- LOCKS for multi-stakeholder deals: which condition is missing, and for whom
- Kickoff Plan: selling the first 30 days after signature, which is what buyers are really buying
- Stakes: showing the cost of doing nothing without fake urgency
- Renewals and expansion as a sales motion for CSMs, not a date on the calendar
- Consistency and rejection resilience for SDRs who hear no all day
Proof: The Definitive Healthcare Sales Kickoff
Chris delivered You Are Capable of More: Sales at the Definitive Healthcare Sales Kickoff in Boston, to 800+ sales professionals and leaders. Definitive Healthcare sells healthcare commercial intelligence, a data and analytics product, to companies across the health economy, so its reps work the same kind of considered, committee-driven deals a SaaS team does. The session covered a consistency system, objection handling through LAARC, rejection resilience, ownership of the number and conviction that transfers.
Chris would be an incredible addition to any live audience. I’ve seen him speak multiple times, including our Sales Kickoff in front of 800+ people, which he crushed. Each time he finds a unique way to connect on both a personal and professional level.
Each time he finds a unique way to connect with his audience on both a personal and professional level keeping everyone engaged and attentive. He speaks about how he motivates others and what it takes to be successful in today’s corporate world.
Three Software Objections, Worked Through LAARC
A preview of how the session runs. Before the event Chris asks for the objections your reps hear most and builds the practice around those.
“We’re happy with our current vendor.”
Listen and acknowledge: switching is real work, and happy is a fair place to be. Ask what they would change about the current setup if they could, and what a change would need to be worth the disruption. Respond only to what they name, then confirm. In LOCKS terms this is usually Stakes or Confidence in You, not the product.
“There’s no budget this year.”
Ask which it is: nothing available, money committed elsewhere, or a case nobody has made yet. If it is the case, help your champion build it for the person who signs. If the money truly is not there, ask when the next budget is set and what would need to be true to be in it. More in How to Handle Price Objections.
“Just send me a proposal.”
Often a polite exit. Acknowledge it, then ask what the proposal needs to answer and who else will read it. If they cannot say, the deal is missing a condition, often Kickoff Plan or Own Belief, and a PDF will not supply it. Agree on a time to walk through it together and confirm who will be there. More in How to Close More Deals.
LOCKS for Multi-Stakeholder Software Deals
Five conditions every buyer on the committee has to reach before the deal closes. Hit four and the lock stays shut.
Love the Product
Does each stakeholder want it, or only the champion who saw the demo?
Own Belief
Does the buyer believe their team can actually adopt it? Implementation worry is a belief problem, not a product problem.
Confidence in You
Do they trust the people and the company behind it to be there after signature?
Kickoff Plan
Can they see the first 30 days: onboarding, who does what, and when it starts working? People buy the first thirty days.
Stakes
What does another year on the current tool or spreadsheet cost them? Show both twelve-month paths side by side.
Programs for SaaS Sales Teams
Every session is customized to your product, your buyers and your year.
You Are Capable of More: Sales
The kickoff keynote: consistency, rejection resilience, ownership of the number, and two frameworks your CRM will see on Monday.
The LAARC Method
Listen, Acknowledge, Ask, Respond, Confirm. The objection conversation, published by LeadingAge Illinois and written up by Cisive and NAHCR.
The LOCKS Framework
Crack the Code of the Deal: the five conditions a buyer needs before a deal closes, so reps know which one is missing.
How to Handle Objections
The full objections program as a keynote or working session, with live practice on the objections your reps hear.
Sales Training Workshop
A hands-on half day or full day where reps practice both frameworks on their own pipeline.
Formats
Each program runs as a keynote, a half-day workshop or a full-day workshop. The most common SKO format is the general-session keynote followed by a working session where reps practice on their own deals.
Keynote
Opens or closes the kickoff for the whole revenue team: AEs, SDRs, CSMs and leaders, with LOCKS and LAARC built around your objections.
Half Day
The keynote plus practice. Reps role-play LAARC on the incumbent, budget and proposal objections and run LOCKS against live deals.
Full Day
A full day of LOCKS and LAARC for a sales team, or for frontline sales managers who will coach it after the kickoff.
Who Books This Session
Related pages: Sales Kickoff Speaker · Healthcare Sales Kickoff Speaker · Tech Company Keynote Speaker · Sales Kickoff Themes and Ideas · Sales Kickoff Agenda Template · How to Plan a Sales Kickoff · How to Handle Price Objections · How to Close More Deals
What SaaS Kickoff Planners Ask
Is the content specific to software sales?
Yes. Before the event Chris asks for the objections your reps hear most and the stages where deals stall, then builds the examples and the practice around those: incumbent vendors, budget freezes, proposal requests and renewals.
Does it work for SDRs, AEs and CSMs in the same room?
Yes. SDRs get consistency and rejection resilience, AEs get LOCKS for multi-stakeholder deals, and CSMs get LAARC for renewal and expansion conversations. The frameworks are shared, so the whole revenue team ends up with one vocabulary.
Does Chris know SaaS?
He is COO of Nebula, an AI-powered talent sourcing platform that sells software into healthcare staffing, and he keynoted the Definitive Healthcare sales kickoff for a healthcare data and analytics company. See tech company keynotes.
Can the keynote be paired with a working session?
Yes, as a half-day or full-day sales training workshop. A common format is the keynote on day one and a practice session that afternoon.
Where does the keynote fit in the kickoff agenda?
Most teams use it to open day one or to close the final general session. See the sales kickoff agenda template for slot timing and how to plan a sales kickoff for the full plan.
Can every rep get a copy of the book?
Yes. Kickoffs often pair the keynote with a copy of You Are Capable of More for every rep. See bulk book orders for pricing and signed editions.
You Are Capable of More
The bestselling book behind the keynote, and the 2026 Paris Book Festival winner in the How-To category. Ten principles for closing the gap between what a team is producing and what it is actually capable of.
Kickoffs regularly give every rep a copy, and Chris can run a signing table after the session. Bulk pricing and signed editions are available.
He Sells Software and Runs Sales Teams
Chris is President & COO of Uniti Med and GQR Healthcare and COO of Nebula, an AI-powered talent sourcing platform that sells software into healthcare staffing. He leads the teams carrying those numbers today.
He took Uniti Med from startup to one of the largest healthcare staffing companies in the US: 10x revenue growth on the core brand, #3 on the Inc. Regionals list of the fastest-growing companies in the Midwest, and a Fortune Best Workplaces award along the way.
Before healthcare he spent ten years in restaurants and beverage, finishing as head of sales and marketing for a brewery, where he got his product into the biggest retailer in the country by showing the buyer what saying no was costing him. That is the Stakes letter of LOCKS. He is the bestselling author of You Are Capable of More and writes for Inc. and Forbes.
Stages I Have Spoken On
Where Sales Audiences Have Heard Chris
Kickoffs and conferences where Chris has taught objection handling and sales performance.
Definitive Healthcare SKOBoston, MA · 800+ sellersBeatStars Company MeetingVirtual · May 2026emPower Breakfast LincolnHandling ObjectionsLeadingAge IllinoisPublished the LAARC MethodNAHCR 2025 Annual ConferencePalm Springs, CAPOWER ConferenceOmaha, NEAlso: Sales Kickoff Themes · Price Objections · How to Close More Deals · All Sales Speaking · See all speaking engagements →
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