Procurement isn’t just a step in the sales cycle - it’s often the most unpredictable one.
In the UK, especially across public sector, education, and heavily regulated industries, the procurement process can feel like a black box. The champion is engaged. The demo went great. Then… silence.
It’s rarely a question of interest. It’s a question of confidence.
Many buyers don’t have a clear internal process - and even fewer have formal training in procurement. Some haven’t bought software in a decade. Others are navigating legal, IT, and data protection approvals for the first time. They’re unsure what to do next, who to involve, or what compliance requirements they’ll hit.
That’s why modern sales teams can’t just sell - they need to support buyers through the process.
What the procurement process actually looks like
The procurement journey looks different inside every organization - but the common thread is complexity. Here’s a simplified view of what most UK buyers are dealing with:
- Problem defined internally
Teams identify a need - but often with limited clarity on who owns the solution or budget. - Initial research and demo
A champion explores options, attends demos, and starts building a case. This is usually the smoothest part - and often where sales teams think the deal is “warm.” - Internal handoff to procurement
Once interest is high, the champion brings in procurement - but this can trigger delays if compliance or vendor onboarding steps are unclear. - Stakeholder review (legal, IT, finance, etc.)
Each function evaluates risk, accessibility, and integration - usually asynchronously. If you’re not guiding the buyer, this stage stalls fast. - Approval and sign-off
Contracts are reviewed. Redlines are sent back and forth. Everyone’s working from a different version unless the process is centralized. - Purchase order or final signature
Only after every checkbox is ticked - and every stakeholder aligned - does the deal move forward.
The issue?
Most sellers only see steps 2 and 6. Everything in between feels invisible - because it is, unless your tools bring clarity to the middle.
Where buyers get stuck - and why
It’s easy to assume stalled deals mean lost interest. But in B2B sales, buyers rarely go dark because they’ve changed their minds. More often, they’re stuck in a process they don’t fully understand.
Here’s where things typically break down:
No procurement experience
Many champions aren’t procurement professionals. They’re marketers, IT leads, or department heads tasked with evaluating solutions - not navigating internal purchasing policies. As one GetAccept sales rep shared:
“They’ve never bought anything before. They’re not used to spending hundreds of thousands of pounds on software, so they don’t know the steps they’ve got to do internally.”
Too many stakeholders, no clear owner
Finance, legal, IT, and compliance all play a role - but rarely at the same time. Without a shared plan, buyers are left to manually loop in each team. This slows momentum and creates misalignment.
Documentation chaos
Buyers often have to dig through email threads to find the right version of a proposal. Legal may be reviewing a different version than procurement. Approvals happen on disconnected documents with no audit trail or visibility.
Compliance tripwires
Accessibility, GDPR, WCAG 2.1 standards, and data protection laws are non-negotiables in public procurement - but they’re often not surfaced until late in the process, triggering last-minute delays or rejections.
No visibility = no confidence
When sellers can’t see who’s engaging with documents - or when - they miss critical signals. Meanwhile, buyers are left without support. The result? Ghosting, dropped threads, and deals that stall indefinitely.
How to support buyers through the procurement process
In complex or public sector deals, your champion isn’t just trying to choose a solution - they’re trying to navigate legal, finance, procurement, and accessibility requirements they may have never encountered before.
That’s why the most effective sales teams focus less on pitching and more on partnering. And it’s also where the right tools make all the difference.
Here’s how modern sales teams streamline the procurement process - and how GetAccept helps them do it faster, more collaboratively, and with greater clarity.
1. Turn confusion into clarity
For many UK buyers, buying software isn’t routine - it’s rare. Some haven’t run a procurement in years. Others are navigating complex internal processes for the first time. Without structure, even strong intent can quickly turn into stalled momentum.
That’s where sales teams can either lose a deal - or lead it forward.
Clarity starts with helping buyers understand what comes next.
→ Use mutual action plans to lay out legal reviews, sign-offs, and internal steps
These buyer-facing timelines break the process into milestones: procurement approval, security review, contract negotiation, onboarding. It removes the guesswork and helps your champion loop in the right people, early.
→ GetAccept gives you buyer-facing timelines visible in one shared workspace
Every step, owner, and due date lives in a central deal room. Instead of buyers chasing next steps, they’re guided - with shared accountability and clear momentum.
When buyers can see the path ahead, they’re far more likely to follow it - and bring others with them.
2. Align everyone, everywhere
Procurement stalls when people are out of sync. One stakeholder’s reviewing an outdated file. Legal never saw the redlines. Finance is asking for a document that’s already been sent - twice. When every conversation happens in a different channel, confusion multiplies.
The fix? Centralize everything.
Modern sales teams win by replacing chaos with clarity.
→ Centralize all docs, comments, and approvals in one digital sales room
Instead of piecing together feedback across email threads, phone calls, and attachments, keep everything in one secure, collaborative space - from proposal to contract.
→ GetAccept replaces scattered emails with one live Digital Sales Room
Proposals, contracts, terms, and comments live in one link. Version control is built-in. Everyone - from legal to procurement - stays aligned and up to speed.
No more digging through inboxes. No more “which version are we on?” Just one source of truth - and a process that actually moves.
3. Spot deal momentum (or risk) in real time
One of the biggest risks in complex sales? Flying blind. You send a proposal - and hear nothing. Did they open it? Did legal review it? Are they still interested? Without visibility, sales teams default to chasing or guessing. And deals die quietly.
Modern sales teams don’t wait for answers - they watch for signals.
It’s not just about sending. It’s about seeing.
→ Track buyer engagement, not just sent status
See who’s opened the document, which pages they’ve read, and how long they’ve spent. Know when stakeholders are active - and when attention drops.
→ GetAccept shows who’s viewing what - and when
Every buyer interaction is logged in real time. You know which decision-makers are engaged and where blockers might appear.
The result? Smarter follow-up. Faster momentum. And far fewer surprises at the end of the quarter.
4. Help buyers move through compliance faster
In UK procurement, compliance isn’t a checkbox at the end - it’s a gatekeeper throughout. Public sector and education buyers must meet strict requirements around accessibility (WCAG 2.1), data privacy (GDPR), security, and auditability. But many buyers don’t fully understand those requirements - and even fewer know how to prepare for them.
That’s where deals slow down, or fall apart entirely. Legal flags the format. IT wants an audit trail. Procurement needs data residency assurances. If you’re scrambling to provide answers, it’s already too late.
That’s why the best sales teams build compliance into the process - not bolt it on at the end.
→ Share WCAG-compliant, GDPR-ready docs upfront
Instead of waiting for redlines, anticipate them. Use formats that meet accessibility standards out of the box. Attach pre-reviewed compliance docs and data protection agreements before anyone asks.
→ GetAccept bakes in secure audit trails and access controls
Every document shared through GetAccept is fully traceable, access-controlled, and WCAG-compliant - giving legal, procurement, and IT exactly what they need, without last-minute delays.
The result? Fewer roadblocks. Faster approvals. And a buyer who sees you not just as compliant - but as easy to work with.
5. Empower buyers to say “yes” confidently
The more complex the process, the more buyers second-guess. Changing terms mid-cycle? Introducing a new approver? Every shift creates risk.
Static proposals make this worse. Every edit becomes a new file. Every version creates confusion. By the end, no one’s sure what’s final - or who’s seen what.
High-performing teams remove that doubt.
They make the close feel easy.
→ Simplify updates and approvals with dynamic proposals
Need to tweak pricing or adjust terms? Do it in real time - no resending, no chasing signatures on v7-FINAL-final.pdf.
→ GetAccept auto-syncs content, so everyone stays aligned
Any update is instantly reflected for every stakeholder. The same link. The latest version. No confusion.
Confidence is the difference between a “maybe” and a signed contract. And clarity builds confidence.
Bottom line:
The more friction you remove, the faster your deals move. And with GetAccept, you’re not just simplifying procurement - you’re setting buyers up for success.
When champions feel supported, stakeholders stay aligned, and objections are addressed early - deals don’t just close. They close stronger.
Could this be why your deals are stalling?
Buyers don’t just need a great product - they need a clear path to buying it. If your procurement process creates confusion, delays, or extra admin work, even the strongest pitch can stall.
Use this checklist to spot hidden blockers in your buyer journey - and see how modern tools can help remove them:
When you simplify the experience for your buyers, everything moves faster. They’re more confident, better equipped, and less likely to stall out mid-process.
Next, let’s look at how these small shifts add up - turning a slow, frustrating procurement cycle into a faster, more collaborative close.
From complexity to clarity
Procurement doesn’t have to be the reason deals stall.
When sales teams equip buyers with the right tools, timelines, and transparency, the entire process becomes smoother - not slower.
With proposal platforms like GetAccept, teams aren’t just sending documents - they’re creating alignment across legal, procurement, finance, and IT. They’re making stakeholder visibility easy, reducing friction, and keeping momentum steady through every step of the buying journey.
And long-term? This shift in sales mindset isn’t just tactical - it’s strategic. As procurement expectations rise and buyer journeys get more complex, enablement becomes your edge.
Teams that help buyers navigate the process don’t just close faster — they build trust that lasts well beyond the signature.
