As SMEs scale, a recurring challenge begins to surface: sales momentum slows, even when the product remains competitive and market demand appears steady. Recognizing this inflection point, NIIC 2 hosted a focused 90-minute masterclass, “When Sales Slow Down: What Founders Need to Rethink,” bringing together founders, CEOs, and senior business leaders navigating stalled or plateauing growth.

The session created space for decision-makers to examine a difficult but common reality, sales slowdowns are often not a market failure, but a leadership and structural challenge. Participants explored how customer buying behavior has evolved over time, how decision cycles have become more complex, and why strategies that once drove rapid growth may no longer produce the same results.

Led by Bibek Bhandary, CEO of Ascendifly, the masterclass focused on strategic recalibration rather than sales tactics. Instead of emphasizing scripts or short-term conversion techniques, the discussion centered on diagnosing organizational gaps, misaligned sales processes, unclear value positioning, leadership bottlenecks, and insufficient cross-functional coordination.

Through structured reflection and practical frameworks, participants assessed where their current sales models may be outdated relative to today’s more informed and cautious customers. Discussions also addressed the role of founders in transitioning from hands-on selling to building scalable sales engines. Many participants acknowledged that what worked during early traction stages can unintentionally constrain growth if not restructured for scale.

The session concluded with founders identifying concrete next steps ranging from revisiting sales team structures and refining performance metrics to reassessing how leadership communicates strategic priorities to revenue teams.

This masterclass forms part of NIIC 2’s broader effort to strengthen Nepal’s entrepreneurial ecosystem by equipping business leaders with the tools to navigate complex growth challenges. NIIC 2 is supported by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and implemented by One to Watch.