"Time kills all deals"

“Time kills all deals” is a popular piece of business advice. The longer a deal takes, the more opportunity there is for the deal to fall apart.

The saying “time kills all deals” has been cited in print since at least 2000 and is of unknown authorship.

ConcreteNews
December 2000-January 2001
Vittorio Tiramani, VP
ACF CONCRETE, Laval, Quebec
JV: Tell me about ACF Concrete.
VT: “ACF is a specialty company. We specialize on industrial floors. Although we’re very well known up here in Canada, our market is not really an expansive market per-say…we have to work hard each year to maintain the relationships and business we get each year. Basically, we’ll be working with most of our same contractors…and working very hard and diligently to keep those people happy.”
JV: What do you perceive as the most significant challenge facing your company for 2001?
VT: “As I said previously, our main thrust will be to keep our good contractors happy and well-serviced. We’ve learned over the years to keep a good balance with bidding. All or most of our work is done with private tenders…we’ve found over the years that “time” kills all deals. We want to get in and out of the bidding process as quickly as possible.

Google Books
The Complete Guide to Owning and Operating a Home-Based Recruiting Business
By Charrissa Cawley
San Jose, CA: Writers Club Press
2001
Pg. 100:
Time Kills All Deals!
Simply put, the longer a candidate has to wait and wonder whether or not the company you submitted his/her resume is interested or not, the closer they get to changing their minds about switching jobs.

Google Books
Understanding the Sophisticated Real Estate Practice
By the Practising Law Institute
New York, NY: Practising Law Institute
2001
Pg. 419:
Create A Sense of Urgency - “Time Kills All Deals”

7 June 2001, The Post-Standard (Syracuse, NY), “Your Neighbors” (Maria Fibiger, executive director of the Wanderer’s Rest Humane Association), Neighbors sec., pg. 2, col. 5:
The best advice I ever heard:
Time kills all deals. It’s the best advice because it is so true.

Google News Archive
12 January 2003, The Blade (Toledo, OH), “High-end,” pg. H2, col. 6:
The longer the whole thing drags on, the more likely it is the sale will fall apart. In real estate, Mr. Robb said, “time kills all deals.”

Google Groups: alt.sailing.asa
Las Vegas..
Joe
4/6/06
(...)
You are instilling a sence or loss. It’s a risky move but I’ve learned over the years 2 imporant lessons about closing deals.

1. You can not kill a good deal
2. Time kills all deals

Google Books
Scrappy General Management
By Michael Horton
Cupertino, CA: Scrappy About
2010
Pg. 41:
“Time kills all deals” is a saying that a sales training guy at our firm constantly repeats.

The Staffing Stream
March 20, 2014
The Need for Speed
by Daniel Guelzo
You’ve probably heard the adage “time kills all deals.” No place is that more true than in IT recruiting. Successful recruiting is as much about getting the candidate to the client quickly as it is about getting the candidate with the best fit to the client. Speed is crucial for the client – you need to be first. But relationships are equally crucial – only if you can cultivate a bond with candidates can you actually make placements. Doing both of these things well separates the adults from the kids.

Twitter
Dorri McWhorter
‏@chicCPA
Raining good advice from women entrepreneurs “Better done than perfect”; “time kills all deals”; “focus”... #liftUPlift #womenintech
7:16 PM - 23 Jul 2014