Not in the buying window
Posted: Mon Jan 27, 2025 4:27 am
With everyone on both teams on the edge of their seats, our next hitter walked out of the dugout. On his way to the plate, one of our coaches, Coach Sandro, pulled him aside for a last bit of sage advice.
He took a knee, looked the young man in the eyes, and said, “What ever you do, don’t swing at nothin’ ugly.”
As Coach Sandro walked back to his position on the third-base line, it struck me just how profound his advice was when applied to sales.
Salespeople Waste Time Swinging At Ugly Deals
If you’ve ever played baseball or softball, or your kids do, you’ve witnessed south africa telegram data a batter chase a wild pitch way outside of the strike zone. The results are predictable and embarrassing. The fans, coaches, and players just echo a collective groan, “How in the world could he swing at that pitch?”
It is no different in sales. Each sales day salespeople swing at ugly deals:
Unprofitable
Not a good fit
Too small
Too big
Too risky
No budget
Wrong industry
Without an identified decision maker
From the outside looking in it is obvious that these low probability, ugly deals will never close and will be a drain on energy, emotions, and time.
Yet, in spite of the obvious signs, salespeople forge forward, placing these deals in their pipelines and forecasts. Then, waste endless hours working on ugly deals that will never close.
The results are predictable. The vast majority of these salespeople strike out.
He took a knee, looked the young man in the eyes, and said, “What ever you do, don’t swing at nothin’ ugly.”
As Coach Sandro walked back to his position on the third-base line, it struck me just how profound his advice was when applied to sales.
Salespeople Waste Time Swinging At Ugly Deals
If you’ve ever played baseball or softball, or your kids do, you’ve witnessed south africa telegram data a batter chase a wild pitch way outside of the strike zone. The results are predictable and embarrassing. The fans, coaches, and players just echo a collective groan, “How in the world could he swing at that pitch?”
It is no different in sales. Each sales day salespeople swing at ugly deals:
Unprofitable
Not a good fit
Too small
Too big
Too risky
No budget
Wrong industry
Without an identified decision maker
From the outside looking in it is obvious that these low probability, ugly deals will never close and will be a drain on energy, emotions, and time.
Yet, in spite of the obvious signs, salespeople forge forward, placing these deals in their pipelines and forecasts. Then, waste endless hours working on ugly deals that will never close.
The results are predictable. The vast majority of these salespeople strike out.