My friend runs a successful business, operating in an industry where discretion and trust are imperative. At some stage between a beer and crowd control, we got onto how he approaches growth.
He described it as sales rather than marketing led. This got me thinking that the labels don't really matter much. The job is the same irrespective. Retention and expansion of existing clients, plus an ongoing influx of new ones.
As the conversation unfolded, a few things really stuck with me, all centred on how a business should behave when it believes in what it’s selling.
None of what follows is intended as one of those laboured lessons for LinkedIn, but understanding how trust gets built, with pressure purposely withheld by the seller, really helps to put things into perspective.
Proof and visibility are trust drivers
My friend’s company leans hard on proof – i.e. demonstrable outcomes delivered for existing clients. This isn’t a groundbreaking concept. Any form of purchase that carries personal or professional risk for the buyer will always necessitate the seller offering reassurance in the form of legitimate receipts.
Interestingly, he accepted that visibility of his employees – via thought leadership – is an area that requires work. We were talking about the act of personifying the business or putting a face to a brand. Digging a little deeper, I found that there’s a desire to be more active in this area, but it requires behavioural change. Even the most engaging characters tend to shy away from posting in a professional context or feel the need to sandpaper aspects of their personalities for fear of negative perceptions.
Win-loss discipline as a growth lever
He agreed that win-loss analysis matters, but also admitted it doesn’t always happen with consistency. His reasoning was relatable to anyone sweating away on a business treadmill: “You win a deal and then move straight on to the next one.”
Deliberately carving out the time to interrogate the full sales cycle – the gates, friction points, and moments where deals either stall or come to fruition – enables leaders to make wins repeatable and losses less frequent. You have to enshrine the right to pause and reflect, even when the muck and bullets are flying overhead.
Parity, not pressure
The part that's stayed with me most appears, at first glance, to be almost aloof: "We've told you what we think you should do, and our advice is based on decades of learnings and results, but the choice is yours. It doesn't make a difference to my life or our business whether you follow through or not."
I want to be clear. This was said without an ounce of arrogance. It was simply the confidence of someone who doesn't need to apply boiler-room pressure tactics, because the rationale, reputation and results speaks for themselves.
If the pitch is compelling and customer-centric, the ball is in the buyer's court. Trying to manufacture urgency at that point doesn't accelerate the decision. It only serves to undermine the case you just made and invites a negotiation you didn't need to have.
It's basically the famous line from The Sopranos in a nutshell: “We don't run, it's embarrassing.”
"I've spent time preparing this, so you can spend time listening to it"
My mate went on to offer up a brilliant anecdote. On one occasion, mid-pitch, he abruptly stopped, looked at a distracted client across the table, and dressed them down: "He's not even listening.”
It was blunt to the point of being absolutely hilarious. He was also completely right, and it’s more relevant now than it's ever been given how scarce attention seems to be.
The red thread is emotional detachment
No matter the industry, there’s a principle that should always be kept in mind – an ironclad confidence in your own value and an unwillingness to bend yourself out of shape chasing a deal.
It’s easy to say outside the pressure cooker of growth targets, but not all revenue is good. There’s ultimately no point in trying to engineer urgency. They either need it, or they don’t.
The other frequent mistake is excessively adjusting the solution to whatever the buyer wants to hear. At that stage, you’re not doing what’s right for the client. You’re doing what’s right to snag a deal. That’ll be a pain in your rear end down the line.
Deliberate emotional detachment from the outcome may appear cold on the surface, but it’s what lets you call things straight, hold your position under scrutiny and operate in a flow state.
Unshakeable confidence requires an on-point pitch
It’s worth reminding ourselves of some brilliant go-to-market basics:
- Are you clear on your ideal customer profile?
- Do you understand their motivations and pain points?
- Are you speaking with someone who has a current, urgent need?
- Does the organisation have the maturity to benefit from your solution?
- If you’re selling to a committee, does your narrative cover all the angles?
The first and second bullet points are obvious. You’ll be pushing water uphill trying to close a deal with a company that doesn’t align with your market positioning, while your outreach will miss the mark if you don’t understand what makes them tick.
The third and fourth points are more nuanced. You might be dealing with a prospect that’s perfect on paper, but the timing might be off, or the conditions might not exist at their end for you to add value. This is where it pays to keep the door open through nurture and education.
The final point is a really interesting one. B2B marketing tends to be adept at addressing the requirements (and objections) of core buying personas, but far less so when it comes to hidden functions like legal, procurement or finance. The latter group either get overlooked or served with communications ill-suited to their agendas. That’s no way to treat people who can put the brakes on.
Back to the overarching point. If you can put a tick next to the criteria listed above, then the chances are you’ve given it your best shot. At that stage, giving the buyer a chance to reflect and come to the right conclusion on their terms is the best course of action.
Confidence doesn’t run.
