My Coach and I Disagree -- What do YOU think?

A couple of months ago I met with my coach for our usual session. As is typical for us, I had a few questions about aspects of a deal I was pushing through and he had a few things he wanted to follow up on from our last chat. 

And yes, I have a coach. It’s the most effective way I’ve found to level up my sales game, balance work and life, and observe my actions with an outside eye. In short, it’s nice to have a second opinion from someone who’s “been there, done that”. I highly recommend it.

Also yes, sometimes we disagree on things. We’re human, obviously. And, I don’t just take his word as gospel. We pick it apart together, talk things through, look at situations from different points of view. A good coach is a good sounding board and isn’t too dogmatic about “here’s what you should do next”. 

This particular session I was complaining about a deal that had stalled. I was tired of hand-holding a client of mine who didn’t seem to have the motivation to work with me to solve their problem. Most days, I don’t feel like a salesperson, I consider myself a problem solver. I can help you...but only if you’re ready. This client didn’t feel ready. They weren’t returning my calls. They waited ten days to send incomplete responses via email. I was over it. 

My coach encouraged me to keep going, despite my frustration. Something still might come of it. You never know. “But I have other clients,” I complained. “I’m wasting my time with this one.” 

Six weeks later I’m still thinking about this. I’ve come to the conclusion that neither of us was wrong...exactly. 

Here’s the truth:

You only have so many hours in a day. 

You can’t play fetch forever. 

Who gets your limited time? 

Here’s where we bring the conversation back around to Avatars. Yup, tying it all into the series we’ve been exploring the past few posts.  

From a purely practical standpoint, as we’ve said, you only have so many hours in a day. You need to spend those hours as productively as possible, working on tasks that yield results. 

Low Priority Avatars

I recommend a handy little tool I call the Low Priority Avatar. Also known as a Negative Avatar, Keap.com defines this as “a generalized representation of the persona that you don't want as a customer. Having an understanding of who you don't want to serve as a customer can sometimes make it easier to know who you do want to serve”. 

Knowing who you don’t want to work with helps you spend time with customers you’re able to serve best. You won’t be stuck, like I was, frustrated with unanswered emails, and stalled sales for months at a time. 

Your low priority avatar will look different from mine, of course, but let’s walk through the basic creation of one. For me, in my current position, what I offer is best suited for larger companies. If a small or midsize company approaches me asking about tech solutions, I’ll send them a standard brochure of information and not necessarily follow up with any urgency. Or, I may delegate follow-up to a junior team member. I’d never ignore their call, but I won’t invest too much time in it. If it ends up working out and we move forward -- awesome! -- but I won’t be sitting there awaiting a reply with any amount of anxiety. I’m actively investing my energy in other, more promising, clients. 

You might be thinking, like my coach does, shouldn’t we serve everyone? Sure, in an ideal world. But often business isn’t ideal. And again, only so many hours in a day. 

And if you’re still not comfortable with the term “low priority avatar” let’s look at it another way. 

Qualifying Out

Who qualifies for your time? And who qualifies out? Marketing and advertising uses this tactic all the time to speak to their audience. You’ve definitely seen it -- “This is for you if…” vs. “This isn’t for you if…” 

Creating a low priority avatar is a simple way to discover who qualifies in and which clients aren’t ready for your services. They might be ready later, but now’s not the time. 

Ask yourself -- what do my clients need to close a deal with me? 

• Money

• Budget

• Resources

• Will

• etc.

In your first meeting, use your time to ask qualifying questions. Are they ready to get the help you can provide? If not, then they move to the back burner. 

Another way to do this is close meetings with only a couple of options. Don’t give too many choices. Simply explain that X is the next step in the process. If they’re ready to move forward, let’s do it. And if not, call me when you are, here’s my card. 

Because if you’re not moving a client towards a job that they need done, then you’re wasting your time and theirs. There must be urgency and will to move forward. Again, think of yourself as a problem solver, not a sales professional. You’re there to solve a problem with the goods/services you offer. And they’re not for everyone. 

Everyone’s in a different step in their buying journey. If they’re in earlier steps then maybe they’re not ready for you. And that’s ok. 

Next time on the blog, I’ll reveal the 9 questions you MUST ask in your FIRST meeting with a new client. Get ready to change your first meeting strategy for the better!

Looking for additional guidance to help bring this advice to life? We’ve got more resources available all the time. Join the email list and get access to This Sales Life’s FREE Living Avatars Spreadsheet.

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Keywords

Sales | Sales Professional | Sales Skills | Sales Hacks | Avatar | Close Deals | Research | Organization | Sales Habits

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