Living Pipeline

The Living Pipeline

An exceptional sales career mandates that we always be on the lookout for new and upcoming opportunities. We must understand the need for new business and have strategies for securing it in the name of growth and service to our community.

The pipeline, therefore, is one of the most important pieces of a successful sales career.

Unfortunately, many people are still trying to build and implement the failing pipelines of the old guard. Business leaders, and the sales industry as a whole, have placed such a focus on the next 90 days they forget business relationships are what sustain their careers over the long run.

Salespeople are passively trained to forget about prospects who won’t buy in the next four months. We place them into automated follow-up cadences and think that a “just checking in” email will be all the call to action we need because “surely they’d call if they were ready to buy.”

Pro Tip:

This outlook stunts growth and focuses too much on instant gratification, which is always fleeting.

This short-term focus is reflected in sales methods and communication. We can see a vast majority of talk tracks make no effort to facilitate business relationship development or experiential engagement-points for the buyer.

Rather, they lobby intensely for attention, time, and money while looking for wounds to pour salt on. This methodology works when you catch someone at the right time (a.k.a. in a weak moment). But, ultimately, it’s impersonal, ineffective, and inevitably leads to churn.

It seems we have completely forgotten that we can use time to our advantage. We have forgotten how valuable long-term relationships are. Thus, in The Living Pipeline, the emphasis is placed on the experience we give each and every prospect from the moment we meet them until the moment they buy from us.

And to better understand how to facilitate an experience, The Living Pipeline has developed buyer types and timelines you can use as a starting point.

True sales professionals generate lasting relationships with results that benefit the client first and foremost. They place a premium on service and customer experience, and they do everything they can to make their communities more connected and knowledgeable. These skill sets are vital for sales professionals to operate successfully in the new world.

Rebels are defenders, not conquerors. They are true Sales Leaders.

Stop sending your prospects crappy flyers and pamphlets every quarter after they give you the equivalent of the Heisman. All in hopes of getting somebody, anybody, to say they want to see a quote from you RIGHT THIS INSTANT.

Sending flyers and pamphlets is not building a relationship with them. And it doesn’t carry the amount of relevance and impact necessary to warrant a conversation outside of their immediate need. This is why you’re having trouble getting that meeting. On top of this, it’s a waste of time and money (for both parties).

Instead, be intentional with the way you engage prospects, and be willing to go the extra mile. You’ll find that changing your cadence and approach will reap many benefits in the coming years.

The Living Pipeline is the foundation behind a successful sales cycle with your prospects. It’s the idea of looking for more than just instant gratification in every call or stop you make.

Stop peppering prospects with endless amounts of garbage marketing and cheesy sales pitches just to get permission to drop off a proposal they’ll sweep into the pile they already have.

Understand the long game better. Recognize that there are a few distinct types of accounts and that you can be more intentional when communicating with them. And, lastly, realize that time is the actual currency of sales. So use it wisely.

The way you treat your customers is the way they will treat you.

Your pipeline is old, rusted, and leaking. Dismantle it and move on from the old ways. The time has come to breathe life into your sales walk. The time has come for a Rebellion against the rusty pipelines of yesteryear. The time has come for a Living Pipeline.

Welcome to the Living Pipeline…