Of course they weren't ready

I was reviewing a sales call recently with someone selling MSP services.

We reviewed the entire sales process, but I honed in on the presentation and closing call.

Because he'd run a good process up to that point, uncovering several pain points and frustrations with their current provider. And the closing presentation wasn't bad.

But at the end of the day, the prospect needed to "think about it" and didn't move forward.

So I asked what he thought of the call to close the deal.

He said, "I think it went well. I followed the playbook. They could be a good customer… they just weren't ready to buy."

To which I responded, "Of course they weren't ready to buy."

If They Were Ready, You Wouldn't Be There

When prospects are ready to buy, you send them a contract, they sign, and boom… they're a customer.

These people already have their minds made up, don't have objections, and all you need to do is facilitate the transaction.

Sounds like a great job, but it's order taking. And it doesn't (or shouldn't) pay nearly as well as a legit sales role.

Why?

Because it's easy. And finding people to do it is easy.

The whole reason prospects are talking to you as a salesperson is precisely that they aren't ready to buy—yet.

Maybe they need information. Maybe education. Maybe coaching on how to make a decision (some people just suck at making decisions).

Maybe they don't trust you yet. Maybe they don't trust your company. Maybe they need confidence the solution works for them.

Maybe they need to understand the real benefits. Especially with IT, where a lot of people think it's just help desk and printers—when it's actually infrastructure and security that helps them grow.

Whatever it is, our job is to figure out what's missing and deliver it. Which isn't an easy job and why some salespeople make more than a fucking neurosurgeon.

But that's what sales is: identifying the gap between "not ready to buy" and "ready to buy"… and closing it.

Three Buckets

Here's the mental model I teach all my sales teams: all of your prospects fall into 1 of 3 categories: red, green, or yellow.

Red — never buying, no matter what. Maybe they're broke, can't decide, cynical—whatever. But the world's best salesperson couldn't close it. Move on.

Green — basically lay-downs. Strong referral, great marketing, they're ready. Just don't insult their mother and you'll close the deal. Enjoy, they are rare.

Yellow — where you make your money. In-market, capable of saying yes or no. This is where we unpack the pains, the psychology, the benefits, the obstacles, the objections—all of it—and do the work to close the gap.

Regardless of your product, price, or process, all of your prospects fall into one of these buckets.

And your job in sales is to talk to people in the Yellow—all day long.

Everything Changes When You Accept This

Once you accept that your job is to operate in the Yellow, it reframes how you approach the process entirely.

Because you expect the job to be hard.

You anticipate obstacles in the process. You expect objections, questions, and reluctance. And you prepare yourself for all of it.

You don't hear, "We need to think about it," and say, "Guess I'll check back in three months."

You dig in and figure out what they need to think about. Because you know it's your job to help them make the decision rather than hoping something happens in the next few months to do it for you.

Prospect indecision isn't seen as a nuisance. It's how we earn our keep.

Don't get me wrong, following the playbook up to the close takes some skill.

But true selling starts when prospects aren't quite ready to buy.

That's when the best salespeople say 'put me in coach.'

Order takers? They resent the actual act of selling. They complain about objections, obstacles, and all the reasons prospects won't buy.

But a salesperson complaining about resistance in the sales process is like a truck driver bitching about having to stop for gas. It's the job.

If you don't like it, go get an order-taking role.

But if you embrace Yellow, you'll be more consistent, you'll make more money, and you'll actually enjoy selling more.

Before Your Next Call

List the likely objections. You already know them: "need to think about it," "too expensive," "sticking with current provider," etc.

Show up prepared—trained, gloves on, ready to go.

Expect them, welcome them, and handle them. You'll get better results, and your morale will change because you're doing the real job of sales.

Because the best salespeople don't avoid Yellow zone prospects. They appreciate them.

They know that's where they create real value and earn commission. And that's where you separate yourself from everyone else who's just waiting around for Green prospects to land in their lap.

Your next "not ready" prospect isn't a task to follow up on in 3 months. It's why the sales profession exists.

Adios,

Ray