You met 20 people this month. Networking calls, podcasts, a dinner, a conference coffee.

How many of them could tell a friend, in one sentence, what you do?

If the honest answer is "not many," your pipeline is leaking before a single sales call. Not because your work is weak. Because nobody can repeat it.

And those intros are the leads that cost none of your calendar. No campaign, no content sprint at midnight. Somebody else does the marketing for you, if they can say what you do.

I talked this through with Kat Polsinelli on Real Chat with Kat (July 2024). Listen to the full conversation: Psychology of Sales Success: Sales Without the Sleaze

"I help leaders lead better" sells nothing

I hear this all the time from coaches, consultants and advisors. I ask what they sell and what it solves. The answer: my ideal client is an ambitious leader, and I help them lead better.

As a buyer I hear nothing I need. A leader needs people, results, cost reduction, a full pipeline, maybe some fun in the meetings. None of those got named. And you can't even find "ambitious" on LinkedIn. There is no filter for it.

Kat described the cost from her side of the table. She meets so many people on her podcast and in networking calls. The ones with a generalized, all-over-the-place story are gone from her head in a week or two. That's exactly how a pipeline dries up: nobody forgets you on purpose.

Pick one fight

Here's the question I give founders: "Are you making them smarter, happier, or richer?" Chew on it before you answer.

The first answer is always: a bit of all three. True. Your work touches all of them. But for a full pipeline, you pick one. "Pick a fight." Then stay in that lane for a couple of months.

Smarter. You break down what's happening in their industry. A five-minute video, a visual. Your banner, your topic and your call to action all say the same thing: subscribe for the breakdown.

Happier. Relationships, mindset, calm. Marriage therapists and mindset coaches live here.

Richer. This is the one I picked. I'm devoted to your pipeline being stronger. Every post is about the start, the middle or the end of it.

🐬 Picture the hallway version. Someone looks grumpy: go see her, she makes you happier. Someone has sales problems: call Simon, he makes you richer. That's one sentence a friend can carry.

One fight makes you referable

That's what one fight buys you. Pick one and you become referable, and remarkable, because it's easy to make a remark about you.

People meet so many people every week. If you make it easy to file you under one topic, they save you. Later, when somebody tells them about a problem, your name comes up without you lifting a finger. You know that founder in your space who seems to get every intro? This is usually why.

🐯 And notice what that does to the first call. The intro arrives warm, not stale. The person already knows what you fix. You're not explaining yourself or chasing. You're leading.

Narrow it further: five levels, both ways

One fight sets the topic. The client sheet sets the person. In the first exercise of a 90-day sprint we write the ideal client five levels deep, and the anti-ideal client five levels deep, on the same sheet.

Not just "entrepreneur." City or rural? What do they love? What are they facing in the next 12, 18, 24 months, and do they have a plan for it? Then the five things that rule someone out.

Why bother? "How can you be picky only if you have a full pipeline?" Clarity is what fills it. And a full pipeline is what lets you say no to the clients who are zero fun.

Start this week

1. Pick your fight. Smarter, happier or richer. Write the one you chose on a sticky note.
2. Fix the three places. Your LinkedIn banner, your next post, your call to action. All three say the same fight.
3. Write the sheet. Ideal client five levels deep, anti-ideal five levels deep.
4. Test the sentence. Ask two people you met this month what you do. Listen to what comes back.
5. Score it Friday. Count the intros that came in, in Friday Learnings. Stay in the lane for at least two months.

Picture three months from now. Someone you met once forwards a founder to you with one line: this is exactly what you fix. You didn't chase it. That's Sprintlife: control of the sales conversation, and the time freedom it buys you. 🌴

Listen to the full conversation with Kat Polsinelli: Psychology of Sales Success: Sales Without the Sleaze

Grab the free tools and sharpen your positioning alongside other founders in the Sprint Club: https://www.strategysprints.com

Ready to accelerate now? Book a Discovery Call: https://calendly.com/strategysprint/discovery-call

Happy hunting.
Simon & The Sprinters 🐬⚡️🐆