Why Timing and Relevance Matter in Sales
ICP Is Only the Beginning
You’ve heard me say it countless times—your ICP, your ideal customer profile, is critical. But here’s the truth: ICP only gets you into the game. It’s the front half of the sales equation.
The back half? That’s buyer intent. And buyer intent comes down to two words: timing and relevance. Without both, you don’t have a deal.
Timing Isn’t About You
Let’s get one thing straight. Timing is not when you want the customer to buy. It’s when they are ready to buy. That means you can’t push your calendar onto theirs.
I like to compare it to a baseball game. Innings one through eight drag on and on, and then suddenly in the ninth inning, boom—the customer makes a decision fast. That’s how timing works in sales.
Relevance Drives Decisions
If timing is one side of the coin, relevance is the other. Relevance means your solution matters enough to land in the customer’s top one or two priorities. Anything less, and they’ll put it off indefinitely.
And here’s the kicker—you can sometimes adjust timing, but you can’t fake relevance. If your solution doesn’t hit the mark, no amount of pushing will make the customer buy.
Educate or Convert?
When you’re looking at prospects, ask yourself: Do I need to educate them or convert them?
- If you have to educate, you’ll be investing time creating relevance and maybe even building urgency.
- If you’re trying to convert, they already buy something similar. That means timing is usually shorter, and your job is to prove your solution is more relevant than what they already have.
Knowing which camp a prospect falls into will tell you a lot about their buyer intent.
Ask the Tough Questions Early
Too many salespeople avoid tough questions because they don’t want to hear an answer that disqualifies a prospect. Big mistake.
If a customer doesn’t belong in your pipeline, don’t waste your time keeping them there. They have to earn the right to be in your pipeline.
Here are a few questions you should be asking right up front:
- How have you dealt with this issue in the past?
- What makes this problem so important right now?
- What other solutions have you tried?
- What happens if you don’t solve this issue?
- How does solving this impact your other objectives?
These questions uncover both timing and relevance—and they do it faster than any “check-in” email ever will.
Don’t Chase on Your Terms
One of the biggest traps in sales is chasing buyers on your timeline, not theirs. I recently had a software company ask me if I’d be making a decision in August. I told them yes, but then I added, “Sounds like you’re just trying to make your number.”
Don’t be that salesperson. Your focus must be on their priorities and their timing. Otherwise, you’re just pushing paper around your CRM.
Buyer Intent Is Earned in Conversation
Here’s something you need to hear: downloading an ebook or filling out a form on your website does not equal buyer intent. That’s just data.
Buyer intent only becomes real when you talk to the customer, when you dig into their challenges, and when you uncover where timing and relevance intersect.
Final Word
Your ICP opens the door, but it’s timing and relevance that close the deal. Stop chasing customers who aren’t ready, and start asking the tough questions that reveal buyer intent.
Remember, great salespeople don’t sell on their terms—they sell on the customer’s.
