12 - The wrong variable

Most sales leaders I know are optimising the wrong thing.

They refine the pitch. They fix the CRM. They tighten the follow-up sequence. They obsess over conversion at every stage.

None of that is wrong. But none of it is the real variable.

The real variable is time. Specifically, in-person time.

The more hours you spend physically present with someone — client, prospect, decision-maker — the more likely the relationship moves. Not because you said the right thing. Because you were there.

I've watched good salespeople lose deals to average ones. Every time, the same pattern. The average rep was just around more. Lunch. A site visit. An industry event. Showing up to the QBR without being asked.

Not a better pitch. More presence.

This isn't a sales insight. It's older than sales...

Same rule with your kids. The ones who feel known are the ones you showed up for. Not the speech you gave. Not the gift. The Tuesday nights when you had other things to do.

Same rule in a relationship. Proximity builds trust. Distance erodes it. Doesn't matter how good the conversation was last month.

Remote-everything made this worse. You can run a full client relationship from a laptop and wonder why it feels transactional.

Because it is...

The clients I've held longest are the ones I've eaten with. The ones who've been to our office. The ones I've bumped into at something unrelated to work. Those touchpoints aren't billable. They're not trackable. They're the whole thing.

You can't systematise proximity. But you can schedule it.

One face-to-face a month with your top five clients. Not a call. Not a Zoom. Lunch, coffee, a walk through their floor.

That's the variable. Not your deck.