My ideal vacation involves sun, sand, and surf.  Every time.  Can’t get enough of it.  Relaxation personified.

As much as I’ll try to put work out of my mind, though, sometimes it creeps in like a ghost crab near an unzipped cooler.  That’s not always a bad thing.  Sometimes your best thinking comes when you’re not trying to think at all.

During one particular nonromantic long walk on the beach, something about the way the waves were breaking got me drawing parallels between coastal currents and sales strategy.  Maybe a stretch, but stick with me.

Let’s say you’re the sea.  Your prospect is that swimmer standing at the shoreline looking way down the beach toward his umbrella.  His goal:  get a little exercise in before spending the rest of the day teaching the kids to build sandcastles, and then watching as they callously destroy his creation before running off to bury one another instead.

So, what are you going to do to help him get there?  Let’s consider three general B2B options in our wet and wild scenario.

No Current

Other than a little lapping at the very edge, you’re pretty easygoing today.  No danger of pounding waves or crazy undertow that would cause our swimmer to second-guess his choice of cardio that morning.

Also, no help.  Without any current to speak of, he’ll have to do all the work himself.  It’s going to take him longer to finish, and he’ll be more exhausted once he gets there.  In fact, he may trade strokes for strides halfway through and double-time it back.

It shouldn’t be that painful.  Your job as a salesperson is to guide the man along his journey.  If you leave all the legwork to him, you’re opening the door for competitors to step in and unshoulder that burden.  Then they shape the conversation and frame the insights that lead him where they want him to go.  You may not even get a phone call.

That said, there may be certain businesses that don’t need to bend over backwards to generate revenue.  Companies that can get by with a more hands-off approach include those that thrive primarily on repeat business, are so good that people are knocking down their door, or grow mostly through existing networks or alliances.

Rip Current

You, sir or ma’am, are not calm-watered.  In fact, you’re Glengarry Glen Ross aggressive.  You found a sizzling lead and are coming in hot.  This isn’t wrong, per se, except swim trunks over there doesn’t spot that hole in the sandbar you’re flowing through.  In the blink of an eye, he finds himself being dragged out to the great beyond in a terrifying rip current.

Instinct kicks in.  The harder you pull him, the harder he fights.  You may get lucky if he knows what he’s doing and swims to safety with the current rather than against it.  He’ll eventually get where you both want to go, but he won’t be happy about it and there are much better ways to start a partnership.  Or, maybe he’s simply overwhelmed and sends the lifeguard an S.O.S.  If that happens, you’ll never get another shot because he ain’t coming back to that spot.

Again, there are exceptions here.  A sense of urgency can be helpful during short buying cycles, or when people are under pressure to make quick decisions and you need to help them do that before someone else does.  Or, maybe your offer is transactional and requires relatively-low investment, so the prospect wants to check it off the list asap.

Longshore Current

There’s always a middle ground.  In this case, a pleasant sea breeze is driving your waves gently into shore.  Even better, there’s a light current heading directly to the family umbrella.  Mr. swimmer gets a good workout in, yet still has plenty of energy to build—and then rebuild—castle after doomed castle.

The longshore currents of the business world escort prospects along their journey from square one.  Content marketing like white papers and case studies, inbound tactics, intuitive websites, free demos…all these and more establish credibility and put you top of mind.  Once they’re ready to start the search process, you’re already on the list and can get in there to pitch them directly.

A lot of businesses fall into this category.  Bigger investments come with bigger anxiety, so decision makers spend more time learning and exploring options.  It’s also necessary for companies with complex solutions in spaces like tech to get in front of prospects early and guide them down the path (hopefully to only one door).

So, which best describes you?  Whatever suits your style and business, keep in mind that the sale is just the initial step.  Most of your revenue comes after the first deal’s signed, so you’d better keep those beachgoers on your stretch of sand.

But, to be on the safe side, maybe handle the rest from the tiki hut.

As much as I’d like to be, I’m not writing this from the dunes.  That means I’m reachable and interested in talking about positioning your brand to fit your sales approach.