How Columbus Closed The Sale

In fourteen-hundred-and-ninety-two, Columbus sailed the ocean blue…

…more than six years after he first pitched the idea to Spain’s Queen Isabella.

It was this day (May 1) in 1486 when Columbus made the pitch: “Gimme some boats, sailors, and supplies, and I’ll find a western ocean route to Asia.”

It was a great pitch: Spain was addicted to Asia’s silk, spices, and gems.

But the overland caravans that brought those goodies from the far east were expensive — with middlemen marking up prices every step of the way. With a direct western ocean route to India, Spain could get Asian goods directly from the source and cut out the Arab, Mamluk, Ottoman, and Venetian middlemen.

All of that appealed to Isabella, but it took her six(!) years to say “Yes.”

Why the delay? She was busy…

…and broke.

War with the Moors. Torturing and killing heretics during the Inquisition. Rebuilding royal finances (her kingdom was nearly bankrupt when she took the throne).

Plus, she wasn’t fully convinced Columbus could pull it off — so she convened a commission to review his proposal. Commissions take time.

So Columbus had to wait.

But during those six years, he continued to nurture his prospects in the Spanish court.

He stayed close to the court. When the king and queen moved, he moved.

He landed a small royal retainer — not a “yes,” but enough to keep the relationship alive.

He built a network of champions inside the palace — treasurers, cardinals, royal tutors who’d whisper his name when it mattered.

He sharpened the pitch — new arguments, new authorities, new evidence every time the commission pushed back.

A prospect must possess three things before they’ll buy from you: desire, authority, and resources.

In Spain, Isabella liked the idea of a western sea route to Asia, but she didn’t have the desire to focus on it in the 1480s.

She was the boss, but she also ceded some of the decision-making authority to the slow-moving commission.

And she didn’t have the dough to fund Columbus’ journey.

By remaining front-of-mind at the Spanish court and continuing to hone and present his pitch, Columbus made sure that when desire, authority, and resources FINALLY aligned — HE was the obvious choice.

So it was in 15th-century Spain. So it goes for 21st-century business owners.

Most of your prospects aren’t ready to buy today.

They like what you offer (some desire). But the budget’s tight. Or the boss hasn’t bought in. Or there’s a fire to put out first. Or a “commission” of advisors, partners, spouses, and accountants is slowing things down.

Push for the sale before all three — desire, authority, resources — line up, and you’ll get a “no” (or worse, a “not now” that quietly becomes a “never”).

But nurture the relationship — stay front-of-mind, keep sharpening your message, build champions, deliver value while they wait — and when those three finally align…

YOU are the obvious choice.

That’s what story-powered email does and a carefully designed marketing machine will do for you — keep you in the room while your prospect’s life sorts itself out.

Columbus had six years and a seat near the throne.

You have an email engine.

Use it well.