The Pigeon Story That Taught Me About Boundaries in Sales
Boundaries. Do we need to have them? Yes. But is it hard? That’s a loud yes.
For salespeople, this can be a fine line.
The other day, I was on the phone with my work husband. He was rushing to a last-minute appointment to clean pigeon poop off a balcony. I said, “What?” He told me the owners had moved out and pigeons had taken up residence, so before every showing, he now had to deal with this.
I asked why he hadn’t mentioned it to the owners, but he said it was no big deal. Then he got there and found a nest being built. At that point, he realized it was pigeons one hundred, agent zero, and time to set some boundaries on what he should and shouldn’t be doing for sellers.
We both laughed because some paper towels and cleaner weren’t going to solve that mess.
I’ve so been there. We often hesitate to set boundaries because we fear losing the business. But it’s always fear-based, and it usually comes from over-giving and undervaluing what we actually bring to the table.
I’m not saying you shouldn’t bring amazing service to your clients, but it needs to be balanced within reason.
How do you know when your boundaries are being tested? For me, it’s when I realize I'm doing much more than I ever expected. That's my cue to pause and evaluate.
Every salesperson has their version of the pigeon story.
