The banker Cosimo de’ Medici never had to sell. People came to him.
He gave first. Without asking for anything in return.
He funded artists (including Michelangelo). Helped merchants in crisis. Supported churches.
Was he generous? Yes, probably. Was he calculating? Absolutely.
But in Renaissance Florence, generosity and strategy were the same thing.
Giving was a language and Cosimo spoke it fluently. And that language translated into something concrete.
👉 When he needed a political decision to go through – it did.
👉 When he wanted a contract – he rarely had to ask more than once.
He hadn’t just built a network. He had woven an invisible web of loyalty stretching from Florentine craftsmen to the Pope in Rome.
That was 560 years ago.
But you recognise him. You’ve met his modern equivalent, the salesperson who never seems to sell, but always seems to win.
Today’s sales organisations are good at a lot of things.
Pipeline management. Prospecting. Follow-ups. Keeping deals moving.
But at that pace, it’s easy to miss the step that happens before the need has even been articulated.
Not with a “no-agenda call” that nobody believes in. Not with a LinkedIn request followed by a generic pitch message.
👉 But with an insight that helps the customer understand their situation from a new perspective.
👉 An introduction that opens doors.
👉 A reflection that shows you understand their challenge, without having anything to sell right now.
It won’t show up in this week’s pipeline report. But it’s what makes you the obvious choice when the need finally arises.
Cosimo de’ Medici died in 1464, but his banking dynasty outlived him by generations.
His most important legacy wasn’t the money.
It was the trust.
How far ahead of a pitch do you start building your relationship with the customer?
Read more about why the 80/20 rule turns out to be closer to 50/20.
