Selling to the COO: Like Replacing an Engine Mid-Flight

You’re 35,000 feet up. The plane is flying. The passengers are sipping ginger ale.

And now?
You’re pitching a new engine.

Not on the ground.
Not in a hangar.
In the air. Right now.

This is what it feels like to sell to a Chief Operating Officer.

What Most Reps Miss

Most sellers think the COO wants to hear about future possibilities. But the COO’s world is rooted in current obligations.

They are not just managing KPIs. They are managing bandwidth, interdependencies, and the invisible glue that keeps the operation flying at speed.

Every day, they’re juggling:

Teams that are already stretched
Processes held together by "temporary" fixes
Cross-functional workflows that only work because someone is constantly smoothing friction behind the scenes

Their focus is not on what’s possible.
It’s on what’s operationally survivable.

So when a rep shows up pitching “transformational change,” without understanding the load-bearing systems already in play, they don’t come across as ambitious. They come across as dangerous.

COOs aren’t buying your product.
They’re buying your ability to bolt it on without turbulence.

They’re scanning for:

“Will this create unexpected drag?”
“Who’s coordinating the handoffs?”
“How many fires will I have to put out because of this?”

Because they’re not just accountable for outcomes.
They’re responsible for every shaky moment between takeoff and landing.

Most reps are pitching the destination.
But COOs are thinking about the airspace, the flight path, the crew workload, and the maintenance log.

If you show up with blue-sky promises and no flight plan, you’re not a partner.
You’re a risk they didn’t ask for.

The COO’s Job: Keep the System Running While Making It Better

Imagine you’re sitting in the cockpit.

The plane is in the air, cruising smoothly.
Passengers are comfortable. The crew is busy.
Every system is humming; not perfect, but functional.

Now imagine someone walks in with a shiny new engine and says:
"This will make you go faster, fly farther, and future-proof the fleet."

Sounds great. But you’re mid-flight.
And the person holding that engine isn't holding a map of how it attaches.
They’re not talking about what happens to airflow, weight balance, or crew workload.
They’re just excited to show you the horsepower.

That’s how a COO feels in most sales conversations.

They’re not skeptical of change.
They’re responsible for delivering it without crashing the plane.

COOs live in constant tension:

Between “Let’s evolve” and “Let’s not crash.”
Between “This could be big” and “This could blow up ops.”
Between “We need to modernize” and “We can’t afford downtime.”

It’s not fear.
It’s stewardship.

Every new initiative touches systems, people, processes, and promises already made to the business. For a COO, change is never isolated. If something slips, someone else pays the price; be it a team stretched too thin, a project timeline derailed, or a reputation dented internally.

So when you pitch them a solution, they are not thinking:
"Does this work?"
They are thinking:
"Can this work here, now, without breaking the flow?"

They don’t need you to sell them on growth.
Growth is always on their radar.
But they need to believe:

Your solution won’t overload their crew
Won’t reroute mission-critical workflows
Won’t compromise operational control in the name of speed

In their mind, you’re not offering a new tool. You’re offering an upgrade at altitude.

And if you don’t show them how it bolts on safely, you’re just another risk they’ll politely decline.

If You Want a Yes, Answer These Unspoken Questions:

“Where does this fit into my current systems?”
“What are you doing to prevent rollout chaos?”
“Who’s on point when something breaks?”
“Can I trust this not to backfire on me in six months?”

What to Say (and Mean)

Instead of:
"We’re excited to partner and scale."

Say:
"We’ve done this at altitude. I’ll show you exactly how we handle mid-air change without losing speed."

Instead of:
"We’ll support you post-sale."

Say:
"Here’s our exact support path—mapped to where similar teams have hit turbulence before."

Buyer Drivers that Move a COO

If your deal checks those boxes, you’re not a risk.
You’re the mechanic they trust to keep the plane flying better, not just faster.

Final Word

Selling to a COO is not about energy. It’s about execution.
Not about ambition. About alignment.

You’re not showing them the future.
You’re showing them the upgrade plan. And exactly how you’ll get it done mid-flight.

Make it clean.
Make it quiet.
Make it feel survivable.

And you’ll get your yes at 35,000 feet.