Ep 20 - Troy Schuette
"Shame on me if you don't have clarity": Troy Schuette on converting 90s by making them about the client
Key takeaways
- Troy's early 90-minute meetings weren't converting, and he nearly quit four times in his first year.
- The problem was orientation, not effort: he raced through step two, the part about the prospect.
- He made the 90 about them, tying each pain point back to the six key components.
- His goal is clarity on whether it's the right fit, not a close. If they don't have it, that's on him.
- He enters the danger in the 90 itself, so the room sees what sessions will feel like.
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The Idea
The 90 that's about you.
Troy Schuette has been implementing EOS® for nearly nine years. Close to seventy clients, around 870 session days, and a seat on the education team teaching boot camp.
On The Practice Builder this week, he sat down with Chris Beer to talk about a problem most Implementers quietly wrestle with: the 90-minute meeting that should convert but doesn't, and what actually changes when it starts working.
Early in his practice, Troy's 90-minute meetings weren't converting. He had the reps. He was doing the activity. He blamed himself, and nearly quit four times in his first year.
The problem wasn't effort. It was orientation.
I think I looked at it and said, I gotta get them all the information. And then what did I go the fastest through? Step two.
Step two is the about-you section. The part where the prospect talks about what they actually want from the business, what's missing, what happens if nothing changes. Troy was racing through it to get to his material.
The shift came when he stopped trying to deliver a complete presentation and started trying to understand whether he could actually help. He went deeper on step two, tying specific pain points back to the six key components, asking what would be different if all of it were in the rearview mirror. "I made the 90 about them."
That shift also changed how he framed the meeting itself. He stopped thinking about closing.
My goal is I want you to get clarity on whether or not this is a right fit for you and whether or not I'm a right fit for you.
At the end, instead of asking for next steps, he asks a different question: do you have clarity? If the answer is no, that's on him. "Shame on me. Then I didn't do my job."
But the most surprising part of Troy's conversion story has nothing to do with his pitch. It's what he does when something goes sideways in the room.
A prospect texting mid-meeting. A father who bulldozes his daughter on the leadership team. Many Implementers think entering the danger begins at the first session. Troy enters the danger in the 90.
When a prospect was on his phone mid-presentation, Troy went quiet for thirty seconds, then said: "Go ahead. Finish what you're doing. I just don't want you to miss any of this." He moved forward with that client. The five other people in the room had been putting up with that behavior in every meeting they'd ever had.
Finally somebody is gonna actually say something to this guy.
That moment wasn't a disruption. It was the audition. The room got to see exactly what sessions would feel like. And for teams that have been tolerating dysfunction, that single moment is often the thing that tips the decision.
The Steal
Enter the danger before you're hired.
The next time something happens in a 90 that you'd normally let slide, name it.
Someone who hasn't spoken. Someone checking their phone. Someone talking over everyone else. Address it in your own style. Troy's phone intervention was warm and measured. Other Implementers might be more direct. Both work, because the point isn't the delivery.
The point is that the rest of the room is watching to see whether you'll do what they've been unable or unwilling to do themselves. That single moment often matters more than anything on your slides.
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