Signs You Should Walk Away From A Prospect

You may be surprised that there are times when you should walk away from a prospect. Not every buyer you encounter will be a good fit. It’s important to recognize when a prospect isn’t worth pursuing.

Why walk away from a prospect?

There are many reasons why sellers should engage in quality qualification:

• They avoid wasting time on a prospect who isn’t able or willing to buy.
• Sellers protect their time and energy. 
• They avoid a poor client experience if they do business with someone who is a poor fit. 
• Sellers protect themselves from a toxic or unhealthy relationship.

Writing for Hubspot, Dan Tyre explains that many salespeople find it tough to step back from new business. They feel they should sell to anyone who wants to buy. But Tyre explains that sellers must focus on the quality of buyers they work with. 

Smart sellers "should only be selling to customers who are going to leverage value over time." 

Signs to look for when working with prospects

Tyre shares several signs that signal a seller should walk away from a prospect. He explains that some signs are more obvious than others. He recommends engaging in the “Identify, Connect, Explore, and Advise” strategy. 

During the Identify stage, qualification is very broad. You weed out a lead who may not have needs that align with your solution. Or you find that a lead is in a time zone in which you can’t operate. The signs during this phase tend to be clear and obvious. 

Others include:

• Revenue doesn’t match your target market. 
• Misaligned vertical market. 
• No interest in buying now.
• No budget. 
• Locked into a contract.

The “Connect” phase

During this phase, sellers typically engage with prospects. Likely, it is when you make the discovery call. Best practices for discovery should take place. This includes asking quality questions. 

As Rachel Cagle writes for SalesFuel, “Sales qualification is the ultimate goal of your discovery calls.”

There are several warning signs that may emerge during the discovery process. Some are more nuanced than the usual needs-​based qualification. The prospect may act rude, demanding or aggressive. They may appear disinterested or too emotional. Tyre also advises sellers to keep an eye out for sellers who:

• Don’t directly answer questions
• Act impulsive
• Demand control over the conversation
• Can’t share facts (such as specific numbers or other data)

And in addition to these more understated signs, don’t forget need. SalesFuel suggests incorporating the following qualifying questions into your discovery:

• What's prompting you to do something about it now?
• Do you have a budget allocated for this project? If not, when do you expect to have one?
• How does the purchase approval process work?
• Is this a pain point for everyone on your team? Is there anyone who might serve as a barrier to this solution?
• When do you need a solution in place?

Explore and Advise

Two more ways to identify it’s time to walk away from a prospect come at the “Explore” and “Advise” stages. The Explore process involves tying together alignment with their goals and your abilities. It’s the time to dive deeper into their goals, motivations, challenges, and timeline. 

Tyre recommends sellers take note of sellers who:

• Appear dishonest or give conflicting statements
• Act indecisive and/​or uncertain
• Are unwilling to take direction
• Don’t have resources available

Those are all signs that the prospect may not be worth pursuing. It may simply be just a matter of timing or budget availability. But smart sellers recognize these red flags and adjust how they proceed. 

During the “Advise” stage, sellers focus on showing how they will deliver their solution. They pitch their plan and have the opportunity to observe how the prospect responds. While it's difficult to walk away from a prospect at this point, it may be necessary. 

If you notice any of the following during this process, it’s time to pause and reconsider: 

• The prospect doesn’t have the patience to wait for implementation and wants immediate results.
• They don’t follow directions when asked.
• Meetings get canceled with little or no warning.
• You have to explain things multiple times.

All of these subtle signs suggest a prospect may not be ready to buy. 

It may feel wrong to walk away from a prospect, but smart sellers know quality leads matter. Being aware of these signs ensures you keep qualifying throughout the entire sales process. And for more qualification best practices, take a look at these tips. 

Photo by Mina Rad on Unsplash