"Yes, No or Maybe"

I have intended to post this for awhile and jut did not get around to it. I would like to talk about this self created law.

Many sales people simply waste time chasing their tails in the hope of potentially getting a deal. What a mistake this is!

So, in a nutshell. The best response that a potential customer can provide us is a "yes." The second best answer a potential customer can provide us is a "no." Why is that, you say?

Sales is a profession of prioritization. The quicker we are able to make customers provide an answer to our questions, the faster we are able to move onto the next thing. When I have a list of 30-40 things to do in any given day, the last thing I want to do is to call a customer to follow up on a potential deal with them. I am not saying that this is the case with all closes. There are many deals that require follow up as part of the process of closure. I am talking about the deals that all sales people have that are really not closeable. We have to be honest with ourselves to best determine what those deals are.

I had been working on a potential deal for close to a year on a phone system for a Business Association here in town. I kept trying to convince myself that it was worth the time to work the client in the hope that somehow this deal would happen. What a joke! I finally woke up and smelled the coffee. Even someone with almost 20 years of sales experience can do this.

Do yourself a favor. Learn to walk away. You will be a more successful sales person for it.