When Should I Give Up on a Prospect?

How to be persistent and not pushy when prospecting

          The really short answer:  Never!

          The question of when to give up on a prospect comes up in almost every sales training workshop I put on.  Normally, it’s during the prospecting portion of the training. 

          I like to get right to the point with this answer.  I want them to understand that you never give up on a prospect.  So, I give them my short answer: “Never!”  At that point, I can tell they are expecting me to lecture on the importance of, “Never give up…Keep going back…..Keep driving for the sale”  Then they will respond with the traditional salesperson response, “Yeah, but I don’t want to be pushy or overly salesy.” 

          This type of discussion played out many times before I realized that I wasn’t getting the right message a crossed to the sales teams about prospecting.  Most of us view prospecting as a stagnant list.  Our sales manager either gives us or has us compile a list of prospects for us to work on.  We go out, find little to no interest, check in on them periodically and run smack into a brick wall of insurmountable resistance. 

        That brick wall may sound like,

• “I’m happy where I’m at.” 
• “I don’t think we’re going to make any changes.”
• “I’ll take a look at it, but I don’t think I’m interested.”   

          Our response is to not be pushy.  That means, we back off.  Wait a month or two.  Then go back out to the farm and “Check in.”  The second time we run into that brick wall, we extend our cooling off period by maybe 6 months.  Then a year.  Eventually, we just forget about them.  Going back any sooner just seems pushy to us.  And none of us want to be “that salesperson”.

          If this is your version of prospecting, consider some of these concepts.

          First, your list shouldn’t be stagnant.  It should be a living, breathing, ever-changing document.  You should be working on the list as an ongoing process every day.  Prioritizing is the key to keeping your list updated. Stagnant lists get boring and feel fruitless.  So, either get a prospect moving or get them off your priority list. 

          Secondly, prospecting is all about the development of a funnel.  I know that may sound manipulative as no one wants to be put into someone’s sales funnel.  However, prospects are in a funnel when they make buying decisions.  At first, they don’t know you and may not even know your company.  So, they need to meet you, learn about who you are and your company.  You also need to do the same about them.  Then there are steps along the way until they finally decide to buy from you:  do their own research, demo your product, free sample, small purchase, larger purchase, etc.

          At any point, a prospect may lose interest.  It’s our job as salespeople to discover that loss of interest and either fix it or let them go – for now.  Pushy is going back every week with no new information until they buy from you or get tired of you and ask you not to come back.  Persistence is figuring out how to stay relevant so you have good reasons to get back on the farm for a 2^nd, 3^rd, 10^th or 100^th appointment.

          If you can’t figure out how to be relevant and they lose interest, then they go into a different priority level on your prospect list.  Call it the cold case file, which may literally be a file folder in your filing cabinet.  They may stay there until something changes.  Either on their end, your end or the industry’s end. 

          That’s the “for now part”.  Things change.  Their current supplier may have a problem, go out of business, change ownership, discontinue a product or service, etc.  I used to say, “In prospecting, second place is not a bad place to be on a prospect’s radar.  Feed companies have a way of irritating their customers.  When that happens, I want to be the next person on their list of suppliers.   That’s the good news.  The bad news is that we are also a feed company, which means we have the ability to do that to our current customers as well.” Yes, I know.  I want to be in the #1 spot and second place is the first loser.  I’ve heard it all before.  I watched Talladega Nights.  What I’ve learned in the last five years is that you can substitute any type of company in there:  feed, agronomy, crop insurance, grain elevator, irrigation, equipment.  All of us have people and machines in our business.  This makes us all fallible.  We have the ability to make mistakes.  So, stay vigilant and stay relevant.  Eventually you will get your chance to help your prospect.

          As one prospect moves into the cold case file, it frees up an opportunity to move someone else higher on your priority list.  The secret is to continuously add new prospects into your funnel.  The next secret is that this process is a long game.  In some cases, it takes months or even years.  Much depends on the type of products you sell.  However, it also depends on your prospects and your ability to be relevant.

          As is the case with everyone of my articles, I want you to know I practice what I preach.  So, here are a few real-world examples of when I thought I completely lost a prospect/customer, tried to stay relevant and eventually ended up selling them. 

• Joe was a dealer who bought from my competitor for 40 years. I called on him for over 12 years before he became a customer.  We ended up becoming his primary supplier.
• Steve was a livestock producer who I sold for three years. We got into a disagreement over a contract.  He cussed me out and kicked off his farm.  I got a call from him a month later that he wanted pricing.  I ended up selling him for the next 12 years as his sole supplier.
• Dave was a dealer who I had a falling out early in our relationship. So, I signed another dealer in his market.  He got upset and sent a scathing letter about me to my manager.  Five years later, he called me and asked me to stop out as he wanted to become a dealer.  Fortunately for both of us, we had another salesperson in that area.  He ended up buying from that salesperson for many years.

          In summary.  Prospects will heat up and go cold.  Some will seem difficult to sell.  Your customers will get upset with you or your company, but also with your competitor.  They will quit you and come back.  Nothing is forever.  So, the answer to the question, “When do I give up on a prospect?” is Never.

        If this blog helped you on your journey to being more effective in your selling, I ask you to share it with those who might also benefit from it.

Sign up for my weekly blog and podcast using the links on this page