5 Signs to Disqualify a Prospect Forever

Often times, we as salespeople become so enthralled with winning a prospect over, we forget about a very important sales function in the prospecting process, disqualification. Disqualifying a prospect for legitimate reasons early in the sales cycles saves time and effort and allows one to become much more effective in reaching out to prospects who are right for the given product or service. Over Colleen Francis’s 20 years of her sales career, she has come up with five signs to disqualify a prospect forever.

1.  The Shopper – You learn that the prospect is considering other well-known competitors who they have a long, successful buying history with. The prospect can neither tell you why they are considering an alternative, nor will they allow you to communicate with the decision maker. You are being used to compare pricing and features!
2. The Snail – A time frame and a budget cannot be established, and nothing for that matter can be set in stone. Deadlines come and go, and there is no urgency. Some projects just are not ready to be pushed forward!
3. The Hide-and-Seeker – You cannot meet the decision maker. If you are being prevented from this, you simply cannot win the business. Try being assertive up front in this qualification step by stating, “In order for us to move forward I will need to meet with the buyer.”
4.  The Stacked Deck – The decision criteria are obviously set up for the competition. In other words, by their standards you are not the best the fit even though you might be. For example, a client stating they will only buy products made in America. Why waste time with a prospect who will never buy?
5. The Criminal – The prospect shows signs of unethical, illegal, or subversive behavior. It is best to walk away from the start.

http://blog.hubspot.com/sales/types-of-prospects-to-disqualify-forever