RED FLAGS TO WATCH FOR
The following behaviors should be considered disqualifications:
- Short answers. If your lead isn’t providing you with much detail throughout your call, they’re almost certainly not interested.
- Inconsistent answers. If your lead is continually contradicting themselves, they probably aren’t really interested in you or may not even have enough of a problem that they need to solve yet.
- If the lead purposefully blocks you from speaking to the decision-maker, it’s time to drop them. You can’t make a sale if you don’t speak to the person/people making the decision.
- If the lead appears only mildly interested in solving their problem or changing products, don’t waste your time. Let them know they can find you when they’re more interested.
- Refusing to nail down a timeline. In the modern world, by the time you speak with a prospect, they should know they have a problem and have a pretty decent idea of when they need it fixed. If your lead doesn’t have an idea yet, they’re not ready to buy. Again, let them know how to get in touch, and don’t waste your time.
- Any sort of unethical or generally creepy behavior should also disqualify your prospects. It’s not worth jeopardizing your and your company’s professional reputations for a lead.
Qualifying your leads is such an important step for salespeople. It should never be skipped. Rather than throwing things at a wall and hoping something sticks, approach each potential prospect strategically and only continue the conversation if they’re interested in purchasing.