A Bad Lead Is Worse Than No Lead at All

Entrepreneurs can learn to target "high probability" prospective clients instead of wasting time and money selling to the ones who won't commit

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By Christine Comaford-Lynch

March 26, 2008 at 7:49 PM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

"I have a coaching company and am super-frustrated. I ended up courting a client for a large contract for about three months and then he ended up bailing. I took a big tumble and I want to know, from your perspective, how I could have avoided that." That was a question a business owner asked me in a recent tele-seminar I led. I've heard of similar struggles from other entrepreneurs.

My answer? The prospective client never really was a prospective client. Instead, the person was an expertise-vampire, sucking up time and advice. The owner of the coaching company ended up giving the person three months of free consulting when she should have disqualified him quickly. I realize the term "disqualify" sounds harsh but really, haven't we all chased sales leads only to realize months later that the person never had any intention of buying?