Who not to do business with: a guide to saving time, money, and sanity.

AuthorGraham, John R.

Why waste sales efforts on those who have no real intention of buying?

GETTING MORE customers, pushing up sales, and growing accounts are the goals of every business. The effort to make the sale often blinds both management and sales representatives to those who won't become customers.

Wasting time and money on trying to get business from those who have no intention of buying is all too common. "I really thought I could get that one," comments one salesperson, while another remarks, "I should have known that the company wasn't going to do anything."

Many salespeople want to believe they can turn even the most difficult prospects into paying customers. Their confidence is laudable, but not everyone can become a customer. There are those who, for very specific reasons, simply won't say yes.

Knowing how to identify the "no sale" types is important. Once spotted, it is time to walk away before they drain you of your dignity and ideas. The following are 12 profiles of people not to waste time trying to do business with if you are a salesperson:

Those who are control freaks. You are asked for your suggestions. Because you take the assignment seriously, you present your ideas and make recommendations. You have created the perfect environment for the control freak who systematically and thoroughly dissects and dismisses each of your ideas. You will feel ignorant and stripped of professionalism. The control freak dismisses everything you say as dead wrong. You don't give up and try another tack. Wrong again! The control freak devours salespeople like peanuts. There is no way to win.

Those who love to spend time "schmoozing." Schmoozers--people who delight in mere chatter or idle gossip--are not buyers. This needs to be understood because it is easy to come away from a meeting with a typical schmoozer feeling on top of the world. "We really hit it off well," is a common remark heard after such a session. The schmoozer sets you up and then knocks you down. With schmoozers, there is always a combination of hope and impediment. "I really want to do this, but . . .," the schmoozer says. No matter what you do, there always is something in the way of putting the deal together. Why? A schmoozer wants to schmooze, not buy.

Those who pick your brain. With so many companies downsizing, information has become even more valuable. Get away from those who tell you that they are in the "information gathering stage." It is likely that this is the only stage they...

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