Last week I was on a cold call.
After a bit of back and forth we both decided that I wasn't for them which is fine.
The prospect really liked the approach. They stated how I wasn't pushy and was understanding of their situation.
They mentioned that although my services were not for them right now it would be good to stay in contact and to go for a coffee.
And while that was a nice offer it really would have been pointless.
The Corporate Trap
This is where sales reps go wrong.
In the corporate world the salesperson would have agreed.
They would have booked the meeting. That is a plus one on the dashboard and a big high five from the CRO.
They would justify it by saying "Who knows it could be an opportunity. Let's see!"
Behave.
Your job as a salesperson is not to make friends.
It is to find prospects who have problems that you fix.
Booking a meeting with someone who has explicitly told you they are not a fit is the definition of the vanity metrics we warned about in Stop Chasing Vanity Metrics.
It looks like work. It feels like work. But it generates zero revenue.
Disqualify Early
You need to learn to disqualify early.
Stop acting busy to appease the dashboards.
In our Account Executive Training, we teach that time is your most valuable asset. If you spend an hour having coffee with a "nice" person who will never buy you have lost an hour that could have been spent finding a real buyer.
Revenue is the Only Metric
Your only metric that matters is revenue.
Even if you are an SDR your goal is revenue.
If you fill your pipeline with "coffees" and "catch ups" you are hiding from the truth. We discuss this avoidance behavior in The Always On Sales Myth. You are staying busy to avoid the hard work of finding new business.
Focus on the right people.
If they are not a fit let them go.
Don't book the coffee. Pick up the phone and find the next one.