Imagine yourself at a sales meeting talking about a prospect and your current sales status. You ask for an update from one of your sales team members on Company XYZ and the contact, Mr. Smith. At the next sales meeting you ask for an update. You get a dumbfounded look. Why?
There is no Mr. Smith.
There are too many sales managers who get sold. What they’re buying is an unbelievable product of nothing. Salespeople are creating fictitious customers along with story book stages in their sales process. Shame on you if you get sold.
How do you avoid this?
Every prospect’s potential is defined against clear criteria. Perhaps it’s revenue potential. You could say that your best prospect (an A) must exceed $10,000 potential. If your salesperson tells you that an A prospect exists, you can ask what the prospect told you about his budget. If it hasn’t been discussed, there’s no prospect…yet.
Creating clear expectations keeps everyone on the same page. It also prevents managers from getting sold (a bill of goods.)