Who to Sell to and Who Not To

 

I don’t need a lawnmower.

Because I live in a condo, I have no grass to cut.

There are a lot of other things I neither need nor want as well. Here are just a few:
• Cat food
• Prune juice
• A pedicure
• CAD software
• Hearing-aid batteries
• Baby formula
• The Blu-Ray version of the movie Beaches
• Laser eye surgery
• Oatmeal raisin cookies

There’s nothing wrong with any of these products or services. Every one of them has a market. I’m just not in it.

Which means, if you’re trying to sell one of these things to me, you’re wasting your time, money and energy.

Too many salespeople, professionals and small business owners convince themselves that because their product or service is good, everybody should want it. As a result, they invest too much of their limited resources trying to make a sale to someone who will never buy.

To avoid this trap, determine your prospect’s interest level right up front. If they’re truly interested, great. Pursue them. But if they’re not, cut your losses. Move on to another prospect who may actually have an interest.

You can’t possibly sell to everyone, so to maximize your sales results, you need to focus on those prospects most likely to buy. If that’s not the person you’re talking to, move on.