Bad Prospects Make Terrible Clients

If you are like me, you work hard to get a prospect. There's marketing to get them interested and usually a series of conversations and proposal before you close the sale. So when you have an interested prospect, it is hard to let go, but sometimes you should.

Years ago I was approached by the marketing manager at a?fairly large company looking to outsource some of their work to a smaller firm, like mine.

He was very impressed with his credentials and the fact that he?had this big company behind him. Right from the beginning of our conversation he began to throw the weight of his company around. He was arrogant and quite honestly, a bit rude. I started out being polite, trying to overlook his rudeness. After a few minutes, however, my internal alarm began to sound.?I realized our communication was not going to improve if?we worked together.

The warning bells rang louder and louder in my head. I didn’t like him. I didn’t like his arrogance or his attitude or his unrealistic expectations that I would drop everything, and jump as high as I could whenever he called.

I agonized for a bit because I never like to turn a prospect away. But I remembered I went into business for myself so I could spend time doing work I enjoyed and with people I liked and respected. In the end, I sent him a nice note, thanking him and telling him there wasn't a good fit.

What I wanted to say was it was his approach, not the project that sent me running in the other direction. But I didn’t. He had been behaving like that for a long time, and he wasn’t going to change. I didn’t want to invest my time attempting to?teach him a better way. It is like someone who eats with his hands on the first date. He isn’t going to be using silverware after the wedding.

So I lost a sale, but I wasn’t sad. I knew if I didn’t like him during the sales process when we were both putting our best foot forward, I?would really dislike him as we began to work together. I didn't mind walking away from a bad fit because I knew there is always another prospect and another opportunity.