As sales people we don’t have to sell to everyone.  We can tell prospects; “Thanks, but no thanks.”

The best sales people know this.

There is this unwritten rule that says, for some reason, sales people HAVE to sell to everyone.  The truth is we don’t. Just because someone wants to buy, doesn’t mean we have to sell to them.  Sales people are supposed to sell to make money and some deals just aren’t good deals.  They don’t make money.

Deals don’t always make sense, the margins can be too thin, the customer too demanding, the chance to be successful too small. Not all deals are created equal.  Part of being a good sales person is being able to know the difference between a good sale and a bad sale.  When faced with a bad sale, it’s our job to make it a good sale or tell the customer; “Thanks, but no thanks.”

I get it. As sales people, turning down a sale is sacrilegious. It’s against the code. But the truth is, we need to. The main reason turning down a sale is so hard is because we don’t vet the sale well enough on the front end. We miss the early signs it’s not a good sale and by the time we see it’s a shitty deal, we’re too invested. We have invested hours of time and energy into it. We’ve made commitments to the prospect. We’ve told our manager it’s going to close. We’ve started counting our commission. We’re so far into the sale, getting out just isn’t in our head.

Separating good deals from bad deals early is key. Stop wasting time on deals that aren’t good for you or the company. Know what good deals look like and chase them.  There aren’t a lot of bad deals, but when they come up, you have to know what they look like and avoid them.

Bad deals suck the life out of margins. They demoralize customer service. They steal company resources. They don’t provide a return on investment or effort.  Bad deals suck.

SALES NEWS FLASH: You DON’T have to sell every deal. There is such a bad thing as a bad sale, so don’t make it.