When you notice your sales reps chasing rainbows and unicorns, be sure to step in and help them evaluate the qualification criteria for their opportunities.

Kendra Lee

April 3, 2014

3 Min Read
Stop Chasing Unicorns and Learn to Let Unqualified Leads Go

The other day I was chatting with the executive vice president of Sales for one of our VAR customers, who lamented his sales team’s propensity to let unqualified opportunities linger in the pipeline despite the unlikelihood of them every closing. This executive’s reps were convinced those opportunities eventually would close—they just weren’t ready yet.

From the sales executive’s perspective, however, those reps’ rose-colored glasses were preventing them from seeing the obvious—that they were essentially chasing rainbows and unicorns they’d never actually capture.

In the VAR world, this is a common friction point between sales managers and their sales reps.

After all, great sales reps are optimistic by nature. They’re equipped to handle rejection, objection and loss, and are trained to continue going back for more. And they believe the miraculous can happen, because they’ve been programmed to believe persistence pays off and because they’re naturally attracted to the potential rewards of closing a BIG deal.

Here’s a great example:

One of my customer's sales reps is working with an IT manager to sell a particular project. According to the rep, the IT manager needs the VAR's help and he doesn’t have the expertise on staff to complete the work. Moreover, the prospective customer apparently has told the rep that he’s just waiting for the budget to be approved to move forward.

Unfortunately, the rep hasn’t considered that the IT manager’s company might not share the same sense of urgency. Unlike the IT manager, it’s possible that the business doesn’t believe the project is critical to its success and the executive team isn’t in a rush to make a decision on a solution.

Yet, each week the sales rep diligently follows up with the IT manager. And each week the IT manager issues the same reply: “Not yet. The executive team didn’t get to it as part of their weekly agenda, but they meet again next week—I’m sure they’ll discuss it then.”

You see where this is going.

The sales rep has attempted to speak directly with the executive team, but the IT manager made it clear he thinks it’s best for him to be the conduit. What’s really happening, however, is that there’s no executive buy-in, no budget, no sense of urgency, no opportunity to sell directly to the decision-makers and, most importantly, no real opportunity at all. There are, however, plenty of rainbows and unicorns—and maybe even a pot of gold at the end.

At the moment, we’re working with our VAR customer’s executive vice president to better define the criteria of a good opportunity at each point in the sales process. Many VARs could probably benefit from a similar assessment.

While your sales reps may know what constitutes a qualified contact in the prospect phase, they may not understand that qualification criteria should evolve as prospects advance through the sales process, becoming more specific with each ensuing stage. For instance, a good prospect in the middle stages of the sales process may be qualified to take the next step, but they may not be qualified enough for a proposal just yet. In fact, depending on the criteria you use to qualify the next phase, they may never reach that point.

So, when you notice your sales reps chasing rainbows and unicorns, be sure to step in and help them evaluate the qualification criteria for their opportunities. Doing so will help them see that investing their time in better qualified opportunities will garner a higher return for them and your company.

Kendra Lee is a top IT seller, prospect attraction expert, author of the award winning books “The Sales Magnet” and “Selling Against the Goal” and president of KLA Group. Specializing in the IT industry, KLA Group works with companies to break in and exceed revenue objectives in the Small and Midmarket Business (SMB) segment.

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About the Author(s)

Kendra Lee

Kendra Lee is a top IT Seller, Prospect Attraction Expert, author of the award-winning books “The Sales Magnet” and “Selling Against the Goal,” and president of KLA Group. Specializing in the IT industry, KLA Group works with companies to break in and exceed revenue objectives in the Small and Midmarket Business (SMB) segment.

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