Bad Prospects

[LogicMountain]

Curious what you guys do to "cut your losses" with bad leads. At what point do you cut a prospective client off and stop communication? What are your warning signs? Where do you draw the line?

I tend to extend myself out pretty far to get a sale, but I'm really starting to reconsider my policy. I just did a demo for a Dating Website for a couple of local guys referred to me. Spent hours preparing for the demo, spent 2 hours plus travel for a personal demonstration. All along these guys are "impressed" and "ready to go" and "exactly what we want" and "by far the best thing we've seen." Over 2 weeks, hopped through several hoops to relieve their reservations, all along these guys are gung-ho and ready to go.

And the guy calls me today and says that I'm not "professional enough" for them because ONE OF MY REFERENCES answered the phone "Hello" and not with their business name (mind you that reference was kind enough to provide his personal cell phone number so that the prospective client would be sure to get through to him.) The clowns hung up without even talking to the reference and didn't call anyone else! And then they hung up on me.

Boy, I can find them!

Should I have known better when I asked for their email address in the initial phone call and the GUY WHO WANTS TO RUN A DATING WEBSITE said "well, I'm not online so I don't have an email address."

Should I have bailed at the start of the meeting when I saw the clients were two 20 yr old kids obviously playing Very Busy Important Big Businessmen dressup?

Ha, well in hindsight, YES! Live and learn I guess :)

Curious, what percentage of your prospects do you find have no intention of buying? How do you qualify your clients before you spend too much time.

And how many folks have had similar experiences with kids in playland? I know I can't be the only one!

[webconsultant4u]

I am sorry to hear that friend. Here are some tips:

1) Wait for the client to approach to you and ascertian how interested he is in your services. A genuine client will respect your time and can offer you contract even without a mockup, provided he is impressed with your track record and portfolio!

2) Donot try to pursuade a client over a period of time. If you get a feeling that it won't work out, opt out in the initial stage itself to save your precious time!

3) If you receive a project/contract, request client to deposit full or partial payment in an escrow account of your's as a safeguard. If client resists, look at his past record or feedbacks or any acquire any information that might help you to decide if he is genuine or not.

4) If you already started working on a project like you did in this instance and never got paid, there's nothing to loose, but to gain. Wondering how? I'm sure you must have uploaded your work to a link. Use that link as a reference for approaching prospective clients. This will be beneficial and credible!

As someone said: "true efforts get true results. keep persvering"

All the best,

Vamsi Krishna,

Marketing Consultant,

Netconsultingpalace,

India

Aol: lbuild2005

Msn: webconsultant4u@hotmail.com