Discovery
Have you tried firing your prospect?
22/04/25, 00:00
Who is it for?
Founders, CEOs, CROs, and sales leaders at B2B SaaS companies running discovery and qualification calls.
When to use?
When discovery calls feel productive but deals don’t progress, and qualification signals are unclear.
We all want to sell, and we want to sell to everyone who engages us. But quite often, prospects do not act as if they want to buy.
We all want to sell, and we want to sell to everyone who engages us. But quite often, prospects do not act as if they want to buy. I have previously emphasised MEDDPICC as a key qualification process to ensure you only follow the deals that make sense, but there is one particular trick you should lean into, and ensure that your sales team uses.
Firing your prospect. Telling them you will not work with them. Making it clear you don’t think there is a good fit and we should stop wasting each other’s time.
Yes, it takes some courage, but it is extraordinarily effective.
[https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXfv5vsmA5hNfSRLLVHl53cL43wyxo0BNqHJE5tUsX29n79Y_78_DFKu6GqXv2p8C4tokTrDwCZnAKnXq4oRWja6sU2qFErznMtbbWVm5NJQ2-xluH5H1dOqAXIH2h6E5vP0P5o6vA?key=3H2vKZySKJOB-ci1F2EUXzZW]
When do you try this?
⭐ They persistently fail to follow-up their actions and do not engage in the process outside of the occasional calls.
⭐ They refuse to give you visibility to the Decision Process or Decision Criteria. They won’t let you know who else is involved in the conversation. They’re not willing to support you communicating with the Economic Buyer.
⭐ The prospect keeps discussing your solution, but is pushing to use it in a way which is not your primary use case. Or they are asking you for features which are not mainline enhancements of your product.
Or in any other case where MEDDPICC indicates that you're unlikely to get the deal done.
How do we do it? Politely but firmly.
“We have had some really interesting conversations, but progress is very slow when we are not speaking. It seems that this is not a priority to you and the team, so let’s save each other’s time and revisit this when the priority increases.”
“In our experience, in order to make progress, we need to have a proper understanding of your process and the people involved, and access to the main influencers and decision-makers. If you are not comfortable introducing us in this way, I fully respect that, but it is a strong indication that we should withdraw from the process and leave you to work with other vendors.”
“Our core use case is to solve problem X, which was something we understood mattered to you. It appears that you're more focused on Y, and while that may be something we can support in the future, it is not something we are able to do today. Therefore, we should end our conversation until X becomes more important to you.”
Fundamentally, this is a key step before disqualifying them and moving on. Inevitably, one of two things results.
1️⃣ The prospect acknowledges that this is not a great time/opportunity, and you disqualify and move on.
2️⃣ They make it clear that they do wish to progress, and start selling you on why you should remain involved. A great side effect here is that it tends to lead to a much more equal engagement between you and your prospect.
Try it. You will be amazed.
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