That Rolodex Is Worth Less Than You Think

A rep joins from the competition with a full contact list. A buyer you love lands at the account you've chased for years. Both feel like free pipeline, and both hide the same fallacy. Here's what to check before you forecast any of it.

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If you prefer to read - here is the transcript:

I get calls from sales managers all the time who are excited because a new candidate has come into their orbit from the competition, and that candidate has a rolodex. And they think, yes, we can bring all of the competition's customers over to our paper.

At the same time, I hear from sales reps all the time who are excited because the contact at their best customer has just left and gone to a new company they've been targeting for years, and they'll now finally be able to win that business.

But there's a fallacy in this thinking. The fallacy is that we're ignoring the internal buying processes of those companies, the companies inside that rolodex, or the company your great contact has gone to. We let that fallacy inform our feeling, and then we don't do the good work that's required to actually dig into the opportunity.

Each of those prospects that are new to you has an internal buying process that may or may not jive with the way you sell. There may be other players inside that organization who don't want to do business with you, because they're committed to the competition. Maybe they're married to the competition, or they have long term relationships.

Those target companies you're trying to close could have investors, or silent partners, or customers and suppliers who inform the decision to do business with you or with someone else.

So don't let your feeling of excitement get in the way. Dig in. Be skeptical. Be curious. Ask questions, and treat these prospects like you would if they were brand new to you and you didn't have a preexisting relationship. That's the best way to uncover the highest quality deals that will close the most quickly.