This is the final post of a three part series dedicated to building a championship pipeline. If you missed the first two posts, you can check them out here…

1. Selling Like a Rookie
2. Committing to Your Pipeline
3. Chasing Mice, Elephants, and Ghosts

At the end of last week’s article, I touched on the idea of “balance.”  No, I’m not talking about work-life balance.  I’m talking about the size and viability of your prospects.

Are you chasing mice, elephants, and ghosts?  You may want to chase some more than others…

Mice – These are the little deals, the accounts you can turn quickly.  Although I hear people talking about these as a waste of time, I like these accounts.  I can often turn a one call close, and build enough need, pain, and value to get them to consistently stick.

There are two more things that motivate me about these deals.  They build momentum, and they fill in the gaps.

• Momentum – There is motivation, confidence, and persistence that builds with momentum. Sales people who are closing deals are happy. Volume of activity increases, and if you keep your pipeline full, you’ll likely win a lot of smaller deals while working your way through the longer, more complex process of getting bigger accounts.
• Gap Fillers – You don’t want to go weeks at a time without turning in new business. Your attitude and your bank account suffers. Your manager starts asking questions, and suddenly there is extra attention on your day-to-day activities. Filling in the gaps with smaller accounts will put you way above plan when the big deals close!

Elephants – These are the BIG ones… The accounts where many sales people find glory!  They require preparation, planning, answering complex questions, and almost certainly the challenge of going up against a minimum of two or three other worthy competitors.

You love these deals when you win, and hate them when you lose.  They take so much time and effort.  Winning takes you to the highest-of-highs!  Losing takes you to the lowest-of-lows.  If there was ever a perfect reason to maintain a balanced pipeline with mice, elephants, and everything in between, this is it!

Ghosts – This group of prospects applies not to the size of the account, but instead to the viability of the prospect.  Ghosts exist at all levels, and they are really not prospects at all.  These are the accounts that will never buy.  Yep, I said it.  NEVER!

It doesn’t matter how good you are as a sales person.  It doesn’t matter how great your product works.  It doesn’t matter how low your price is.  These prospects are never going to be your client, and guess what?  That’s OK!  It doesn’t make you a bad sales person.  The most important thing you can do is get these prospects out of your pipeline.

Here’s the hard part.  You are thinking, “But my persistence has paid off for me in the past.  I can’t just walk away.  I’m building a relationship.”

I’ll use five to characteristics to help you identify your ghosts…

1. You’ve left more than six voice mails or emails since your last interaction with the decision maker and have received zero response.
2. There is a political issue on the inside that will prevent you from getting the deal. An example might be that the business owner’s close friend has the account.
3. The decision maker is hard headed, won’t listen to anyone, hates change, has a hangup about your company and they won’t budge, not now, not ever.
4. You had your chance, got outsold, dropped the ball, and it just didn’t happen. They’ve made their buying decision and that’s that.
5. You made it to decision time… everything looked as though you would get the deal… and at the last minute… it fell through. They chose to stay put and keep the status quo. You chase them month after month, year after year and finally come to the realization that you’ve been chasing… a ghost.

Of course you have to be careful with all of these scenarios, but you have to be just as careful about how your are spending your time.  The most important takeaway… Learn to focus on prospects who are most likely to buy.

Some of you may be wondering, “How do I know if I’m doing it right?”  The answer is easier than you think.  If you are consistently meeting or exceeding quota, then you are doing it right!

How do those who are most effective in building a balanced pipeline do it… Is it instinct, strategy, or something else?

Check Out These Related Articles!

• Committing to Your Pipeline
• Selling Like a Rookie
• Want Long-Term Success? Build Your Pipeline!
• 4 Targeting Tips to Improve Your Prospecting
• The Effectiveness of Cold Calling… On Foot?
• 10 Things I Love About Cold Calling!
• Compelling Argument Against Cold Calling
• 10 Tips for Guaranteed Sales Success
• Building a Smarter Leads List
• 3 Ways to Get the Inside Scoop and Find New Prospects!