Are your forecasts inaccurate? Is your pipeline bloated with deals that never close? It might be because you don’t appreciate the difference between someone who will buy form someone who merely wants to buy. As I write this I want to buy a new car. The Lexus I have is getting older and there are some minor problems with it. Nothing major, there are just some minor annoyances. Plus, I like some of the features of the new cars. BUT, I am not in enough pain to buy one. There is no urgency. Besides I hate cars in general and don’t especially relish the task of buying one. Money is not the issue. If I was in front of a car salesperson, I would sound like a buyer and act like a buyer, but I would not be a buyer since there is nothing pushing me to buy. However, that could change. If my mechanic would alert me to a major impending expensive problem, I would suddenly have enough urgency to buy immediately. Don’t be fooled by people who give “buying signals”. Make sure they have enough urgency to buy in the short term. Ask questions. Dig deeper and you will avoid the dreaded pipeline bloat.
