Your pipeline is lying to you.
A sales coach tracked a client's team for ninety days and found forty percent of their pipeline would never close. Those zombie deals weren't just dead weight. They were stealing attention from the fifteen percent that could actually convert.
Most founders treat every lead like a lottery ticket. The terror of disqualifying someone who might have been the big win keeps them following up, discounting, and negotiating with people who were never going to buy. Meanwhile, real buyers get the same watered-down attention as tire-kickers.
The math is brutal. Every hour spent chasing a zombie is an hour not spent on a prospect who could actually close. Yet founders keep nurturing dead opportunities because walking away feels like giving up. It's not. It's resource allocation.
The problem starts with demos. Founders jump straight to showcasing their product because they built it and they're proud of it. But the customer watches for five minutes and struggles to understand why any of it matters to them. Discovery should come first. What pain is this person actually experiencing? What happens if it doesn't get solved? Without clarity on these questions, there's no deal. You're just giving a presentation.
Corporate pain gets you in the door. Personal pain closes deals. Dig past the company problem to find the individual stakes. Is there a promotion riding on this project? Did the last initiative fail? Understanding the personal agenda of your buyer changes everything about how you position your solution. The best salespeople don't just solve company problems. They make their champion look good internally.
The signals that should trigger disqualification are clearer than most founders admit. After multiple conversations, you still don't know the size of the problem or the potential benefit. Walk away. The customer isn't clear enough about their own situation to buy anything. They keep asking for information you've already provided. That's not an RFP. That's an RFI. They're researching, not buying.
The most dangerous opportunity in your pipeline is the one you need too badly. You'll compromise on terms. You'll skip discovery steps. You'll convince yourself red flags are yellow. The founders closing at forty percent or higher aren't better at selling. They're ruthless about who they sell to.
Qualification isn't about finding reasons to pursue opportunities. It's about finding reasons to stop pursuing the wrong ones. Your pipeline should get smaller as it gets stronger. The deals you kill create the space and focus to close the ones that matter.
Watch the Full Episode on Lead Qualification with expert Dr. Deepak Bhootra below:
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