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In today’s email:
I Walked Away from 70% of My Pipeline. My Close Rate Doubled.
[Quick Win]
Growth Partner Insight
I Walked Away from 70% of My Pipeline. My Close Rate Doubled.
Persistence is overrated.
I spent eight months chasing ISG—one of the UK’s largest construction firms. Got onto their supply chain. Landed a meeting with their Procurement Director. Connected with Commercial and Ops.
Then one morning, I opened LinkedIn and saw the news: ISG collapsed into administration.
Eight months. £0 revenue.
That’s when I built the framework that doubled my close rate.
The Hidden Cost of Bad Prospects
The math is brutal.
You make 50 calls a week. Connect with 30 prospects. Qualify 15 into your pipeline. Then you spend 60 days nurturing all 15 because “you never know.”
What that actually costs:
15 prospects × 4 hours = 60 hours
Your close rate on good prospects: 25%
Your close rate on bad prospects: 5%
If 10 of those 15 are bad prospects, you’ve spent 40 hours chasing deals with a 5% close rate instead of spending 40 hours calling better prospects.
That’s not persistence. That’s poor pipeline discipline.
The real cost isn’t the time you spend on bad prospects. It’s a good prospect you never called.
The 3 Red Flags That Predict Failure
After analysing 50+ lost deals, I found three patterns that predict failure.
If a prospect shows two or more of these in the first three interactions, your close rate drops below 10%. If they show all three, it’s zero.
Red Flag #1: The Reschedule Pattern
They reschedule your first call. Fine.
They reschedule your second call. Okay - benefit of the doubt.
They reschedule your third call with no explanation and no alternative time.
That’s not a conflict. That’s a signal: you’re not in their top 10 problems.
My move: After the second reschedule, I send one message:
“Looks like timing’s off—let’s reconnect in Q3.”
Then I move them to my long-term list and stop spending time.
Red Flag #2: The Ghost Zone
You send a proposal. They’ll review it by Friday.
Friday: Silence.
Monday follow-up: Silence.
Wednesday follow-up: “Sorry, been busy—will circle back next week.”
Next week: Silence.
Here’s what’s happening: They’re not reviewing your proposal. They’re ignoring it.
My move: After two follow-ups with nothing back, I send this:
“Looks like this isn’t a priority right now—let me know if that changes.”
Then I archive them.
Red Flag #3: The Verbal Commitment That Never Converts
They love your approach. They want to move forward. They need to “run it past the board/check with procurement/wait until next quarter.”
Three weeks: “Still working on it.”
Six weeks: “Hoping to have an answer soon.”
Nine weeks: “Let’s reconnect in Q3.”
The truth: There’s no urgency. No budget. No real intent. Just interest.
And interest doesn’t pay invoices.
How I handle it: I ask for a specific commitment timeline:
“When’s your next board meeting? Let’s get this on the agenda.”
If they can’t give me a date, I know it’s not real. I stop spending time.
The Scoring System
Scoring
0 points: Chase hard
1 point: Proceed with caution
2+ points: Walk away
If a prospect scores 2+, your close rate is under 10%. That means you’re spending 90% of your time on deals that won’t close.
When I started using this, my close rate went from 12% to 25% in three months.
Not because I got better at closing. Because I stopped wasting time on people who were never going to buy.
The Walkaway Protocol: How to Exit Without Burning Bridges
Most operators think disqualifying means ghosting or being rude. Wrong.
Here’s my three-step exit:
Step 1: Acknowledge reality“Looks like timing’s off—I get it.”
Step 2: Offer a future path“Let’s reconnect in Q3 when [budget resets / framework opens / project kicks off].”
Step 3: Exit gracefully“I’ll drop you our monthly newsletter so you stay in the loop. No pressure.”
Then stop. No more follow-ups. No more time spent.
What happens:
90% never re-engage. (Fine—they weren’t buying anyway.)
10% come back 6-9 months later when timing’s right.
The Exception: When Long Pursuits Pay Off
Not every long pursuit is a waste.
A2Dominion took twelve months. But here’s the difference:
They never rescheduled without explanation
They engaged in every call
They gave clear timelines and stuck to them.
They introduced me to stakeholders and moved the process forward
Result: £1.2M contract opportunity.
The lesson: Long pursuits are fine if the prospect shows buying signals. If they show red flags, walk away—no matter how big the deal looks.
The Bottom Line
Persistence without qualification isn’t a strategy. It’s a trap.
The best salespeople don’t chase every opportunity. They disqualify fast and spend time where it converts.
Try this: Pull up your pipeline right now. Score every prospect. Archive anything with 2+ points. You’ll know in 10 minutes where your time should actually go.
After 15,000+ calls and 18 months doing this, I’ve learned: Every bad prospect you’re chasing is a good prospect you’ll never call.
Say no faster.
This is a Free/Core Issue. Access the free 1-page summary here.
The Growth Lab Pro subscribers also get the 5-Minute Disqualification Checklist PLUS bonus issues, monthly deep dives, and phase recap vaults you won’t find anywhere else.
The 5-Minute Call Scorecard
Score every prospect after the first call. Tells you in 5 minutes if they’re worth 40 more hours.
The 4 Question Checklist:
Did they reschedule the first call?
Yes, with explanation and alternative time = 0 points
Yes, with no explanation = 1 point
Were they present?
Asking questions, taking notes, engaged = 0 points
One-word answers, typing, distracted = 1 point
Did they commit to next steps?
Specific timeline, decision process, budget window = 0 points
Vague interest, “we’ll think about it” = 1 point
Can they name the problem?
Clear, specific = 0 pts
“Just exploring” = 1 pt
The Decision:
Clear operational problem they need solved = 0 points
“Just exploring” or can’t name the problem = 1 point
Scoring:
0-1 points: Pursue (Group 1)
2+ points: Disqualify (Group 2, stop active time)
How to Apply:
Score them in your CRM immediately after the call.
2+? Send this:
“Thanks for the time today—looks like timing’s off. Let’s reconnect in [Q3/Q4] when [budget resets/framework opens]. I’ll drop you on our newsletter in the meantime. No pressure.”
Then archive them and move on.
Why This Works:
You stop wasting 40 hours on prospects with a 5% close rate.
You start spending 40 hours on prospects with a 25% close rate.
I freed up 15 hours a week in my first 3 months using this. That’s 15 hours on better prospects.
Growth Partner Insight: Ignoring £1.5M Because We Were “Too Busy”
We left £1.5 million on the table last month.
Not from lost tenders. Not from being undercut. From businesses that came through our website, chose a service, and then... disappeared.
This came up in a recent strategy meeting. Someone asked: “Why aren’t we converting them?”
Good question.
Here’s what we found: Our team was chasing big contracts. Long sales cycles. Complex procurement. High effort.
Meanwhile, warm inbound leads sat in our CRM. No follow-up. No callback.
These weren’t cold prospects. They were businesses that found us online, picked a service, and submitted their details.
They were halfway to yes. And we ghosted them.
Why? Because we were busy. Operations stretched. Focused on servicing existing accounts and landing enterprise deals.
We were ignoring easy revenue because we were too busy chasing hard revenue.
Here’s what I learned: Disqualification isn’t just walking away from bad prospects. It’s recognising when you’re chasing hard revenue while easy revenue goes cold.
Before you chase your next big deal, ask yourself:
How many warm leads went cold this month while I was chasing enterprise contracts?
Sometimes the best opportunity isn’t the next major tender.
It’s the warm lead sitting in your CRM that you’ve been too “busy” to call back.
That’s it for today. Hope you can put this straight to work.
~ Matt
PS. Three ways to take the next step:
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