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Kosta_Konfucius

Sales Rep

Politicker
Acclaimed Answer
Catalyst
+9

When to Say No to Clients

What is everyone's rule of thumb for saying no to opportunities?


Right now, we are at a great spot pipeline wise and should be able to exceed our number. However, we have not hit our number yet.


Lately, there have been a couple RFP/RFI/VQS sent out. We have looked at the numbers and our win % for those are pretty low IF we dont have a current relationship OR not a clear fit.


This is leading to us saying no to these which is hard for me since I am not at my number yet. Plus I have the time to work on these and would much rather work on a RFP than cold call.


At what point do you say no to an opportunity? Would you pursue low % opps if you are not at your number

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antiASKHOLE
Tycoon
4
Bravado's Resident Asshole
Those are added bonuses. I'm always ok with walking away or just letting things sit. Still doing things to progress if needed, but don't put that much mental energy toward something that isn't goin to help me right now or in the near future.
Sunbunny31
Politicker
2
Sr Sales Executive ๐Ÿฐ
I'd rather work on something, even if it's got a low % to close, than nothing.

But - we've also declined RFPs when they aren't the best fit, and we always assess each RFP for viability and level of effort. If it's not a great fit and the team is at capacity, we'll walk.

I've also walked when the customer makes unreasonable demands, such as completion in a few days (when impossible) or a demo timeline that is too aggressive for a custom demo or they refuse to be flexible on scheduling when there's a conflict. Can you imagine what those companies would be like as customers?
jefe
Arsonist
2
๐Ÿ
If the bandwidth is available, then I think it always makes sense to work it.

Saying no to a bad fit client or one that will cause your account management team a massive amount of grief is another story.
DevSomeBiz
Valued Contributor
1
Senior B2B Sales Guy.
If you are not at your number, you chase everything to the ground. If you are too busy to serve your clients well, start raising your prices to kill off the low-value clients and balance your load.
TennisandSales
Politicker
1
Head Of Sales
in my industry 80% of decisions are made by RFP.

If you were not involved in writing the RFP there is a REALLY low chance of winning.

if this is the case then its up to leadership if they want to invest the time of the team.

with RFPs its normally not just me as the AE involved .

but if its just you and you do all the work....then hell ya go for it no matter what.
Kosta_Konfucius
Politicker
1
Sales Rep
Its a team effort for RFPs for us, meeting with the Sales Engineering team, proposal writers, the client. Then doing demos, prep for the demos, dress rehersals.
TennisandSales
Politicker
1
Head Of Sales
GOOD! having to do everything your self is a TON of work. only did it once at a series A and every company ive worked at since has ether had dedicated teams to assist with questionnaires and supporting documents or Ive been able to pull in people that can help. way easier that way haha
SaaSam
Politicker
1
Account Executive
There are two situations where I say no to an op. If it's clear we wouldn't be able to deliver or if the prospect seems like they would be a high maintenance pain in the ass.
ChumpChange
Politicker
1
Channel Manager
As a person who's literally measured on how many dollars I bring in... I would say to concentrate your efforts on revenue-generating duties. Busy work for the sake of staying busy keeps you off the radar but if the leadership org starts looking for the weakest link that ultimately comes back to how much you're bringing in. I used to be a chase everything type seller and now I realize that it's not an intelligent use of my time.
MROPINION
Good Citizen
0
MANAGER
Perhaps you have to see beyond the numbers and focus on building a corporate image, then more than seeing the client as a number, you should see it as a qualitative contribution.

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