With ideal prospects, don’t disqualify them until you get a “no” from the decision maker (don’t take “no” from others, even other executives). If you sell to the VP Sales and feel the account is ideal, don’t assume that because the CIO says you’re wasting your time that you are. As Winston Churchill said, “Never, never, never, never give up!” (with ideal prospects). 6. Always Set Up a Next Step What next step will both help your process and create value for the prospect? Always frame a next step in a way that is valuable to them: “The best way for us to save time…”; “Here’s how I can help you get to a decision faster…”; “Your team will learn….” About one out of four prospects will have had a strong opinion on the next step they wanted to take. In that case they'll often say, “I need to see a demo.” If you have a different idea about what you want, don’t fight them. Take their next step with them, and “enhance” their idea with what you want: “I’d be happy to set up a demo. As part of that preparation process, it’ll help make our time much more productive if you fill out these five questions….” The other 75% of prospects will look to you to suggest the best next step. You’re there to walk them through an evaluation and buying process. So be prepared to have one or two specific suggestions based on what’s been most efficient for your other clients: “What we’ve found as a best next step is to…” Try out these tips, and keep track of your own "few, best practices and questions" that work in your market. Put them into a cheat sheet that you can use in training new sales reps and helping veterans prepare for sales calls.